Newton boys soccer falls to top-ranked DCG

GRIMES — The Newton boys soccer team is in a bit of a transition period after losing all but one starter to graduation last season.

And this year’s schedule has not helped with the transition. But head coach Zach Jensen hopes it allows his squad to be playing at its best when the postseason hits.

The Cardinals faced the No. 1 ranked team in Class 3A on Tuesday and fell to 6-0 to Dallas Center-Grimes during Little Hawkeye Conference play.

“We competed and we battled,” Jensen said. “We had a couple of opportunities we didn’t take advantage of. But we also were happy with our bench. Guys who hadn’t given us what we wanted to this point showed well tonight.”

The Mustangs, who improved to 8-2-2 overall, led 2-0 at halftime before scoring four goals during a 13-minute stretch in the second half. It was 1-0 through 31 minutes, too.

Javin Doland made 18 saves for the Cardinals. He now ranks fifth in the state and second in 3A with 154 saves this spring.

Doland’s 80.6 save percentage also leads the state.

“He’s producing some great saves for us,” Jensen said. “It’s unfortunate they scored six goals against him. The goals we’re allowing are communication mistakes. We’re trying to get that sorted out.”

Newton (3-7-2, 0-4 in the LHC) took five shots in the loss. The Cardinals, who dropped their third straight, have been shut out five times this season.

Dallas Center-Grimes (3-0-1 in the LHC) is 12-1 against Newton since 2014.

The seven teams the Cardinals have lost to this spring are currently a combined 43-20-14. The remaining five teams on their schedule are a combined 17-22-10.

“We have five games left in our regular season,” Jensen said. “And they are games we can get some good results in. They are very doable games that can lead us positively into the postseason.”

Knoxville 3, Newton 1

KNOXVILLE — Aiden Robson scored his team-best fourth goal and Kent Montgomery dished out his first career assist, but the Cardinals fell 3-1 to Knoxville during a non-conference road match on Monday.

All four goals came in the first half. Newton trimmed its deficit to 2-1 in the 36th minute, but the Panthers countered with their final goal 3 minutes later.

“We’re young, and it showed tonight,” Jensen said. “They have the experience, but we didn’t take advantage of our opportunities.”

Jensen said Knoxville scores a lot on through balls and free kicks. The Cardinals slowed down the through balls, but two of the Panthers’ three goals came off free kicks.

Max Magana, Joseph Finnegan and Cael Cook scored Knoxville’s goals and Ezra Schmidt delivered his team-best fifth and sixth assists. The Panthers scored in the 15th, 30th and 39th minutes.

“We know they score a lot off free kicks,” Jensen said. “That was the scout. You have one job. To stick with your man on set pieces.”

The Cardinals defended against the wind in the first half but did not score with the wind in the second half.

Knoxville had a 26-20 advantage in shots and an 11-8 surplus in shots on goal. Newton’s goal in the 36th minute came off a free kick, too.

Doland made eight saves for the Cardinals, while Riley Sailors had seven for the Panthers, who improved to 6-1-3.

“We had a ton of shots, a ton of corners and a ton of free kicks,” Jensen said. “We just couldn’t capitalize on them.”

Newton is 11-4 against Knoxville since 2011. It was the Panthers’ first win over the Cardinals since 2021. The 3-1 margin also was their largest since 2011.