The windy weather didn’t help the Ankeny boys’ soccer team on Saturday at Northview Stadium.
The Hawks opened the season with a pair of losses to Linn-Mar (Marion) and Cedar Rapids Kennedy, but coach Marcus Varnum refused to blame the unfavorable conditions.
“We try to keep the ball on the ground and play a specific style of soccer, but when it’s windy and cold–and it’s also our first competition of the year–that’s a recipe for NOT that kind of soccer,” Varnum said. “It was a little bit of a rude awakening for some of the boys, so the weather definitely didn’t help. But we can’t use that as an excuse. Two teams were playing in the same conditions, and you’ve got to be able to adapt and adjust.”
Ankeny began the day by dropping a 1-0 decision to Linn-Mar. Sophomore Seth Comer scored the game’s only goal in the first half.
Linn-Mar goalkeeper Nicholas Ahlers made just one save as the Hawks struggled to generate some scoring chances.
“It was a tough start to the season,” Varnum said.
Ankeny then suffered a 4-3 loss to Cedar Rapids Kennedy. The Cougars held a 2-0 halftime lead, then added two more goals in the second half to build what appeared to be an insurmountable 4-0 advantage.
However, the Hawks responded with a huge rally. They got two goals from Landon Benge and another from Gannon Ripley to close the gap to 4-3 before time expired.
“We made a comeback. We were creating chances,” Varnum said. “They were playing a high line, and we really weren’t able to crack that code for a long time–probably for about 65 minutes. But once we got that first goal and smelled blood, we gained a little confidence and felt like we could get some more–and we did. That was very, very encouraging. It was awesome to see.”
Kennedy improved its record to 2-0. The Cougars posted a 2-1 win at Johnston earlier in the day.
Ankeny, which lost only two games all last season, will now look to regroup.
“This is not how we wanted to start, but we know it’s not a time to panic,” Varnum said. “It’s so early on and we have so many things to sort out. It was a weekend to give some experience to some guys who haven’t experienced varsity soccer yet. We can move forward now that those players were able to get that time.”
The Hawks will play at Valley (1-0) in their CIML Conference opener on Tuesday.
“It’s going to be a gut-check year with the competition we play,” Varnum said. “We have to make sure that we do everything we can to prepare for that.”