The Ankeny boys’ soccer team picked up its first win of the season on Saturday–and then got another victory just a few hours later.
After posting a 1-0 triumph over ninth-ranked Sioux City North in a shootout, the Hawks rolled to an 8-0 win over Sioux City East to improve to 2-5 on the season. Both games were part of the Valley Invitational at Valley Stadium.
“We hung out at the stadium all day and had a team lunch,” said Ankeny coach Marcus Varnum. “We had to endure some of the weather and delays with the lightning, but the boys were just ready to go. They were absolutely buzzing about that first win (against Sioux City North). The momentum really got us going and we opened up and found a lot of success in the next game.”
Sophomore Andrew Loder led the way in the rout over Sioux City East, finishing with a haul (four goals). Landon Benge also had a huge game, recording a hat trick (three goals) and two assists.
Gannon Ripley scored Ankeny’s other goal on a penalty kick. Cal Wahlberg contributed two assists.
The Black Raiders’ record dropped to 3-2.
“The boys were super hungry,” Varnum said. “We were trading a lot of chances, and our chances were finding the back of the net.”
Earlier, Ankeny handed Sioux City North (5-1) its first loss. Jackson Roberts scored the decisive penalty kick in the marathon shootout, then freshman goalkeeper Jackson Dockendorff made a save to seal the victory.
The Hawks won the shootout, 5-4, after 10 kicks by each team.
“There were multiple guys who missed kicks,” Varnum said. “Everyone was on edge. It was suspenseful, but we were super relieved to get that first win in such dramatic fashion.”
Varnum said his team grinded out the win after both teams went scoreless in the two 35-minute halves.
“We didn’t know much about North, but we just knew we had to keep fighting and keep grinding,” he said. “But I think the result was fair. We took a big step in terms of experience for sure having to get through kicks and to go so deep into the kicks. It was a good chance for everyone to step up and battle.
“And then we took a great leap forward against Sioux City East. We got a lot of goals and a lot of success. It was a good Saturday for sure,” he added.
The Hawks opened the tournament on Friday with a 2-1 loss to Norwalk. Caden Endres and Jack Brown each had a goal as the Warriors (2-3) won their second straight game.
Benge scored Ankeny’s lone goal on a penalty kick.
“It was a tough loss, but I thought we had a good response on Saturday,” Varnum said.
The Hawks will host a CIML Conference game against No. 16 Southeast Polk (4-3) on Tuesday.