This time, the Ankeny Centennial boys’ soccer team didn’t need a dramatic rally to beat Urbandale.
The Jaguars, who overcame a 2-0 halftime deficit to post a 3-2 victory over Urbandale in last year’s Class 3A quarterfinals, opened their season on Thursday with a 4-1 win against the visiting J-Hawks. They built a 3-1 halftime lead in the CIML Conference game, then added another goal in the second half.
“It was a good start to the year,” said Centennial coach Brian Duax. “We have many things to improve on, but we had some great performances.”
Rashidi Ishibwami led Centennial with a pair of goals. Ty Duax and Andrew Heckenlaible each added a goal.
Lucas De La Cuba contributed two assists, while fellow freshman Ben Ridlen had one in the varsity debut for both players.
“We played everyone that was healthy enough to play,” Duax said. “Our veterans–Heckenlaible, Duax, Rashidi and (Beau) Brazeau–were good as expected. Seven new starters getting their first varsity experience were all good as well.”
Centennial goalkeeper Andrew Nelson had no saves in the win. The J-Hawks’ only goal came on a penalty kick.
Urbandale dropped to 0-2 overall.
The Jaguars will travel to Norwalk on Friday for a non-conference game against the Warriors (0-2).
“We will continue to get better daily, trying to make sure we are playing our best in late May,” Duax said.