Only a few opposing girls’ soccer teams have been able to crack Ankeny’s strong defensive unit over the last couple of seasons.
On Monday, Ankeny Centennial found some answers on a cold and windy night at Ankeny Stadium.
Ava Martin scored two goals and added an assist to lead the sixth-ranked Jaguars to a 3-0 victory over its crosstown rival in the annual Ankeny Derby. It was the most goals allowed by the No. 1 Hawkettes since a 4-0 loss to Centennial in 2021.
“I think we just had a ton of energy,” said Martin. “We just executed our keys. We found the net, and we just really came at them hard.”
Fellow senior Olivia Kroska also had a goal for the Jaguars, who avenged last year’s 1-0 loss to Ankeny.
“It feels great,” said Kroska. “The last two years have kind of been unfortunate. We didn’t get the win last year, and then the year before we got rained out. So it feels nice–especially our senior year–to come out on top. It’s just a good feeling.”
It was the fourth shutout in five games for Centennial, which improved to 1-1 in the CIML Conference and 4-1 overall. The Hawkettes’ records dropped to 0-1-1 and 3-1-1.
“All credit to Centennial,” said Ankeny coach Simon Brown, who announced last week that he is resigning at the end of the season to become an assistant coach for the Wisconsin men’s program. “They were better on the night. One through 11, they were better.”
The Jaguars took a 1-0 lead when Martin swiped the ball away from Ankeny’s defense and scored a goal at the 33:24 mark.
“They were just on a goal kick, and they kicked it short to their player,” Martin said. “They played it back to the goalie really slow, and I just read the play. I was right there on it.”
Centennial coach Chris Allen breathed a sigh of relief going to the locker room at halftime, knowing that his team had the lead and would have the wind at their backs in the final 40 minutes.
“I thought it could easily be (a scoreless game), given both teams,” said Allen. “And then they got the ball with the wind behind their backs the first half. So it was like, ‘Maybe we weather this first half and then go after them the second half.’ But getting that goal in the first half was a huge relief.”
Martin later got a brace when she scored again off a corner kick by Kroska at the 55:16 mark. She found the net for her team-leading fourth goal of the season.
“It bounced around for awhile, and then it found me,” Martin said. “I just hit it in, right in the corner.”
There wasn’t much that Ankeny goalkeeper Claire Close could do.
“We just didn’t clear the ball,” Brown said. “When you let the ball bounce around the box, you let crazy things happen.”
Martin has now scored 36 goals in her career, moving her into second place on the school’s all-time list. The Missouri Western recruit needs five more goals to tie the school record of 41 held by Claire Dahm.
“She’s a workhorse,” Allen said. “She’s going to grind (the goals) out. They don’t have to be pretty–she’ll get them in whatever way she can. That’s part of her identity, part of her persona. She’s just a blue-collar soccer player who is going to put in the work.”
Less than 2 minutes later, Martin passed the ball back to Kroska, who punctuated the Jaguars’ victory with a rocket into the net from about 25 yards out. It was the first goal of the season for the Denver signee, who missed all of last year due to a knee injury.
“It felt amazing,” Kroska said. “Someone played it up to Ava, and she settled it. I was right under, and she played it right back. I just sent it into the goal. I’ve been trying to get on the board for awhile now. It just felt good this game to finally get it in the back of the net.”
Centennial finished with 14 shots, six of them on goal.
“On the third goal, we were chasing the game and Liv scores a banger into the box with the wind,” Brown said. “I don’t know if that’s the right score line, but I don’t think we had many chances outside of the one where the referees didn’t call the handball in the box (in the first half). That probably would have changed something with the game.”
Centennial goalkeeper Rylee Litchfield kept a clean sheet by recording three saves.
“We stayed organized for the most part,” Allen said. “Rylee was stout in goal when the ball did get back there. The back four really did a nice job of shifting together. When we sent players high, Emmarie Becker sat in and made sure that we were still covered defensively. I’m really proud of the work. It was dynamic in our in-possession moments, and it was structured in our out-of-possession moments.”
Both teams will face another conference opponent on Friday. The Hawkettes will host No. 3 Waukee (0-0, 2-0-1), while the Jaguars will travel to No. 12 Urbandale (0-2, 3-2-1).
