Elizabeth Proctor couldn’t have picked a better time to score her first goal of the season.
The freshman defender found the net in the 21st minute for the game’s only goal and the eighth-ranked Ankeny girls’ soccer team posted a 1-0 victory over No. 10 Ames in a Class 3A regional semifinal on Wednesday at Ankeny. It was the sixth straight win for the Hawkettes (11-4), who had defeated Ames in a shootout on May 14.
“It was always going to be that way,” Ankeny coach Simon Brown said of the one-goal game. “We probably had the better chances, but we just couldn’t hit the target. It was a super close game.”
Proctor got the ball along the right sideline midway through the first half following a pass from Rachael Christmann. She then booted the ball toward the goal in an effort to set up one of her teammates.
“I was trying to cross it,” Proctor said. “I tried to cross it, and it just happened to curl into the goal.”
Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good.
There was nothing lucky, however, about Ankeny’s defensive effort. The Hawkettes shut down Ames’ offensive attack, limiting the Little Cyclones to only a few chances.
Ankeny goalkeeper Jasmine Moser had just two saves, including one with about 10 minutes left in the game.
“We planned on shutting them down,” Proctor said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game because the last time we went to two overtimes and PKs. We knew it was going to be tough, but we knew how to play them.”
The shutout was the Hawkettes’ seventh of the season and their fourth in a row.
“We defended really well,” Brown said. “Ames has three or four Division I girls on their team, but we really shut them down.”
Proctor is part of a speedy back line that also includes Eden Gibson and Jenna Pitz. All three girls also ran on the track team this spring.
“It helps to have those track kids in the back,” Brown said. “If anything goes wrong, they can cover.”
Ames finished the season at 11-6.
The Hawkettes will now host No. 14 Johnston in the regional final on Friday at 6 p.m. The Dragons (10-6) advanced with a 9-0 win over Des Moines North on Wednesday.
Johnston won at Ankeny, 2-1, in a shootout on May 7.
“I’m not ready to be done,” Brown said. “I just want these girls to get the experience of going to state.”
The Dragons lost to Ames in a shootout on May 21.
“We lost to (Johnston) in PKs, but Ames beat them in PKs,” Proctor said. “So we think if Ames can beat them we can, too.”