With 10 starters returning from a team that qualified for last year’s Class 4A state tournament, the Ankeny boys’ soccer players won’t be satisfied just with making it back to state this season.
The Hawks want to play for a bigger trophy.
“The goal is to build on what we accomplished last year,” said Ankeny coach Trevor Fuccio, who guided the Hawks to an 11-9 record in his first season. “We proved we can play with the top teams in the state. Now, the goal is to push for a deep run in the state tournament.”
Ankeny led for much of the game in the Class 4A quarterfinals before dropping a 3-2 decision to CIML Conference rival Dowling Catholic. The Maroons never led until Kevin Copic scored the winning goal with 1 minute 6 seconds left.
Dowling eventually played another CIML Conference foe, Johnston, for the Class 4A crown. The Dragons posted a 3-0 victory to win their second straight title.
Ankeny returns a pair of all-state players in senior forward Landon Benge and senior defender Dylan Gloviak. Benge has committed to Drake, while Gloviak will play for McKendree University.
Benge led the Hawks with 14 goals and also had four assists. He was named to the Class 4A first team by the Iowa High School Soccer Coaches Association.
Gloviak was the leader of a defensive unit that recorded six shutouts. He also contributed one assist.
Gloviak was selected to the Class 4A second team. He also joined Benge on the all-conference first team.
Senior midfielder Austin Lundberg is among the other returnees. The team’s second-leading scorer with eight goals, he was a second-team all-conference pick.
Lundberg, who will play for Faith Baptist Bible College, scored the tying goal against Linn-Mar (Marion) with under a minute left in the substate final. He then converted a penalty kick in the loss to Dowling.
“The practices are going well so far,” Fuccio said. “We are a bit limited during spring break, but the boys had a good offseason and we have some momentum coming into the year.”
The other returning starters are seniors Jack Croskey, Brian Jimenez, Andrew Loder and Henry McMillan; and juniors Jackson Dockendorff, Keaton Kobow and Cal Wahlberg.
Wahlberg scored two goals and had a team-high seven assists. He was a third-team all-conference selection.
Loder had two goals and two assists. He is headed to Simpson College along with teammate Brandon Thaut.
Kobow contributed one assist. He also had the game-winning penalty kick in the substate final, giving Ankeny a 2-1 victory over Linn-Mar that punched its ticket to state.
Dockendorff, a goalkeeper, made 76 saves while allowing just 21 goals. He earned all-conference honorable mention for the second straight year along with Kobow and Loder.
Jimenez scored one goal and three assists. Croskey is also back along with McMillan, who received all-conference honorable mention as well.
“We are senior-heavy so leadership and experience has to be something we lean on,” Fuccio said. “The boys know what it takes, and we should be a confident group going into the year.”
Ankeny will open its season on April 4 by hosting a conference game against Dowling. Fuccio is hoping for more consistency from the Hawks right off the bat.
“We had one of the toughest schedules in the state last year, and when you have some consistency issues, you end up losing games,” he said. “The goal is to avoid that this year and show our quality day in and day out.”