The Ankeny Centennial girls’ soccer team struggled to solve Des Moines East’s goalkeeper during Friday’s non-conference game at Centennial.
The third-ranked Jaguars led by just 1-0 at halftime, despite dominating the run of play throughout the first 40 minutes.
“We found ourselves getting into the 18 (repeatedly), but East’s keeper put on an absolute show, thwarting each of our attacks,” said Centennial coach Chris Allen. “Alanna (Pennington) solved the problem, though, with a beautiful strike from distance (in the 27th minute).”
In the second half, the floodgates opened for Centennial. The Jaguars erupted for eight more goals, including one by Brooke Compton–the first of her career–as the final buzzer sounded.
Pennington and freshman midfielder Addison Fair each had a hat trick. Fair scored all three of her goals in the first 14 minutes of the second half.
“We made a few adjustments at halftime, but mainly talked about adjusting how we attacked,” Allen said. “We came out and were able to pile on a few goals while our defense held strong.”
Pennington, who leads the team with 13 goals, also had an assist. Averi Porter contributed a goal and an assist.
Gabby Lawrence scored the team’s other goal. Avery Lewis and Olivia Kroska each added an assist.
Teagan Hall and Kate Bergan combined on the shutout, Centennial’s 11th of the season. The Jaguars improved to 12-2 with their eighth straight victory, while East’s record dropped to 3-11.
The two teams could meet again in a Class 3A regional semifinal on May 24.
“As we approach the postseason, we wanted to experiment with formation and personnel a bit to best prepare for a number of scenarios that might occur,” Allen said. “Despite doing this, we kept our expectations for play high.”
The Jaguars will travel to Ames on Tuesday for a CIML Iowa Conference game against the Little Cyclones (4-7).