After becoming the new No. 1 team in Class 3A, the Ankeny boys’ soccer team didn’t suffer a letdown.
The Hawks dominated visiting Marshalltown in their CIML Iowa Conference opener on Tuesday, rolling to a 7-0 triumph over the Bobcats.
“It was definitely great to get out and get a victory under our belts as the most recently ranked No. 1 team, but we also understand that we have to stay motivated and can’t get complacent or too comfortable,” said Ankeny coach Marcus Varnum. “We definitely understand that we are a good team and can make big things happen with this squad, but we want to make sure that we just stay focused and continue to think about the game that’s immediately ahead of us.”
Ankeny built a 4-0 halftime lead. The Hawks then added three more goals in the second half.
Six different Ankeny players found the net, including senior Isaac O’Toole. He scored his first two goals of the season.
Lucas Newhard got another goal for the Hawks, his team-leading 18th of the year. The senior has scored at least one goal in every game and ranks second in the entire state in scoring, behind only the 19 goals by Mitchell Dickson of West Central Valley.
Jace Ward, Conor Wahlberg, Hunter Yeatts and Avry Olson also had goals for Ankeny.
“It was a night of many chances for us again, which is good, but we struggled to put many away,” Varnum said. “Their keeper played very well and made many saves, but that’s also soccer sometimes–we‘ll have nights where the goals come in bunches and nights where they may not come as easy, and that’s ok. We’re doing the hard part of creating those chances.”
The Hawks improved to 10-0 on the season. Marshalltown’s record dropped to 1-6.
“It was great to get another game of getting everyone in and getting significant minutes,” Varnum said. “When we have a team that is this deep, we want to make sure that everyone is ready to go at any time.”
Ankeny will have the rest of the week off before traveling to Mason City on Tuesday for another Iowa Conference game.