Last year, the Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial boys’ soccer teams both ended their seasons with a loss to Waukee Northwest in the Class 3A state tournament at Cownie Park.
This year, the Jaguars may have to beat Northwest just to qualify for the first-ever Class 4A tournament.
The Iowa High School Athletic Association announced its substate brackets on Tuesday. Tenth-ranked Centennial (6-4) is the No. 2 seed in Class 4A Substate 2, while Ankeny (3-8) is the No. 4 seed in Substate 8.
The Jaguars will play third-seeded Council Bluffs Lincoln (10-5) in a semifinal game on Monday, May 22. No. 4 Northwest (12-2), the top seed, will face Marshalltown (6-7) in the other semifinal.
Centennial lost to Northwest, 2-1, in the semifinals of last year’s Class 3A tournament. The Jaguars will host Northwest in their regular-season finale on Friday, then could meet the Wolves again in the substate final on Wednesday, May 24.
The Hawks, meanwhile, will play at No. 2 Johnston–the top seed–in a semifinal game on May 22. The Dragons (12-3) posted a 3-1 victory at Ankeny on April 11.
Second-seeded Des Moines Roosevelt (5-4) will play Des Moines North (4-5) in the other semifinal. The two winners will then meet in the substate final on May 24.