The Ankeny Centennial boys’ soccer team had plenty of motivation heading into Wednesday’s Class 4A quarterfinal against top-ranked Valley.
On Tuesday, the Tigers provided some additional bulletin board material.
When the game was rescheduled for Wednesday after being postponed due to rain 24 hours earlier, Centennial coach Brian Duax said he learned that the Valley coaching staff was unhappy about the prospect of having to play on back-to-back days.
The No. 10 Jaguars responded with an emotional 2-0 victory at Cownie Park.
“I find it a little bit disrespectful that their staff is telling other staffs that they don’t want to play two days in a row. We just made sure that they don’t have to play two days in a row,” Duax said. “They were saying that they didn’t want to play us and Johnston two days in a row, basically saying they were going to beat us.
“Fair enough. Have a good offseason,” he added.
Ty Duax and Andrew Heckenlaible each scored a goal as Centennial (10-5) avenged an earlier 2-1 loss to the Tigers. The Jaguars also lost to Valley in the Class 3A quarterfinals in 2021.
“It feels great,” said Ty Duax, who converted a penalty kick midway through the first half. “It’s good to get our revenge back.”
The loss ended a 10-game winning streak for Valley, which closes the season at 17-3. The Tigers had posted nine straight shutouts before giving up a goal in the substate final against Sioux City North.
“We lost the first game against them in a controversial way,” said Centennial goalkeeper Andrew Nelson. “We felt like we should have won that one. But it feels amazing to win this one.”
Tempers flared as the final seconds ticked off the clock. Nelson said he wasn’t sure what transpired in the skirmish.
“I think somebody pushed someone,” he said. “I saw a ripped shirt in there, but I don’t know what happened.”
Coach Duax, a former Valley star, called it a typical battle between two of the state’s top programs.
“They’re always hard-fought wins, and that one was no exception,” he said. “That was a really hard-fought game.”
Centennial scored the only goal it needed after Heckenlaible drew a foul in the box in the 21st minute. Ty Duax buried the ensuing kick for a 1-0 lead.
“I never doubt when Ty takes a penalty kick,” Nelson said. “I think I’ve only ever seen him miss once or twice.”
The junior wasn’t comfortable, however, with just a one-goal margin.
“They have a couple guys going forward, and some of them are on my club team,” Ty Duax said of the Tigers. “We just had to keep going, keep defending and never drop our heads.”
Nelson made several saves as the Jaguars posted their fifth shutout of the season.
“We’ve got a rock solid back line, and I trust them with my life,” said Heckenlaible. “So I thought one (goal) would be enough, but the second one definitely helped.”
Heckenlaible scored an insurance goal in the 42nd minute. He blasted a shot into the top left corner of the net.
“I just picked it up in the midfield, dribbled through, and I was able to put it in,” he said.
The Jaguars capitalized on Valley’s attempt to jump the passing lanes.
“The game plan today was to try to keep the ball more,” coach Duax said. “We didn’t do quite as well at that, but they kept trying to jump passes so we just played Truckie behind. It was 1 on 2 or 1 on 1, and everybody is in trouble if he plays like that. That boy, when he wants to, can play–there’s no question about it.”
Centennial also avenged a loss to No. 4 Waukee Northwest in the substate final. Now, the Jaguars will get a chance to avenge yet another loss.
Centennial will face second-ranked Johnston (16-3), the No. 4 seed, in the semifinals on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Dragons advanced with a 3-0 win over No. 5 Cedar Rapids Prairie.
Johnston rolled to a 5-1 victory at Centennial on April 25. It was the most goals ever allowed by the Jaguars under coach Duax.
“We played a bad game against them,” Nelson said. “We’re on a revenge tour, and we’ve shown that we can beat any team.”
Ty Duax said the Jaguars aren’t concerned about playing two days in a row, even against an athletic team like Johnston.
“We’ll just go home and take a couple of ice baths, and I think we’ll be good by (Thursday),” he said. “I think if we play to our level like we just did and we did against Northwest, I think we can beat anyone in the state.”
