Ankeny boys’ soccer coach Trevor Fuccio challenged his players to come away with a pair of wins this weekend.
The Hawks responded in a big way.
After posting a 3-0 triumph over Linn-Mar (Marion) on Friday at the Valley Invitational, Ankeny capped off the tournament Saturday with a 6-4 victory over previously unbeaten Ames. The Hawks are now 4-3 on the season.
“We needed to be 2-0 this weekend, and we were able to achieve that in two very different ways,” said Fuccio. “I’m proud of our captains and the leadership from the boys to get us moving in the right direction.”
The Little Cyclones had not allowed a goal this season before Ankeny built a 3-1 halftime lead in Saturday’s game. The Hawks eventually scored two late goals to earn the win after Ames rallied to tie it up at 4-4.
“That was one of the crazier games I’ve been a part of as a coach,” Fuccio said. “Credit to Ames for being able to come back from three goals down to tie the game up. That shows the heart and grit Ames has, especially on the second day of a back-to-back.”
Ames (6-2), which dropped a 3-1 decision to Dowling Catholic later in the day, could not find a way to stop Ankeny’s Landon Benge. The senior forward had a hat trick and now leads the team with 12 goals, which also leads Class 4A.
Junior Cal Wahlberg racked up two goals and two assists in the win. He leads the team with nine assists, which is tied for first in Class 4A and tied for third in the entire state.
Dylan Gloviak had a goal and an assist. Brian Jimenez contributed two assists, and Keaton Kobow added another one.
Ankeny goalkeeper Jackson Dockendorff made five saves in both games, but Fuccio said the Hawks clearly need to clean some things up on the back end.
“Obviously, when you concede four goals in a game, there are some things to tighten up,” he said. “But I’m very pleased with the response from the group once Ames tied the game up with 8 minutes to go. They had all the movement, and it was great to see the boys push through and get a winner and a sixth goal at the end.”
In the win over Linn-Mar (3-3), Ankeny scored all three of its goals in the second half. Benge scored two goals, Wahlberg had two assists, and Andrew Loder added a goal and an assist.
“I thought it was a dominant performance once we stopped overcomplicating things in the first half, and I was very happy with the second-half performance,” Fuccio said. “It was also great to get a ton of younger guys some minutes in a game versus a good opponent.”
The Hawks will host a CIML Conference game on Tuesday against Johnston, the two-time defending Class 4A state champion. The Dragons are 1-0-1 in the league and 5-1-1 overall.
Johnston’s only loss came at Ames, 1-0, on April 4. The Dragons have won their last four games.