Fifteenth-ranked Cardinals upend No. 4 ADM Tigers in Class 2A soccer clash

Foot to head to net — golden goal.

Taylor Shipley went to the corner for the corner kick. Her kick was placed just right for teammate Ryanne Rausch to leap up and head the ball. Rausch’s header sailed past the crowd in the near corner of the goal and the ball settled in the net on the far corner.

Game over. Newton High’s Cardinals upended visiting Class 2A fourth-ranked Adel-DeSoto-Minburn 1-0 on Friday.

It took 92-plus minutes to settle the 2A clash but the Cardinals handed the Tigers (10-1) their first loss of the season. It came on the day the Cardinals dropped from No. 10 to No. 15 in the 2A rankings released earlier in the afternoon.

“I knew I wanted to put it right on top of the box and my buddy Ry was going to be there to put a head on the ball,” Shipley said. “She even pointed for me to take the kick. I said here we go this one’s in.”

The Cardinal senior duo executed the play to perfection.

“Taylor has that perfect corner kick so I just put my body there and luckily I got my head on it to put the ball in the back of the net,” Rausch said. “After the first overtime, I told the team we’re scoring in the first couple of minutes right here.”

True to her word, Rausch scored her 11th goal of the season to give Newton the win with 7:31 left in the second overtime period. The two teams played in a goalie dual as Newton senior Ashlee Freese and ADM freshman Delaney Bertman were keeping each team’s offense at bay.

“Ashlee came up with some big saves and our defense played lights out,” Newton head coach Abby Lamont said. “The goal tonight couldn’t have been placed more perfectly off Taylor’s foot to Ryanne’s head. We practice for opportunities like this and tonight was our night.”

Freese recorded her fifth shutout of the season. She had seven saves. Bertman allowed only her third goal of the season as the Tigers had outscored opponents 50-2 in 10 games. Newton put 11 shots on goal in the game.

“This win means the world. It’s a big statement win for us. They were undefeated coming in here and to beat an undefeated team after a three-game skid feels great,” Shipley said.

Newton and ADM met a year ago in Adel with the Tigers undefeated also. ADM won the 2016 game, 3-1. Both teams reached the Class 2A state tournament in 2016, losing in the first round.

“It gives us a lot of confidence going into the rest of the season. We have several more games left in our regular season. We also know who is in our regional. We’re looking to get another shot at Pella in the regional,” Rausch said. “The past couple of weeks have been pretty rough.”

Newton opened the season with a seven-game winning streak then has lost three straight to ranked teams — Pella (2A), North Polk (1A), Norwalk (2A). The Cardinals are 8-3 heading into a four-game week.

Lamont said she and assistant coach Mallory Sturtz were proud of the way the Cardinals played. She said the past week they have worked on their positioning, playing to space and their first touches.

“They executed everything we asked of them and more,” Lamont said. “We adjusted our offensive attack moving Anna Forsyth up in to our midfield and it’s proven to help our transition.”

Forsyth went down late in game when she had a head-to-head collision with an ADM player. The junior suffered a concussion and will be out of the lineup for a week, Lamont confirmed.

“We’re thankful for games like this. They are great learning opportunities to see the girls perform in high-pressure situations and step up as a whole,” Lamont said.

Newton plays three of four games this week at home starting at 5:30 p.m. Monday against Des Moines North. Perry comes to H.A. Lynn Stadium for a 7 p.m. game Tuesday.

The Cardinals host Pella Christian in a 7 p.m. Little Hawkeye Conference game on Thursday. They travel to play a 7 p.m. non-conference game Friday at Boone.

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