Newton faces defending 2A champ Lewis Central in state soccer opener

To be the best, teams have to play and beat the best.

Newton High’s soccer girls don’t shy away from the challenges of playing quality opponents. The Cardinals knocked off regular-season No. 1 Pella, 2-1, in Monday’s Class 2A Region 5 championship game.

Now, it’s on to the 2017 Iowa Class 2A Girls’ State Soccer Tournament in a field of ranked opponents. Their first challenge is to take on defending Class 2A champion Lewis Central of Council Bluffs. Lewis Central beat Pella, 5-0, in the 2016 state title game.

“Most definitely, these girls are ready for the challenge. We’ve had challenges all season,” Newton head coach Abby Lamont said. “We’ve been under estimated as a team, which is fine. We like being in the role of the darkhorse, running under the radar.”

Newton (13-4) is the No. 8 seed in the tournament. The Cardinals finished the regular season ranked No. 15.

The Cardinals play at 2:30 p.m. Thursday against top-seeded and second-ranked Lewis Central (16-3). The state tournament is at Cownie Soccer Park in Des Moines. Newton plays its opener on Field 9.

There are two Little Hawkeye Conference teams in the 2A field — Newton and Norwalk. Norwalk (15-4) is the No. 7 seed and was ranked ninth.

Norwalk plays No. 2 seeded North Scott (11-6), which was ranked third, at 3 p.m. on Field 6. In the half of the bracket, third-seeded and fourth-ranked Union (17-2) plays No. 6 seeded and eighth-ranked Waverly-Shell Rock (14-4) at 3:15 p.m. on Field 7.

Adel-DeSoto-Minburn is the No. 4 seeded team at 17-2. Fifth-seeded Cedar Rapids Xavier (12-4) plays ADM at 2:45 p.m. on Field 8. Those two teams were ranked sixth and fifth, respectively.

The winner of ADM and Xavier plays the winner of the Newton and Lewis Central game in a 2:30 p.m. semifinal game on Friday. The semifinal is on Field 9.

The other semifinal is at 2:45 p.m. on Friday on Field No. 6. The Class 2A championship match is at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday on Field 9.

There will be state send-off for the Newton girls on Thursday morning. The team bus leaves from the H.A. Lynn Stadium locker room parking lot at 11 a.m. Fans should line the streets along the route. See the route map on page 8B.

“We’ve used the mantra of finish what we started all season. We want to finish what we started last year by going further in state tournament,” Lamont said.

Pella, which was the top seed in the 2016 state tournament, beat Newton, 4-1, in the opening round a year ago.

“To be going back to the state by beating Pella is a great feeling,” Newton senior Taylor Shipley said after Monday’s regional win. “It doesn’t matter who we play first in the state tournament, we’ll take it one game at a time and play our game. We’ve worked hard all season for this opportunity.”

Newton joins four more of the teams in the 2A field on return trips to the state tournament. Lewis Central, ADM, North Scott and Waverly-Shell Rock were in the 2016 tournament. Newton has played two of teams at state during regular season action.

The Cardinals lost 3-1 to fellow Little Hawkeye Conference member Norwalk. They defeated ADM 1-0 in two overtimes at home.

“On Monday, we went to Pella and out worked Pella for every ball, free kick and 50-50 ball and won,” Lamont said. “That is the plan for the state tournament also. Why not, take out teams one by one to reach our goal of a state championship?”

Lamont said the Cardinals learned last year on their first-ever trip to a state tournament, a team has to be ready to play from the opening kickoff.

“We have to play our best game. There are eight talented teams at state. Our girls know they deserve to be at state. They are excited about playing on Thursday,” Lamont said.

Newton will face Class 2A’s No. 3 goal scorer in senior Kelsey McSorely, who has 33 goals. Lewis Central faces Class 2A’s No. 5 goal soccer and Newton’s all-time career scorer in senior Ryanne Rausch, who had 28 goals.

Among players in the state tournament, McSorley is second and Rausch is third in scoring. Senior Courtney Powell of Union has 71 goals.

Two of top goalkeepers will be in goal on Thursday. Newton senior Ashlee Freese leads the goalies at state with 146 saves, which is seventh overall in Class 2A. Sophomore Madison Parks had 99 saves for Lewis Central.

There is a $5 parking fee at Cownie Soccer Park. Admission to state games is $10.

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