Cardinals earn draw against visiting Carlisle

Addy Cibula only made four saves during a non-conference contest against Carlisle on Friday.

But it was her diving save with 5:47 to play in the match that preserved a tie, and the Newton girls soccer team earned a draw against the Wildcats on Senior Night at H.A. Lynn Stadium.

“She’s not afraid of the ball, and she’s not afraid to dive after it,” Newton head girls soccer coach Susan Altemeier said. “She did well saving that ball. She saved us a few times and had some great saves last night, too. We’re really proud and excited to have her and hopefully she continues to improve as she gets more experience.”

Cibula is back out for soccer for the first time in several years, but she’s currently seventh in Class 2A with 115 saves.

Friday’s contest was scoreless at halftime, but Sophia Coady scored her team-leading 15th goal of the season in the 44th minute to give the Cardinals an advantage.

Riley Plowman delivered her second assist this spring, but Riley Gach’s goal with 18 minutes to play tied the match for Carlisle. It stayed even the rest of the way.

“We played last night. Two games in a row is always tough, but we pushed through,” Altemeier said. “I’m proud of them. We would have liked to have gotten the win, but a tie is not a loss.

“(Sophia’s) goal gave us a spark. It felt like we were doing everything right, but it just wasn’t happening until that point. It was a nice little boost. But sometimes we can relax a little and that allowed them to score on us.”

The Cardinals (7-5-2) put seven of their 14 shots on goal. Newton is 5-1-2 since starting the season 2-4.

Carlisle (5-2-3) dropped out of the 2A rankings on Thursday. The Wildcats were limited to one shot on goal in the first half. They put three of their seven second-half shots on frame.

“They’re a talented team. Their passes were on point,” Altemeier said. “It was a pretty aggressive game. We stayed strong, played the ball and stayed upright.”

Notes: Plowman, Alex Garvis, Delaney Woollums, Abby Chance and Zoey Henry all were recognized for Senior Night before the match. … Garvis and Gach both received yellow cards in the second half. Garvis was playing in her third match since missing four due to an injury.

Newton 4, Des Moines East 0

DES MOINES — Coady’s hat trick guided the Cardinals to 4-0 win over Des Moines East on Thursday.

The Cardinals led the non-conference contest 1-0 at halftime but scored three times in the final 40 minutes.

Coady added an assist to her night and now has 15 goals and 10 assists this spring. The 15 goals rank tied for ninth in 2A and her 10 assists are tied for fifth.

Aliviah Ross added her 12th goal of the season and Gabbie Humphrey and Kaylee Guthrie delivered assists. It was the first career varsity assist for Humphrey.

The Cardinals put seven of their 10 shots on goal. Cibula made 13 saves as Newton posted its fifth shutout of the season.

East (3-8) suffered its third straight loss to Newton, too.