• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Ankeny Fanatic

Your Ankeny Sports Resource

  • Home
  • About
    • Support Us
  • News
    • Podcast
  • Hawks
    • Boys’ Soccer
      • Roster
      • Schedule
    • Girls’ Soccer
      • Roster
      • Schedule
    • Girls’ Tennis
      • Roster
      • Schedule
    • Baseball
      • Roster
      • Schedule
    • Softball
      • Roster
      • Schedule
  • Jaguars
    • Boys’ Soccer
      • Roster
      • Schedule
    • Girls’ Soccer
      • Roster
      • Schedule
    • Girls’ Tennis
      • Roster
      • Schedule
    • Baseball
      • Roster
      • Schedule
    • Softball
      • Roster
      • Schedule

Centennial girls fall to Russmann, No. 6 Pleasant Valley in double OT, 3-2

March 31, 2024 by Dan Holm

Ankeny Centennial’s Ava Martin finds the left side of the net for the first of her two goals during Saturday’s game against visiting Pleasant Valley in the Crosstown Invitational. Martin gave the Jaguars a 2-0 lead early in the second half, but Pleasant Valley rallied for a 3-2 victory in double overtime. (Photo by Dan Holm)

A win over Pleasant Valley would have provided a huge boost for the Ankeny Centennial girls’ soccer team.

Even a 3-2 loss in double overtime showed the seventh-ranked Jaguars that they can play with one of the state’s top squads.

“I think we can definitely take some positives away from this,” said Centennial junior Ava Martin, who scored both of her team’s goals. “We just showed that we can fight for awhile. They were ranked higher than us. I feel like that just shows we can play with anyone even though it’s early in the season.”

No. 6 Pleasant Valley overcame a 2-0 deficit by scoring three unanswered goals in the Crosstown Invitational on Saturday at Centennial. The Spartans (2-1) bounced back from a similar 3-2 loss in double overtime to No. 1 Valley on Friday.

“They’re good, and they proved to be resilient,” Centennial coach Chris Allen said of the Spartans. “My hat’s off to them. They went to double OT with Valley (on Friday), and they had to come back from that one.”

Pleasant Valley started its comeback when Leah Peakin scored a goal in the 46th minute to cut Centennial’s lead to 2-1. North Dakota State recruit Morgan Russmann later scored the tying goal with less than 7 minutes left in regulation.

Ankeny Centennial’s McKenna Hilton looks to pass the ball during Saturday’s game. (Photo by Dan Holm)

“She’s pretty hard to defend,” Centennial junior Maddison Balashaitis said of Russmann, who scored a state-record 41 goals as a junior. “We were just trying to put a lot of pressure on her–make it hard for her and not let her shoot. She’s fast, so try not to let her get 1v1.”

Midway through the second overtime, Russmann got the ball on a counter-attack and found the left side of the net for the golden goal. It was her sixth goal in three games and the 96th of her career.

“They just countered super well,” Allen said. “I think they had three attacking opportunities and scored three goals on us, and so we need to look at that and see what we need to do to fix it.”

Martin had given the Jaguars a 2-0 lead with a pair of goals in a span of 3 minutes. She rebounded her own shot that was deflected back to her and found the left side of the net at the 38:05 mark.

Then, less than a minute into the second half, Martin scored again off another rebound. This time, she finished a shot by Mady Postma that bounced off the crossbar.

Ankeny Centennial’s Emmarie Becker battles for the ball during Saturday’s game. (Photo by Dan Holm)

“We just need to keep improving every day,” Martin said. “I feel like this was a really good test for us, and I think we’ll just grow from this.”

Despite the loss, Allen was proud of his team’s effort.

“We had to mix up the lineup and had players playing at far less than 100 percent, and they looked so good together for much of the time,” he said. “Our young midfield looked incredibly strong, and Ava was an absolute threat. There were so many good things the girls did together throughout the game.”

Centennial (1-1) opened the season on Friday with a 2-1 victory over Ames. Addison Fair and Emmarie Becker each had a goal for the Jaguars, while McKenna Hilton added an assist.

Emma Evans scored the Little Cyclones’ lone goal on a penalty kick in the 43rd minute. She tied the game at 1-1 before Becker answered with the go-ahead goal on a header 4 minutes later.

47. Goal!!!! Lewis with the corner to Becker with a header into the back of the net. pic.twitter.com/jWkLEH01f6

— JagsGirlsSoccer (@jag_soccer_fan) March 29, 2024

“We had 30 shots and 13 of them were on target,” Allen said of his team’s dominant win. “They had one shot, and that was the PK.”

The Crosstown Invitational featured many of the state’s top teams and several close games.

“(Ankeny coach) Simon (Brown) and I are proud to host such quality soccer games, showcasing not only the central Iowa talent, but some of the talent from other parts of the state,” Allen said. “Every team will certainly change by the end of the season, but the passion with which every team competed was so amazing so early in the season.”

The Jaguars will host No. 14 Urbandale (2-0) on Tuesday.

“Our main goal is just to prove everyone wrong,” Balashaitis said. “I think we’re a little bit of an underdog, and I think we all have this motivation and drive inside of us to push through. It might not show from (Saturday), but we’ll come out of this better.”

Filed Under: Girls' Soccer, Jaguars Tagged With: Ava Martin, Chris Allen, Featured, Maddison Balashaitis

Primary Sidebar

Support Ankeny Fanatic

Recent Posts

  • ‘We’re incredibly proud of her’: Peterson earns 8th-place finish at state tourney
  • Jaguars toss back-to-back no-hitters in doubleheader sweep over Lincoln girls
  • Hawks use pair of 5-run innings to sweep doubleheader against Bondurant-Farrar
  • ONE OF A KIND: Smith becomes city of Ankeny’s first-ever state tennis champion
  • ‘We just can’t take anything for granted’: Jaguars rout Roosevelt, advance to state

Find Us on Facebook

Ankeny Fanatic

Archives

  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017

Categories

  • Hawks
    • Fall
      • Boys’ Cross Country
      • Boys’ Golf
      • Football
      • Girls’ Cross Country
      • Girls’ Swimming
      • Volleyball
    • Spring
      • Boys’ Soccer
      • Boys’ Tennis
      • Boys’ Track
      • Girls’ Golf
      • Girls’ Soccer
      • Girls’ Tennis
      • Girls’ Track
    • Summer
      • Baseball
      • Softball
        • Roster
    • Winter
      • Boys’ Basketball
      • Boys’ Bowling
      • Boys’ Swimming
      • Girls’ Basketball
      • Girls’ Bowling
      • Boys’ Wrestling
  • Jaguars
    • Fall
      • Boys’ Cross Country
      • Boys’ Golf
      • Football
      • Girls’ Cross Country
      • Girls’ Swimming
      • Volleyball
    • Spring
      • Boys’ Soccer
      • Boys’ Tennis
      • Boys’ Track
      • Girls’ Golf
      • Girls’ Soccer
      • Girls’ Tennis
      • Girls’ Track
    • Summer
      • Baseball
      • Softball
    • Winter
      • Boys’ Basketball
      • Girls’ Basketball
      • Wrestling
  • Top Sports Stories
    • Football
    • Volleyball
  • Baseball
  • Softball

© 2025 Ankeny Fanatic. All rights reserved.