Lawson’s big night leads Newton boys past Oskaloosa

OSKALOOSA — The Class 3A No. 7 Newton boys’ soccer team is on a bit of a roll. But head coach Zach Jensen still doesn’t believe his team has put together a full match yet.

That could spell trouble for anyone on the Cardinals’ schedule.

A huge night from Christian Lawson led Newton to its latest Little Hawkeye Conference win. This time, the Cardinals defeated the Indians 4-0 and Lawson played a part in all four goals.

“The first 20 minutes were poor to be honest,” Jensen said. “I thought we played well for about 10 minutes in the first half and then played some of our better soccer of the year in the second half. I would like to see us trend in that direction moving forward.”

Lawson took over the team lead in goals and points after scoring twice and dishing out a pair of assists.

The Cardinals (7-2 overall, 3-0 in the conference) led 2-0 at halftime and Lawson put in both goals. He opened the scoring with an unassisted goal in the 16th minute. With 17 minutes left in the first half, he scored again off an assist by Conner McPartlin.

“He was involved in all four goals,” Jensen said. “He was huge tonight. He was a big playmaker.”

Jesus Murillo and Caleb Mattes scored the second-half goals for the Cardinals. Both tallies were assisted by Lawson.

Lawson now has a team-best seven goals and 22 points this spring. His eight assists also rank second on the squad and tied for third in Class 3A.

Murillo scored his goal in the 53rd minute. Mattes’ goal came in the 71st minute. It was his sixth goal of the season, which ranks second on the team and tied for 16th in 3A.

The Cardinals improved to 11-1 against Oskaloosa (2-5, 1-2) since 2011.

Newton registered its third straight shutout and fifth consecutive win despite making a change to its defensive personnel.

Hunter Teague made eight saves in his 80 minutes as Newton’s goalie. The Cardinals registered 29 shots and 18 shots on goal.

The Indians put eight of their 10 shots on goal and used three goalies in the loss.