The Ankeny girls’ soccer team will have to make some adjustments this spring.
The Hawkettes posted a 14-5 record a year ago, losing two of those games in shootouts. This year, there will be no shootouts during the regular season.
“There is no overtime, so games can end in a tie after 80 (minutes),” said Ankeny coach Simon Brown. “Also, kids who get a yellow card don’t have to sit out for 5 minutes anymore. High school soccer will look a lot different with the new rules, so we need to adapt.”
Ankeny returns nine starters from a team that dropped a 2-1 decision to Bettendorf in last year’s Class 3A semifinals. The Bulldogs went on to capture the crown.
Two of the Hawkettes’ top returnees, senior midfielder Camryn Dietz and senior defender Sophie Loeffler, are currently out with injuries. Dietz has committed to Drake, while Loeffler is headed to St. Cloud State.
“We’re hoping both of them can return for the end of the season,” Brown said.
Loeffler scored one goal and had two assists while helping her team post 11 clean sheets last season, when Ankeny relied on its stout defense to earn a share of the CIML Conference title. She was named to the Class 3A all-state second team and was a unanimous pick to the all-conference first team.
“We have always prided ourselves on our ability to keep teams away from our goal and keep clean sheets,” Brown said. “We won the CIML last season conceding just one goal. The pressure for us is to create more, and score more, to give us better chances of winning the games we compete in.”
Dietz will again be a vital part of the team’s attack once she returns. She scored five goals and had a team-high 10 assists as a junior.
Dietz converted a penalty kick to give the Hawkettes a 1-0 victory over Ankeny Centennial. It was their first goal in the series since 2018 and their first win over the Jaguars since 2015.
Dietz was selected to the all-conference second team. She also joined Loeffler on the all-district squad.
Both Dietz and Loeffler suffered knee injuries while playing club soccer.
“I think it was a long offseason for all the girls and staff,” Brown said. “We are just looking forward to starting training and being around the team again this spring.”
The other returning starters are seniors Claire Close and Alli Macke; juniors Ava Paoli, Avery Taylor and Sydney Van Houweling; and sophomores Sophia Kephart and Isabel Squires.
Macke, a midfielder, is one of the state’s top players. She has committed to Iowa.
Macke led Ankeny a year ago with 15 goals and also contributed five assists. She scored the Hawkettes’ lone goal in the loss to Bettendorf and was later named to the all-tournament team.
Macke earned all-state honors for the second straight year, landing a spot on the Class 3A first team. She was a unanimous pick to the all-conference first team and also earned all-district honors.
Paoli had three goals and three assists. She was a repeat pick to the all-conference third team.
Van Houweling chipped in four goals and two assists, Squires had a pair of goals, and Kephart added a goal and two assists. They each received all-conference honorable mention.
Close, a goalkeeper, and Taylor, a defender, are both back from a defensive unit that was among the state’s best.
Close, who recorded 55 saves while allowing just seven goals, was named to the all-conference second team. She will again be backed up by Loras recruit Sylvia Barlett.
Taylor scored a goal while also playing a key role on the back line. She earned all-conference honorable mention for the second year in a row.
“We just did open gyms, and some of the girls got to play together in a high school team camp coached by college coaches last week,” Brown said. “It was great to get a head start on the season to identify new kids in the program and some potential positions and lineups.”
The Hawkettes will open their season on April 1 by hosting a non-conference game against Cedar Falls. They will be looking to avenge last year’s 1-0 loss to the Tigers.
Ankeny’s ultimate goal is to get back to the state tournament. The Hawkettes have qualified for state seven straight times since 2017–there was no season in 2020.
“If you look at anything from the last few years, making the state tournament is the most important goal of a team,” Brown said. “Then once you make it, anyone can win it.”