Newton boys fall to rival Pella on Senior Night

In a tale of two halves, the Newton boys soccer team lost 2-0 to rival Pella on Tuesday night.

The Cardinals couldn’t take advantage of several chances in the first half before being shut out for a seventh time this season in the Little Hawkeye Conference matchup.

“It was the tail of two halves,” Newton head boys soccer coach Zach Jensen said. “I felt like we were locked in, focused and ready to play a rivalry game in the first half. We won a lot of 50-50 balls, were challenging for everything and got a lot of opportunities.

“We praised them in the locker room at halftime about how we’ve been wanting them to play like this all year. After praising them, we started to not win 50-50 balls, we weren’t challenging them and they outworked us.”

Newton had a 10-8 advantage in shots and a 7-2 surplus in shots on goal in the first half on Senior Night at H.A. Lynn Stadium.

The Cardinals also took three more corner kicks, but neither team was able to crack the scoreboard.

Things flipped in the second half, and the Dutch became the more aggressive team. They had a 15-5 advantage in shots, peppered Newton goalie Javin Doland with eight shots on goal and posted a 4-3 surplus in corners.

Pella broke through in the 51st minute when Tyson Barnes scored on a throw-in by Caleb Kalkwarf.

The duo switched roles later in the half as Kalkwarf scored in the 77th minute on a Barnes assist.

“You can only withstand so many long throw-ins before they get one,” Jensen said. “That’s a numbers game. If they’ve got 16-20 throws, they’ll hit on one of those. Too many times we were unable to keep the ball inbounds.”

It was Barnes’ team-best 10th goal of the season and he also has a team-most four assists.

Javin Doland made 12 saves in the loss. His two incredible saves in one-on-one scenarios in the 19th and 43rd minute kept the match scoreless.

Pella (6-6-4, 2-2-2 in the conference) had another chance midway through the first half, but the shot attempt bounced off the crossbar.

Doland has 185 saves this spring, which ranks fifth in the state and second in Class 3A. His 82.2 save percentage leads 3A.

“He keeps us in games and is a great shot stopper,” Jensen said. “That’s the first thing a keeper needs to be able to do. I think he’s an all-conference goalie. He’s been incredible for us this year and some of those saves he makes are just ‘wow,’ How do you do that?”

Doland was one of five seniors recognized before the match on Senior Night. That group also included Landon Bozarth, Austin Kennedy, Christian Buchli and Talon Currie.

Bozarth, who has started every match in his prep career, and Kennedy are the team captains.

“The kid’s done everything. He’s started every soccer game in his career,” Jensen said about Bozarth. “There’s probably a short list at Newton who’s done that. He’s been through the highs and lows of the program. We appreciate what he’s done and what he’s given us. The other guys have led well for us, and we appreciate that they stuck it out for all four years.”

Newton (5-9-2, 1-5) has allowed three goals in its past four matches but is 2-2 in those contests.

The Cardinals and Dutch have split their last six meetings. Two of Pella’s three wins were 2-0 victories.

Notes: The Iowa High School Athletic Association released postseason brackets for all four classes on Tuesday. Fourth-seeded Newton hosts fifth-seeded Winterset (3-11-1) at 7 p.m. on Monday in Newton. … Pella head coach Will Foskett was out with an illness. Assistant coaches Teddy Apostolopoulos and Grant Fletcher took over in Foskett’s absence. Both Apostolopoulos and Fletcher are on the Central College men’s soccer team, which Jensen is an assistant coach for. “It’s not too big of a big deal. It’s just another game for me,” Jensen said. “I know most of the coaches we play against. The soccer community is so close.”