Ankeny girls’ soccer coach Simon Brown isn’t a big fan of shootouts to decide Iowa high school games during the regular season.
His distaste for them only grew after the Hawkettes lost to Dallas Center-Grimes in a marathon shootout in their season opener on March 29.
On Tuesday, fifth-ranked Ankeny appeared to be headed to another shootout against visiting Johnston when the two teams battled into a second overtime tied at 1-1. However, the game never went to penalty kicks.
In the 95th minute, Emma Gott scored the golden goal to give the Hawkettes a 2-1 victory over the defending Class 3A state champions. The senior rebounded a shot by Camryn Dietz that was deflected by the Johnston goalkeeper.
“It’s still early in the season, and we are adapting to playing two top-six CIML teams back-to-back,” said Brown, whose team was coming off a 1-0 triumph at No. 3 Waukee on Friday. “Cam and Emma caught a second wind in overtime and ended up being the difference in us getting the win.”
Ankeny improved its records to 2-0 in the CIML Conference and 3-1 overall. The No. 6 Dragons dropped to 0-2 and 2-3.
Goalkeeper Claire Close made four saves for the Hawkettes.
“Johnston was always a threat on the counter, and we had to adapt for that,” Brown said. “We created lots of chances again and spent most of the night attacking against a top-six team.”
Ankeny took a 1-0 lead when defender Avery Taylor found the net at the 23:31 mark. It was her first-ever goal for the Hawkettes.
“Avery scored a great goal from the top of the 18,” Brown said. “She couldn’t have hit it any better.”
Johnston eventually tied the game with about 3 minutes left in regulation. The Dragons capitalized on a free kick after Ankeny was called for a hand ball just outside the box.
“The second half was a much more even game,” Brown said. “We were pushing for a second goal, and Johnston sent a few more players to get back in the game. I think our legs caught up with us from Friday night’s game.
“Looking forward we need to do a better job of closing games out and limiting opponent’s free kicks,” he added.
The Hawkettes will play a non-conference game at Cedar Rapids Prairie (2-2) on Friday.
