April 25, 2024

Cardinals beat Grinnell, lose to Comets

By Jocelyn Sheets

Let’s get physcial — and they did during Friday’s clash of ranked girls’ soccer teams at Newton’s H.A. Lynn Stadium as seen with Newton High’s Taylor Shipley, right, and North Polk’s Katie Berglund (12) battling for possession of the ball. Class 1A ninth-ranked Nort Polk outlasted Class 2A No. 10 Newton, 3-2. (Jocelyn Sheets)

Playing back-to-back ranked opponents, the Class 2A 10th-ranked Newton High Cardinals girls went 1-1 over the weekend.

They played a very physical game against Class 1A No. 9 North Polk Friday at home, losing 3-2. On Saturday morning, the Cardinals were in Grinnell for a Little Hawkeye Contest against 2A 15th-ranked Grinnell’s Tigers.

“The game against Grinnell was a tough game physically for our girls. We had a 15-hour turnaround against two very competitive teams,” Newton head coach Abby Lamont said.

Both were physical opponents. Newton scored two second-half goals to beat Grinnell, 3-1, and improve to 2-1 in LHC play.

“Grinnell was very physical with quite a few calls against them. Our girls did a great job staying focused on the game and possessed the ball on the offensive third very well,” Lamont said. “Our passing sequences were outstanding, and our third goal by Taylor Moon was a perfect example of that.”

Moon scored on a pass from Hannah Rhoads to give Newton its 3-1 margin in the second half.

Ryanne Rausch, who is tied for sixth in Class 2A scoring, found the net once in the first half to help forge a 1-1 halftime tie and broke the tie with a goal in the second half. Moon was credited with an assist.

Lamont said the Cardinal defense stepped up and communicated well against Grinnell’s very skilled and well-versed offense. The Tigers put a lot of shots on goal with Newton goalkeeper Ashley Freese making 16 saves.

Newton put 24 shots on goal and had six corner kick opportunities against Grinnell.

“All around it was a great game by the entire team,” Lamont said.

Against North Polk, bodies were flying all over the field as the Cardinals and Comets played tough physically the entire game.

The Cardinals played the Comets to a scoreless tie through 25 minutes of the first 40-minute half Friday at H.A. Lynn Stadium. The Comets broke the tie on a goal at the 15:17 mark by Joy Smith.

The Comets sent a ball into the Newton end of the field with less than a minute remaining in the first half. Newton’s Courtney Jacobsen and North Polk’s Hannah Becker chased after the ball while Freese, Newton’s goalkeeper, came out to the ball.

A three-way collision happened with the two Newton players going to the ground and Becker staying on her feet. Freese reached for the ball with her hands, but it was just out of reach. Becker kicked the ball into the open net, putting the Comets up 2-0 with 36.9 seconds before halftime.

“We had trouble with our passing and keeping the ball on the ground against North Polk,” Lamont said. “We tend to play very well and are able to capitalize on our strengths when we play to feet. Friday night we didn’t do that. We got out of position twice and North Polk took advantage of it.”

In the opening minute of the second half, Smith found the net again for North Polk to give her team a 3-0 lead. Two minutes later the physical style play landed the Comets in trouble and Newton’s Rausch made them pay.

Rausch was tackled inside the scoring box resulting in a penalty kick opportunity. Rausch buried the kick in the net past Comet goalkeeper Sawyer Elwell. Newton trailed 3-1 at the 37:22 mark.

Newton kept the offensive pressure up through the second half. Off a corner kick by Rausch, a Newton shot on goal glanced off the hands of Elwell. The Cardinals’ Kari Adams netted a follow shot with 15:28 remaining in the game to make it 3-2.

The Cardinals missed several other scoring opportunities down the stretch. At the end, the Comets were able to hold off the Cardinals for their 10th win of the season against one loss.

Newton delivered 21 shots on goal and had two corner kicks. Freese made six saves, and after the two games, she has 49 saves on the season and only has allowed seven goals.

Newton is 8-2 overall. Both losses are one-goal decisions two ranked teams. The Cardinals are one of four teams in the Little Hawkeye Conference ranked in Class 2A soccer.

Newton plays 2A top-ranked Pella (8-2) Tuesday at Pella. There’s a junior varsity game at 5:30 p.m. followed by the varsity game at 7 p.m.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535 or jsheets@newtondailynews.com