Senior forward/midfielder Emma Gott scored three goals to lead the Ankeny girls’ soccer team to a 4-0 victory over visiting Ames in the Crosstown Invitational on Saturday. The fourth-ranked Hawkettes evened their record at 1-1 after losing to No. 1 Dallas Center-Grimes, the two-time defending Class 2A state champion, in a marathon shootout, 3-2, on Friday.
Gott received all-conference honorable mention as a junior, when she helped Ankeny to a 12-4-1 mark. She has signed a letter of intent to play for St. Cloud State next year.
Here is some inside info on Gott:
Congratulations on the win over Ames. Were you anxious to get back onto the field after a tough loss to Dallas Center-Grimes?
Yes, I was anxious to get back onto the field. Although the loss to DCG was tough it was a new day, new team, and a new game so we knew we had to come out strong.
Was it more challenging mentally or physically to get your bodies moving again about 16 hours after Friday’s game ended?
It was definitely more challenging from the physical side of things because many of us experienced muscle cramps throughout Friday’s game and were feeling the effects of it during Saturday’s game as well. As you may know, we have quite a few soccer girls that are also running track and trying to balance the physical requirements of doing both. Because there was such a short time frame between our games it was imperative to rest, refuel and recover our bodies.
That was your first hat trick since you were a sophomore, when you had two of them. Did you do anything special to celebrate afterwards, or were you just ready for some rest?
I’ve received many encouraging comments from my team, my coaches and the Hawkette family to celebrate my hat trick. We’re ready to use this positive momentum as we prepare for the two upcoming games we have this week.
One of your goals came on a penalty kick. After missing your second kick during Friday’s shootout, did you change your approach at all?
When the whistle blew for the penalty kick and (coach) Simon (Brown) called my name to go take it, I knew this was an opportunity for me to adjust and prove to myself that I’m capable of having success in critical moments. I took (Friday’s) missed penalty kick hard so I slightly adjusted my approach during this penalty kick.
Friday’s shootout was memorable for many reasons, but it was by far the longest shootout that I’ve ever seen. Was it the longest shootout that you’ve ever been involved in?
In the 12 years I’ve been playing soccer, I have never experienced a penalty shootout like that.
The game almost ended when your teammate, Avery Taylor, hit the crossbar on Ankeny’s ninth kick of the shootout. But the ball came down and hit the turf, then spun backwards into the goal to keep the shootout going. Did you think the game was over when the Dallas Center-Grimes players came charging onto the field?
Honestly, yes, I did think it was over. I was so focused on getting over to Avery to support her I didn’t even see the ball spin back into the goal.
You made your first penalty kick on Ankeny’s fourth attempt, but unfortunately it was your miss on the 14th kick that eventually ended the game. Do you think that will be a learning experience for you, or was it maybe just better to forget about it and move on to the next game?
It was important for our team to move on from (Friday’s) game because you can’t go back and change things. We had a game (Saturday) that we needed to focus on, and that’s exactly what we did.
Goals for the season?
After tearing my hamstring last season and not fully recovering, my goal is to stay healthy. In addition, like many other teams, our goal is to win state, which would be super special for it being my last year in a Hawkette jersey.
I understand that you are running track this spring as well. Which events do you compete in, and has it been difficult to juggle your practice schedule with two sports?
So far I’ve been a sprinter for the track team. Both Simon and the Jumpers do a great job of working with the multi-sport athletes to set us up for success.
When was the last time you ran track?
When I was a freshman, I went out for track and ran one meet. At that time I was balancing high school soccer, club soccer and high school track so I decided to take a step back and primarily focus on soccer.
I know you told me when you committed to play soccer at St. Cloud State that the school’s facilities for their nursing program were unlike any other that you had seen. What is so unique about their nursing facilities?
Class sizes are on the smaller side which provides opportunities for individualized learning. They also have modeled their classroom training spaces to mirror that of the local hospital where students do clinicals. Their technology is top of the line with the utilization of AI dummies to represent real life patients and simulate medical scenarios.
