An Olimpico helped the sixth-ranked Ankeny Centennial girls’ soccer team to a 3-0 victory over No. 14 Mason City in a non-conference game on Monday at Centennial.
Evie Boyle scored directly from a corner kick in the 25th minute to break a 0-0 tie and the Jaguars went on to score all of their goals in the first half, when they had a strong wind at their backs.
“It was pretty intense,” said Centennial coach Chris Allen. “We lucked out with the wind behind our back the first half. Sometimes, I almost feel like our style of play would be better going into the wind, but you just don’t want to gamble with that. When we won the toss, we took the wind and I’m glad we were able to capitalize.”
Centennial dominated possession throughout the game. Boyle took three corner kicks in a 5-minute stretch midway through the first half, but her first two kicks got caught in the wind and sailed way out of bounds.
On Boyle’s third attempt, she adjusted and placed the ball right in front of the goal, where it eluded the grasp of Mason City goalkeeper Isabelle Harty and went into the net.
“Evie’s Olimpico may have had a little help from the wind, but it curled in really well,” Allen said.
About 7 minutes later, Avery Lewis scored a goal from the left side off an assist by Emmarie Becker. Like the first goal, Lewis’ shot slipped through Harty’s hands.
The Jaguars then added another goal in the 38th minute when Ava Martin found the net off an assist by Emily Conger. It was Martin’s team-leading ninth goal of the season.
“It was a great ball through by Conger to Ava, and that made it very easy for Ava to do the job that she does so well,” Allen said.
Centennial (9-4) went on to post its fourth shutout. Mason City junior Karma McMorris entered the game with 29 goals, which ranks fourth in the state.
The Riverhawks dropped to 10-2 on the season.
“Our backs did a nice job handling a very difficult forward,” Allen said. “She’s super talented, powerful and fast, but they made it difficult for her to find the ball.”
Centennial will host a CIML Conference game against No. 10 Southeast Polk on Tuesday. The Rams are 2-4 in the league and 9-4 overall.
