Two of the state’s top defensive teams collided in the Class 3A quarterfinals of the girls’ state soccer tournament on Tuesday at Cownie Park.
Only one of them kept a clean sheet.
Third-ranked Ankeny got a pair of goals from Emma Gott and posted a 3-0 victory over No. 6 Waukee. The Warriors, who also dropped a 1-0 decision to Ankeny on April 5, finished the season at 12-5.
“Waukee’s a decent team,” said Ankeny coach Simon Brown. “I think they’ve been in the top five for most of the season. You can see they’re tough to break down, but we are, too.”
The Hawkettes (14-4) posted their third straight shutout in postseason play. It was their sixth shutout in the last seven games and their 11th of the season.
“Our defense played amazing,” said Gott. “We knew that they could shut them down. All congrats to Claire (Close). She played amazing and had that awesome save at the end with her PK.”
Ankeny held a 2-0 lead with about 5 minutes left when the Hawkettes were called for a foul in the box. Close then dove to her left and stopped the ensuing penalty kick by Rita Danner to preserve the shutout.
“Claire’s probably been the best goalkeeper in the conference,” Brown said. “She’s conceded the fewest goals in the state in 3A, and we’ve played the best schedule. I’m glad today that she saved a PK because we’ve lost so many games on PKs. I knew there was going to be a big moment in the season where something like that would happen after we’ve had such heartbreak, but I didn’t think it would be today.”
Ankeny punctuated the win when Gott scored her second goal about a minute later. She took a pass from Alli Macke and found the net for her 14th goal of the season, tying her with Macke for the team lead.
“Macke drove down the line and just placed a perfect ball into the corner of the 6 on the right,” Gott said. “I just hit it one time, and it went right under the goalie’s hands.”
Goalkeeper Lauren Nidey made eight saves for Waukee, which had ousted defending Class 3A champion Johnston in a regional final. But it wasn’t nearly enough.
The Hawkettes almost took an early lead off a corner kick by Camryn Dietz about 7 minutes into the game. Then, about 1 minute later, Dietz blasted a shot past Nidey for her fifth goal of the year.
“It was just an unreal feeling being able to relieve some of the pressure,” said Dietz. “First round at state is always just a little bit nervous, especially for some of our younger girls coming in. It was just nice to release some of that pressure.”
Waukee had some chances to score an equalizer, but Close and the Ankeny defenders were up to the task.
“I think we can clean it up a little bit in the back line, but other than that we did really well,” Dietz said. “We really showed that we wanted it. I’m proud of us for the way we played.”
Gott provided an insurance goal in the 69th minute to give the Hawkettes a 2-0 advantage.
“I was just kind of dribbling around their back line,” Gott said. “I dribbled from the left into the middle and took a shot to the lower left corner.”
Gott later found the net again following Close’s heroics at the other end of the field.
“It could have been 2-1 with 5 minutes left,” Brown said. “That save was a game-changer.”
Ankeny will play No. 7 Bettendorf (16-3) in Thursday’s semifinals at 3:15 p.m. on Field 6. The Bulldogs advanced with a 7-1 win over No. 2 Pleasant Valley, scoring four goals in the final 12 minutes to turn the game into a rout.
“I don’t think anybody saw that coming–even (Bettendorf),” Brown said. “They have some difference-makers on the field that can really punish you that we’ll have to worry about. We just have to recover right now; that’s the most important thing so that everybody can play.”
No. 1 Waukee Northwest (16-2) will face No. 5 Valley (16-3) in the other semifinal at 3 p.m. on Field 9. The championship game is slated for Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on Field 9.