‘I hope it’s a turning point’: Jaguars erupt for 4 goals in 2nd half to beat Waukee

Ankeny Centennial’s Lucas De La Cuba celebrates after scoring a goal during Friday’s game against visiting Waukee. His goal capped off a 4-1 victory for the Jaguars. (Photo courtesy of Jerrad Downer)

Ankeny Centennial boys’ soccer coach Brian Duax has been waiting for his team to have an offensive explosion.

It finally came in the second half of Friday’s game against visiting Waukee.

After going scoreless in their previous five halves, the Jaguars erupted for four goals in the final 40 minutes and posted a 4-1 victory to snap a two-game losing skid.

“I hope it’s a turning point,” said Duax. “We finally scored some goals, we celebrated and we had some good times.”

**Ankeny Centennial’s Tate Duax goes on a run with the ball during Friday’s game. Duax scored a goal and had two assists in the Jaguars’ win. (Photo courtesy of Jerrad Downer)**

Tate Duax scored a goal and had two assists to lead the way, while Lucas De La Cuba added a goal and an assist. Logan Page and Ty Duax scored the other goals.

Centennial had the wind at its back in the first half, but was unable to find the net.

“We created about 20 chances in their box, but the wind was a factor,” Duax said. “I think the balls traveled a little bit farther than the boys would have liked.”

Page broke a scoreless tie with a goal early in the second half. Waukee then got an equalizer shortly thereafter on a counter attack.

“They were trying to play super defensive and just counter,” Duax said. “We were in great position, but the guy made a move on Beau (Brazeau) and hit a bomb. I don’t think they had another shot on goal.”

**Ankeny Centennial’s Ty Duax gets ready to take a penalty kick during the second half of Friday’s game. He scored the go-ahead goal in the Jaguars’ victory. (Photo courtesy of Jerrad Downer)**

The Jaguars took a 2-1 lead when Ty Duax converted a penalty kick. His brother then added another goal before De La Cuba found the net to produce the final margin.

“It was a group effort,” Duax said. “I don’t know what switched in the boys, but all of the sudden things were clicking. The movement between our top five was fantastic, and we scored some goals.

“We’re going to be really hard to defend if we can continue to do that,” he added.

Centennial improved to 1-2 in the CIML Conference and 4-7 overall. The Warriors’ records dropped to 0-5 and 1-7.

The Jaguars will travel to Johnston for another conference game on Tuesday. The No. 1 Dragons are 3-1 in the league and 8-1 overall.

Johnston’s 14-game winning streak dating back to last season came to an end on Friday with a 3-0 loss at No. 7 Valley. The Tigers will play Centennial on Thursday at Northview Stadium.