Tjaden, Breon land on HOIC 2nd team

The Nevada girls’ soccer team went 19-2 and finished as the Class 1A state runner-up this past season.

So when it came to earning spots on one of the two the Heart of Iowa Conference teams, the Cubs were well represented.

That made it even harder for teams like Prairie City-Monroe and Collins-Maxwell/Baxter to be represented, but the Mustangs and Raiders each had one all-conference player in 2015.

The Mustangs were represented by McKinzie Tjaden, who made the second team, and the Raiders’ senior goalkeeper Lexi Breon also earned a spot on the second unit.

Tjaden was PCM’s top point scorer with a team-best 11 goals and four assists.

Tjaden, a Colfax-Mingo senior-to-be, tallied 26 points in all and helped the Mustangs (7-11) win four more games in 2015 than they did in 2014.

Breon was one of the busiest goalkeepers in the entire state this past season. She played in 12 games and made 309 saves, which ranked second in the entire state and second in Class 2A. She stopped 86 percent of the shots taken against her but also played on an 0-12 team.

Nevada claimed seven of the 11 first-team spots. Abby Stephenson led the Cubs with 32 goals, while Elli Cassabaum scored 17. Clara Sporrer stopped 96 shots in goal and helped the Cubs claim 15 shutouts in 21 games.

Stephenson, Sporrer, Michaela Matuska, Kaylee Kruschwitz and Ragan Saunders also were first-team all-state selections.

Joy Smith, a first-team all-HOIC member, was a second-team all-state pick.

Hanna Becker joined Smith as North Polk representatives on the first team, while Gilbert’s Olivia Stearns and Ibby Culek were first-team members for the Tigers. Stearns scored 25 goals this season.

Nevada, Gilbert and North Polk all finished with a better than a .500 record.

Nevada’s Randy Davis was the Class 1A state coach of the year. The Cubs lost to 3A Ankeny Centennial, 2-1, in the regular season and then lost 2-0 to Sioux City Bishop Heelan in the 1A championship game.