March 29, 2024

Cards net two wins, Mustangs go 1-2 in tourney

PLEASANT HILL — Recording back-to-back shutouts in their two matches at the Southeast Polk soccer tournament, Newton High’s girls improved to 3-1 on the season.

The Class 2A 11th-ranked Cardinals dominated Des Moines North and Prairie City-Monroe in 10-0 victories Saturday at Spring Creek Soccer Complex in Pleasant Hill.

PCM’s Mustangs went 1-2 in tournament games Saturday. They recorded a 3-0 win over Des Moines North for their first win of the season and lost to Newton at the soccer complex. Later, PCM dropped a 4-1 decision to Pella Christian at Southeast Polk High School’s field.

“The girls played very well and controlled the field of play. They passed the ball well,” said Abby Lamont, Newton head coach, about the game against North. “All members of the varsity team saw playing time.”

The Newton players who didn’t see much action were goalkeepers Ashley Freese, a sophomore, and freshman Addy Blom.

Freese, the Cardinals’ starting keeper, had no saves in the first game against North and had the lone save against PCM. Blom played in goal during the second half in game of both games.

Sophomore Ryanne Rausch and junior Taylor Moon put the most pressure on the Polar Bears’ and Mustangs’ goalkeepers. The Cardinals overwhelmed the opposing keepers with 40 shots on goal against North’s Polar Bears and 27 shots on goal against PCM’s Mustangs.

Rausch scored three of her four goals in the first half against the Polar Bears, leading the Cardinals to a 5-0 halftime lead. Moon had a second-half goal in the win over North.

The Cardinals built a 4-0 lead on PCM by the break led by Moon. Moon’s fourth goal of the game put the Cardinals in front 7-0 in the second half. Rausch finished the game with a hat trick of goals.

“The girls played very well controlling the middle of the field against PCM. They created many scoring opportunities and the girls finished with good hard shots,” Lamont said.

In the opener against North, Newton got two goals from freshman Anna Forsyth and one goal each from Moon, sophomore Taylor Shipley, and juniors Hannah Rhoads and Kaytlin Ahn along with Rausch’s four goals. Moon put up three assists while junior Victoria Jordan and senior Anna Barr each had one assist.

Newton only needed 11 minutes into the second half to win by the 10-goal rule over PCM.

Moon had a hat trick plus one — four goals — to lead the Cardinal offensive attack against the Mustangs. Rausch’s three goals in the PCM match pushed her scoring total for the season to 11 goals for Newton.

Junior Victoria Jordan scored twice for Newton against PCM and Barr had the other goal. Senior Macy Leonard and Rausch each had two assists on goals while Moon, Jordan, Shipley and Ahn were credited with one assist each.

PCM led Des Moines North 1-0 at halftime following a goal by Dakota Hostetter, a sophomore from Colfax-MIngo. Colfax-Mingo junior McKinzie Tjaden made it 2-0 early in the second half and Brooklyn Rawlins finalized the scoring for the Mustangs.

Kennah Walters scored the Mustangs’ lone goal in the nightcap against Pella Christian. Tjaden recorded the assist.

“Last year we didn’t win a game at Southeast Polk and were blown out three times,” PCM coach Bill Sowder said. “This was a much better day. We are still missing some girls here and there and we did what we could with what we had. They did their best.”

Sowder said the Mustangs’ defense was not very good in the final two matches and the offensive players need to learn when it’s best to take shots on goal.

“We need to go back to the basics on defense. We had too many breakdowns,” Sowder said. “We also need to know when to shoot it. We passed up way too many shots.”

Newton (3-1) hosts Des Moines Christian Tuesday at Newton’s H.A. Lynn Stadium. The junior varsity game is at 5:30 p.m. followed by the varsity at 7 p.m.

PCM (1-3) takes on the Class 1A top-ranked Nevada Cubs at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Nevada.