Eagles edge Cardinals

For the first 20 minutes of Thursday’s Little Hawkeye Conference soccer match pitting Class 2A 15th-ranked Newton High’s Cardinal girls against Class 1A 14th-rank Pella Christian’s girls, Newton had the upper hand.

Then the Eagles took over. The game swung on two mistakes by the goalkeepers — the Eagles took advantage and the Cardinals did not.

Pella Christian left Newton’s H.A. Lynn Stadium with a 1-0 win over the Cardinals, snapping a three-game win streak for Newton. Pella Christian scored with 16:45 left in the first half.

Newton senior goalkeeper Ashlee Freese came out too far, couldn’t get to the ball and wasn’t able to scramble back to thwart the Eagle attack. Pella Christian’s Laura DeZwarte found the net.

The Cardinals trailed 1-0 at halftime, but came out of the break looking for the equalizer. Pella Christian’s junior goalkeeper Bekah Horstman got caught in a play with Newton senior Morgan Allen. Horstman went down.

Newton had two or three shots at the goal in a mad scramble in front of the net. The Eagles were able clear the ball out. The Eagles controlled possession of the ball most the second half.

The Cardinals dropped to 10-4 overall and 3-3 in Little Hawkeye Conference play. Newton plays at 7 p.m. Friday at Boone in non-conference action.

Before the game began, Newton High principal Bill Peters and NHS Athletic Director Scott Garvis presented senior Ryanne Rausch with the game ball from Tuesday night and a plaque commemorating her 100 career goals.

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