Cardinal boys win fourth straight, down Indianola

Newton’s boys soccer team started its Little Hawkeye Conference match against Indianola slower than head coach Zach Jensen would have liked.

But a strong second half and another solid defensive effort propelled the Cardinals to a 3-1 home win over the Indians at H.A. Lynn Stadium on Friday night.

“We had started our last few games fast so it was disappointing we didn’t start fast in this one,” Jensen said. “We had opportunities in the first half but just didn’t take advantage of them.”

Newton (7-3 overall, 3-1 in conference play) led 1-0 at halftime but its goal came with 44 seconds on the clock. Christian Lawson scored his seventh goal of the season off an assist by Nate Lampe.

Seven minutes into the second half, Newton made it 2-0 with a goal by Derek Beiner. A penalty kick goal from Hunter Kennedy with 17 minutes to play pushed the margin to 3-0.

It was Beiner’s eighth goal of the season and it was assisted by Bryar Annee. Beiner now has a team-best 22 points.

“We didn’t want to give them hope in the second half so getting a goal quickly was important,” Jensen said. “I was proud of how we played in the second half.”

Indianola (2-9, 1-3) scored its only goal with 1 minute to play in the match.

The Cardinals are 4-0 since “the locker room talk,” while Indianola dropped its fourth straight. In the four straight wins, Newton has outscored its opponents 19-5.

“I was happy we got all of our varsity kids in the game,” Jensen said. “Their keeper made some great saves. Give credit to him. He kept them in the game.”

Newton registered 32 shots and 18 shots on goal. Cardinal keeper Caleb Lawson made eight saves for the Cardinals in his 80 minutes.