Cardinal boys fall to top-ranked DCG

GRIMES — Class 3A No. 1 Dallas Center-Grimes scored on a header early and never looked back during a 3-0 home victory over the Newton boys’ soccer team on Tuesday.

The Mustangs scored twice in the second half during the Little Hawkeye Conference matchup.

Newton was shut out for the first time this season, and the Cardinals have dropped three out of their last four matches.

“I thought we played pretty well,” Newton head boys soccer coach Zach Jensen said. “We were still missing the bully in the first half. It got better in the second half, but we can still be better.”

Jensen said the Cardinals had plenty of scoring opportunities in the final 10-15 minutes of the first half but failed to convert.

“They deserved to win, but I thought we denied them a lot, too,” Jensen said. “We defended a lot.”

Newton (9-6 overall, 4-3 in the LHC) took 13 shots and had six shots on goal. Hunter Teague made 13 saves in 75 minutes in goal for the Cardinals. Christian Lawson stopped one shot in the final 5 minutes.

Ben Jackson had one goal and one assist for DCG, which improved to 11-3 overall and 6-0 in the conference. The Mustangs wrapped up the conference championship with the victory.

Jackson scored his 14th goal of the spring.

“Caleb Mattes had the one job of marking (Jackson), and I thought he did a great job,” Jensen said.

Notes: Newton did not have the services of team captain Cody Klein. He missed the game due to an injury. … The Cardinals fell to 1-9 against DCG since 2014. The win came last season in the substate championship game.