Ankeny Centennial girls’ soccer coach Chris Allen likes the fact that his players are fearless.
That mentality paid off in a big way on Tuesday.
The seventh-ranked Jaguars scored both of their goals off corner kicks and defeated No. 14 Urbandale, 2-0, in a CIML Conference opener at Centennial.
“I think it speaks well of the girls right now,” said Allen. “They’ve been brave in the box. We’ve scored at least one other time this season off a corner, just kind of crashing the goal. I think we struggled a little bit with that last season, and I was just telling the girls in the locker room that when we have a corner I’m filled with a lot of hope because I’m seeing a lot of girls who are just hunting the ball.”
Centennial scored the two goals within a minute of each other late in the first half. Emmarie Becker got the first goal on a header off a corner kick by Avery Lewis in the 38th minute.
Then, shortly thereafter, another corner kick by Lewis led to a goal by defender Maddison Balashaitis.
“It was a good way to open conference play,” said Allen, whose team got assists from Lewis and Ava Martin. “I’m proud of the girls. It was a great team effort. Everyone who stepped on the field contributed in some way.”
The Jaguars put a lot of pressure on Urbandale goalkeeper Katelyn Hughell. The freshman made 19 saves.
“Their keeper made some great saves up high, which actually created some of those corner kick opportunities,” Allen said. “Most of our corners came off deflected shots. We were definitely generating some things from the run of play.”
Centennial goalkeepers Madeline Stribe and Rylee Litchfield combined on the shutout. Neither of them made a save.
“Our keepers weren’t tested to the point where we were nervous,” Allen said.
Both teams are now 2-1 overall.
The Jaguars will host a non-conference game against Omaha (Neb.) Skutt Catholic on Friday at 6 p.m., with the boys’ contest between the same schools to follow.