For much of the 2021 season, the Ankeny girls’ soccer team flew under the radar.
That won’t be the case this year.
The Hawkettes return eight starters from a team that posted a 14-5 record and advanced to the Class 3A championship game before dropping a 1-0 decision to Valley. It was Ankeny’s third consecutive appearance in the title game.
“We have a lot of leadership and resilience,” said Ankeny coach Simon Brown. “Eden (Gibson), Kennedy (Macke) and Brooke (Harrington) have been here from the start with this coaching staff in 2019. They are very selfless and provide lots of intangibles that only come with being here all four years. Their resilience goes unspoken, losing so many games last year, in the manner they lost, dropping to No. 10 (in the rankings), then winning the toughest substate, and making it to the final. Last year’s young team took a lot of knocks, and we’ll hopefully use that resilience going into the 2022 season.”
Gibson is back along with fellow defenders Maddie Foels, Jenna Pitz and Liz Proctor. Midfielders Emma Gott and Macke have also returned along with goalkeeper Jasmine Moser and forward Teja Pritchard.
Harrington, a forward, also started many games.
“Brooke battled a couple injuries last year,” Brown said. “We’re glad she’s back to full health.”
Gibson and Macke were both named to the Class 3A all-tournament team after helping Ankeny to the runner-up finish. They were also unanimous picks to the CIML Iowa Conference first team.
Gibson scored four goals and had three assists while leading one of the state’s top defensive units. She was a Class 3A all-state first-team selection by the Iowa Girls’ Coaches Association.
Macke contributed five goals and 10 assists. She was a second-team all-state pick.
Both Gibson and Macke will play next year for Minnesota State-Mankato.
Pritchard is the team’s top returning scorer. She had 12 goals and seven assists as a sophomore, when she earned all-conference first-team honors.
Gott scored five goals and had one assist. Harrington added three goals and two assists.
Harrington received all-conference honorable mention along with Foels and Proctor. Foels has committed to play for Loras College.
Proctor had one goal and two assists, while Pitz scored two goals and had one assist. Pitz was a second-team all-conference pick.
Moser racked up 65 saves while allowing just 14 goals. She recorded a shutout in Ankeny’s 1-0 win over Pleasant Valley in the Class 3A quarterfinals.
The Hawkettes then posted a 2-1 victory over Waukee in the semifinals to again reach the title game. Ankeny also placed second in Class 3A in 2018 before Brown took over the program in 2019 and guided the team to a state title.
The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s not just an Ankeny girls’ soccer expectation (to advance to the final), but an Ankeny High School one,” Brown said. “You look in our gym, and the school only hangs state championship banners. It may sound bad, but I honestly don’t even know where the runner-up trophy is from last year. It wasn’t until the final was over, we all realized what we could have achieved, we all could have given more. We have to earn the right to have this expectation, and the pressure is on us. Because we’re Ankeny, we get every opponent’s best–which we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The Hawkettes will open their season on April 1-2 by co-hosting the Crosstown Invitational with Ankeny Centennial. They will host Waukee on April 1 and Council Bluffs Lincoln on April 2.
“Like everyone else, the usual open gyms have been going on since December,” Brown said. “The basketball girls are coming back, and the new girls are coming out, and that usually means the season is around the corner.”
Brown said it’s his responsibility to get the most out of his talented squad.
“Any weakness the girls have is mine,” he said. “At times I can be more ruthless, and decisive, and the same for them when we play. That comes from the coaching staff and will be a focus point for us this season.”