There isn’t much left for Ankeny Centennial goalkeeper Kate Bergan to accomplish in her girls’ high school soccer career.
She’s already been a state champion. She’s earned all-state honors.
On Tuesday, though, Bergan added another milestone to her resume. She set a single-season school record with her 10th shutout as the eighth-ranked Jaguars defeated visiting Iowa City West, 5-0, in a Class 3A regional semifinal.
Bergan already held the school’s career mark for shutouts.
“Obviously, the shutout is not all me,” said Bergan, who finished with three saves. “It comes from the backline, and the team playing together in front of me. The keepers before me were keepers I have looked up to my entire life.”
Alanna Pennington had a brace in the win. She now leads the team in scoring with nine goals.
Avery Lewis added a goal and an assist. Her goal gave the Jaguars a 2-0 lead at halftime.
“I had a diagonal dribble to the midfield and just took a hit and the keeper wasn’t there,” said Lewis, who netted her second goal of the season. “I feel like we scored a lot of quality goals and did a good job communicating—especially the second half. Overall, it was positive communication which helped us generate some goals.”
Emmarie Becker and Addison Fair each had a goal for Centennial. Averi Porter added an assist.
“I thought we did well to score five goals against a fairly packed in defensive line and to not give up a goal to their counter,” said Centennial coach Chris Allen.
The Jaguars raised their record to 9-6-1. Iowa City West ended the season at 6-11.
“I think that we finished chances well,” Bergan said. “I think we need to continue to work on playing with energy, but overall we were able to clear the ball when needed and have a good game.”
It was the final game for Iowa City West coach David Rosenthal, who had earlier announced his retirement.
“It was an honor to coach against coach Rosenthal in the final game of his career,” Allen said. “His team played hard for him and played smart, which is a tribute to his leadership. I am sad to see him go, but he has left a positive mark on high school soccer.”
The Jaguars will host No. 9 Bettendorf (14-3) in the regional final on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs advanced with a 9-0 win over No. 15 Cedar Rapids Prairie.
