The Ankeny Centennial girls’ soccer team closed out the regular season on Monday with a 3-0 victory in a non-conference game at Southeast Polk.
The fifth-ranked Jaguars improved to 15-2. They posted their 12th shutout of the year.
“It was a really good team win,” said Centennial coach Chris Allen. “Our pass accuracy has really started to improve which has been a goal for us, and we did a nice job of mixing it up playing tight and expansive.”
Centennial held a 1-0 lead at halftime, then added two more goals in the second half. Southeast Polk’s record dropped to 4-10.
Meghan White scored a goal and had two assists for the Jaguars.
“Southeast Polk had some really strong players on defense, including their keeper, but our girls were methodical and persistent as we pushed for the first goal late in the first half (by Elizabeth Overberg),” Allen said.
Centennial increased its lead to 2-0 when White scored off an assist by Grace Meador.
“They really executed on a halftime tactical adjustment,” Allen said.
White later set up teammate Alanna Pennington for the Jaguars’ final goal.
“It was a Herculean effort by Meg,” Allen said. “She actually yelled her way in and found Pennington with a back post cross.”
Centennial goalkeeper Aly Jumper played most of the game before backups Kate Bergan and Teagan Hall closed out the win. The Jaguars had no saves in the game.
“The defense was stout with Aly leading the charge,” Allen said. “Bailey Lawrence stepped up in the midfield to give Ella Becker another few nights of recovery and did excellent in closing down and frustrating their attacking mids.
“It was an excellent finish to the regular season,” he added.