Newton girls fall to Indianola on Senior Night

The Indianola girls soccer team peppered Cardinal goalie Natalee Freese with shot after shot in the first half of their Little Hawkeye Conference matchup on Tuesday.

Most of those attempts were taken from beyond 15 yards, but the one that wasn’t was the difference in the match.

Rylee Burns’ goal off a deflection inside the box in the 36th minute was all the Indians needed during a 1-0 road win at H.A. Lynn Stadium.

“We weren’t hustling enough. You can’t do well when you don’t hustle,” Newton head girls soccer coach Susan Altemeier said. “We are struggling to stay in our formation. We consistently work on it, and we’ll continue to work on it.”

The victory spoiled Newton’s Senior Night as five players were recognized before the contest. That group included Freese, Estella Allen, Cailyn Doland, Jadin Brooks and Ryleigh Smith.

Indianola (5-7, 3-1 in the LHC) had a 29-4 advantage in shots and a 20-2 surplus in shots on goal.

But the Indians’ biggest advantages were in the first half when they took 21 shots and put 12 of them on goal.

“We picked up the pace in the second half,” Altemeier said. “I had the girls talk to each other at halftime about what they wanted to do. Our only adjustment was going from a triangle formation to three across.”

Indianola’s precise passing set up plenty of scoring opportunities, but Newton (8-6, 1-4) kept most of its visitor’s attempts outside the box.

Burns’ goal late in the first half came off a deflection and from the back side of the net after a first attempt. It was Burns’ team-leading ninth goal of the spring.

“One of our defenders said she didn’t clear it well enough. They played tough though,” Altemeier said. “I did see some connecting passes, which is good, and they are continuing to work on communication because that’s key. The more they talk the better they play.”

Indianola improved to 3-1 against Newton in their last four matches.

The Indians came into the night 0-5 when scoring two or fewer goals in a game.

Freese unofficially made 19 saves in the loss and now has 114 this spring, which moves her into the top 10 of Class 2A.

“I met with the girls one-on-one to see what it is we need to do differently as coaches, but the girls said they just need to collect themselves and get it together,” Altemeier said. “We have a few games left and hopefully we can improve how we are playing before the playoffs.”

Notes: Newton was shut out for the fourth time this season and it was the 12th time the Cardinals were held to two goals or less. … Newton’s Taytem Seitz and Indianola’s Suzi Fredricks had to be separated midway through the second half after both players fell to the turf competing for possession. Neither player was given a yellow card.

Newton 2, Des Moines East 1

Cailyn Doland and Aliviah Ross scored one goal each and that was enough for Newton to down Des Moines East on April 25.

The Cardinals broke a 1-all tie with a goal in the second half during a 2-1 non-conference victory at H.A. Lynn Stadium.

Newton took 16 shots and placed 14 on goal. The goal by Ross was her ninth of the season and Doland scored her sixth of the spring.

Des Moines East (1-9) was limited to just one shot in the loss.

Carlisle 3, Newton 2

CARLISLE — Alayna Williams registered two goals and Carlisle held off the Cardinals 3-2 at home on April 26.

Newton lost the non-conference match after falling behind 2-0 at halftime.

Payton Carkhuff and Abby Chance scored the goals for Newton and Freese made 10 saves. The Cardinals tallied 16 shots.

It was the fifth goal of the season for Carkhuff and the first varsity goal of Chance’s career.