The season opener for the Ankeny Centennial girls’ soccer team didn’t last the full 80 minutes.
The Jaguars cruised to a 10-0 victory over visiting Carlisle in a non-conference game on Tuesday. The contest ended via the mercy rule early in the second half.
“All in all, we looked well organized throughout the match and shared the ball well,” said Centennial coach Chris Allen. “We need to read the ball in the air a bit better, but we have rarely used this method as a restart in practice, so we have time to grow.”
Four different players scored multiple goals for Centennial, including Cady Compton, who recorded a hat trick with three goals in the final 12 minutes. Addison Fair had two goals and a pair of assists, one on a fantastic cross to Compton.
Avery Lewis opened the scoring for the Jaguars with a goal from the left back position in the 5th minute.
“She framed the 18 and was able to collect a clearance and place the ball at the near post under the keeper’s reach,” Allen said of Lewis. “She had a solid game and responded to various challenges that we were asking her to face during the match, including moving up and down the wide channel.”
Ava Martin and Alanna Pennington each had two goals apiece. Pennington was selected as captain before the game.
Martin also had an assist.
“Ava was another player we were asking a lot of in the 9, or striker position,” Allen said. “She found herself in behind the defense via through balls a few times and capitalized on at least one of those chances, a threaded pass from Olivia Kroska.”
Goalkeeper Kate Bergan recorded the shutout without facing a shot on goal. However, she still had a busy night.
“She was key in build-up play that allowed us to get behind the backline,” Allen said. “In fact, we had a lot of success stretching the field by playing the ball to Kate and then moving it up the field quickly. This allowed us to find gaps in behind their midfield and backline, and our midfielders were able to play balls in behind their backline.”
Freshmen Emmarie Becker, Evie Boyle, Emily Conger and Piper Zeman made their varsity debuts in the win. Madeline Stribe and Kerigan Miller also made their first varsity appearances.
The Jaguars will host Ames on Friday and Council Bluffs Lincoln on Saturday as part of the Crosstown Invitational. The Lynx posted a 2-1 overtime victory against Centennial in last year’s tournament, but the Jaguars later avenged the loss with a 2-0 win in the Class 3A championship game.