It took a team effort for the Ankeny boys’ soccer squad to win its first 14 games of the season.
When the top-ranked Hawks finally suffered their first loss on Friday, it was a team effort as well.
“We’re all accountable for this one, myself included,” Ankeny coach Marcus Varnum said after the Hawks lost to No. 5 Johnston, 3-2, in double overtime at Ankeny Stadium. “It’s been a team effort all the way through, even when things don’t go our way.”
Johnston (13-1) tied the game at 2-2 on a goal by Logan Becker with 47 seconds left in regulation. The Dragons then scored the game-winner late in the second overtime when Wilmont Manneh found the net.
“You’ve got to give it to them,” Varnum said. “They battled for that entire game, and the fact that they scored with 47 seconds left in the second half just proves that the job is not done until the final whistle blows. You’ve got to tip your cap to them for battling and closing out a game like that for the entire time. They deserved that one, and now it’s all about how do we respond? We know it’s a long season, and we’ve just got to stay motivated and committed to each other and make sure that we keep battling.”
Varnum said he was beginning to prepare for a shootout as the time ticked off the clock in the second overtime.
“I started thinking about the PKs and the order of our shooters,” he said.
Ankeny was pressing in an effort to create a goal-scoring opportunity when the Dragons countered. Manneh ended the game when he scored his 15th goal of the season.
“We had some guys forward and some guys higher up the field, and they caught us off-guard a little bit,” Varnum said. “It ended up a 1v1 with Wilmont and Kwaku (Kwarteng), and Wilmont was able to find a yard or two and was able to put it away by (goalkeeper) Kyle (Pederson).”
Will Sheeley also scored a goal for Johnston, whose only loss came to No. 8 Des Moines Hoover, 2-1, in a shootout on April 22. Manneh, Colin Shermer and Kyron Pope each had an assist for the Dragons, who also got four saves from goalkeeper Will Safris.
Johnston took a 1-0 lead before Ankeny tied it up on a goal by Jace Ward in the 21st minute. It was his fourth goal of the year.
About 5 minutes later, the Hawks took a 2-1 lead when freshman Landon Benge scored his third goal of the season. He was assisted by Hunter Yeatts.
Johnston was unable to capitalize on a corner kick in the final minute of the half, but the Dragons later scored the equalizer before time expired in the second half.
“There was no lack of motivation or anything like that,” Varnum said. “We knew we had three big games in a row, and we’re trying to play our best soccer in each of them. But hopefully, we’ll have three even bigger games down the road (at the state tournament).
“We just need to tidy some things up in the back,” he added.
The Dragons prevented Ankeny forward Lucas Newhard, the state’s third-leading scorer with 29 goals, from finding the net. He had scored at least one goal in every game this season.
“Lucas has made a lot of noise around the state of Iowa with all the goals he has scored, so naturally people are going to start designing their defensive game plans around him,” Varnum said. “Now, it’s up to us to continue to find ways to score. It’s great that Jace and Landon were able to score for us, and I think that’s going to continue to happen.”
The Hawks will host a CIML Iowa Conference game against No. 2 Waukee Northwest (12-1) on Tuesday. It will be a showdown for first place in the league.
