A year ago, the Ankeny girls’ soccer team suffered a 1-0 loss at Cedar Falls when the Tigers scored the winning goal on their only shot of the game.
Tuesday’s rematch in the season opener at Ankeny turned out to be a similar contest.
The Hawkettes again dominated the run of play, got a goal from sophomore Isabel Squires in the first half, and went on to post a 1-0 victory on a chilly evening.
“We were happy to get the first win,” said Ankeny coach Simon Brown. “We were going against the wind the first half when we scored. In the second half Cedar Falls left its half (of the field) only one or two times on a couple of free kicks. We played pretty well; they didn’t get off a shot.”
Ankeny, meanwhile, had numerous scoring chances. Cedar Falls goalkeeper Alexis Montgomery kept her team in the game, matching her total of 17 saves from last year’s contest.
“There were a lot of Ankeny shots that did not go in,” Brown said. “I think Alli Macke had 15 herself. We probably could have had a couple more (goals), but their keeper made a lot of saves.”
Squires scored the game’s only goal midway through the first half. She started all 19 games as a freshman, when she had a pair of goals while helping Ankeny to a 14-5 record and a trip to the Class 3A semifinals.
“Izzy scored from like 20 yards out. It was a rocket that went top corner,” Brown said. “We were hoping to get a second goal just to take the nerves off, but it never came.”
With the way the Hawkettes were defending, Brown had no reasons to worry. Cedar Falls never threatened to score an equalizer.
Ankeny’s starting lineup included a trio of freshmen, two of them on the back line.
“It was good for those girls to get some minutes,” Brown said. “We have a lot of injuries, but we didn’t give up any goals–let alone shots. We told the girls, ‘If you don’t give up shots, you’re not going to concede very much.’
“That’s the way we have to be,” he added.
Both Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial will host a pair of games in the Crosstown Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Hawkettes will play Pella on Friday at 5 p.m. and Pleasant Valley on Saturday at noon.
“Both of those teams normally go to the state tournament,” Brown said. “It should be a fun couple of games.”