Newton boys soccer falls to rival Grinnell

GRINNELL — Newton’s boys soccer team scored first but failed to finish against Little Hawkeye Conference rival Grinnell on Tuesday.

The match was scoreless at halftime and Newton scored first in the second half, but the Tigers battled from behind to win 2-1 in the conference opener for both teams.

“We didn’t get off the bus,” Newton coach Zach Jensen said. “The past three games we played well, but we didn’t play like our last three games tonight.”

Parker Aalbers scored the Cardinals’ only goal in the 47th minute. Jack Suttek, who was recently promoted to a team captain, delivered the assist.

It was Aalbers’ second goal of the season, which ties him for the team lead with Suttek and two other players. His five points also is tied for the team lead with Suttek.

The Cardinals (2-2 overall, 0-1 in the conference) took 15 shots, nine of which were on goal. They also had four corner kicks and seven free kicks.

Caleb Lawson finished with four saves in the loss.

“This should have been a win. We should be 4-0 right now, not 2-2,” Jensen said. “I am very frustrated and very disappointed. We just have to handle adversity, get back to work and hopefully get back into the win column.”

Newton faced a bit of adversity on Tuesday when it took on Grinnell (1-0, 1-0) without two starters. Darara Dawassa and Derek Lanser both missed the match with injuries and Jensen is not sure when either will be back in the lineup.

“We won’t make excuses,” Jensen said. “It hurts not having those two out there, but we should have handled this team.”