It wasn’t easy, but the Ankeny girls’ soccer team is headed back to the state tournament.
Emma Gott and Sydney Van Houweling each scored a goal as the third-ranked Hawkettes defeated visiting Dowling Catholic, 2-0, in a Class 3A regional final on Thursday at Northview.
“This will be my fourth time going to state, but for some reason it feels different,” said Gott, whose team improved its record to 13-4. “I think because I’m a senior, I’m trying to take all the little moments in so I’m savoring this feeling.”
The Maroons (7-10) had dropped a 5-0 decision at Ankeny on April 19, but they were a different team on Thursday. Dowling’s defensive strategy made it difficult for the Hawkettes to generate some scoring chances.
“They put a lot of players behind the ball, and we didn’t score until the 35th minute,” said Ankeny coach Simon Brown. “(Dowling) didn’t have a shot in the first half, but they were difficult to break down. They gave it a go, and we were all over the place. They frustrated us big-time.”
Gott finally put the Hawkettes on the board when she took a nifty pass from Ava Paoli and booted the ball into the net for the game-winner.
“For a while, it was frustrating when it came to breaking down Dowling’s defense,” Gott said. “They did a good job of holding us off, but when I finally scored it felt a weight was lifted off the team’s shoulders. We were able to stop playing so frantic and just calm down.”
“She gave us the goal we needed,” Brown said.
It was Gott’s 12th goal of the season.
“For a while, it was frustrating when it came to breaking down Dowling’s defense,” Gott said. “They did a good job of holding us off, but when I finally scored it felt a weight was lifted off the team’s shoulders. We were able to stop playing so frantic and just calm down.”
Van Houweling added an insurance goal in the second half. It was her fourth of the year.
“By the second half, we adjusted a little to the defense and Syd had an amazing goal, which helped take the pressure off for the rest of the game,” Gott said.
Ankeny was unable to find the net again, but Brown was satisfied with the 2-0 result.
“We didn’t create a lot of chances,” he said. “But this game is just about winning it and moving on to state.”
The Hawkettes avenged a 1-0 loss to Dowling in last year’s Class 3A quarterfinals. Lauren McCoy scored the only goal in that game.
On Thursday, McCoy got behind the Ankeny defense in the final minute, but goalkeeper Claire Close made one of her three saves to preserve the team’s 10th shutout of the season.
“I think Dowling was just waiting for a mistake, and we had some trouble clearing the ball all game and letting the ball bounce,” Brown said. “Lauren got in behind us, but Claire made a point-blank save.”
Ankeny will play No. 6 Waukee (12-4) in the Class 3A quarterfinals on Tuesday at 3:45 p.m. on Field 7 at Cownie Park. The Hawkettes got a goal from Alli Macke to post a 1-0 win at Waukee on April 5.
The top eight teams in Class 3A all advanced to the state tournament. The Warriors posted a 1-0 victory over No. 10 Johnston, the defending Class 3A champion, on Thursday.
“There are some good rivalry games in there,” Brown said. “We got a decent draw, but Waukee’s a good team and they don’t concede a lot of goals. They are very defensive-minded. But I think we’ll be prepared after playing Ames and Dowling.”
