Cardinal boys win LHC showdown with Warriors

NORWALK — Not since 2012 has a Newton High boys’ soccer team recorded a victory against the Norwalk Warriors. That changed on Tuesday when the Class 2A 11th-ranked Cardinals played the 2A 14th-ranked Warriors in Little Hawkeye Conference play.

The two teams played a scoreless first half. Newton senior Gavin Aalbers found senior Matthew Yeager on a pass and Yeager planted the ball in the back of net. The Cardinals held on for a 1-0 win.

“It was a complete change from how we played Monday against Marshalltown. The guys controlled the game and we out-possessed Norwalk,” Newton head coach Zach Jensen said. “I’m happy for our seniors to get this win after losing throughout to Norwalk since 2012. It’s a special win for our kids.”

Newton senior goalkeeper Benny Cheng made five saves. Jensen said Cheng had some great saves in the game. Norwalk was pushing hard in the final five minutes of the contest, down by one goal.

“Benny and our back line played very well. They were able to keep clearing the ball out away from the goal,” Jensen said.

Newton had six shots on goal and had five corner kicks. The Cardinals had 11 free kicks.

The Cardinals improved to 4-2 in Little Hawkeye Conference play while the Warriors dropped to 3-3. Newton handed Norwalk its fourth straight loss as the Warriors are 4-8 overall.

Newton’s junior varsity tied Norwalk, 1-1, on a goal by Anthony Bestell.

Newton (10-5) is idle until May 17 when it hosts Pella Christian in the final LHC contest for Senior Night.

Newton and Norwalk are in the 2A Substate No. 7 group with Bondurant-Farrar, Collins-Maxwell, Grinnell and Prairie City-Monroe. Substate seedings and pairings are expected to be released by the Iowa High School Athletic Association on Thursday.

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