A week ago, the Ankeny Centennial boys’ soccer team was mostly successful in containing high-scoring Ankeny forward Landon Benge.
The Jaguars weren’t as successful on Tuesday defending Dowling Catholic star Jonathan Mendez.
Mendez erupted for four goals and two assists to lead the second-ranked Maroons to a 7-2 victory over No. 8 Centennial in a CIML Conference game at Dowling. He now has 12 goals on the season, which is tied for third in Class 4A behind Benge (13 goals) and Joseph Miniter of Davenport Central (15 goals).
“We experimented with a different formation,” said Centennial coach Brian Duax. “We knew we needed to treat Johnny Mendez like we treated Lando and make sure that he didn’t impact the game, and it didn’t work. Johnny had a heck of a game. He had four goals, and they were all on weakside runs that we knew he was going to do. The game plan didn’t work.”
Dowling extended its winning streak to four games while snapping the Jaguars’ own four-game streak. The Maroons improved to 2-2 in the conference and 6-2 overall, while Centennial’s records dropped to 2-2 and 5-3.
Freddy Alvarado-Solis added a pair of goals for Dowling. Raymond Molina had three assists.
“They were a good side that capitalized on our errors,” Duax said. “I’d rather have this game happen now than later in the year. It’s a good humbling experience.”
Centennial’s Brock Brazeau had a goal and an assist for the third straight game. Lucas De La Cuba also scored a goal, and Tate Duax added an assist.
The Jaguars held a 2-1 lead before Dowling exploded for four goals late in the first half to build a 5-2 advantage.
“It was a really good game for the first 20 to 25 minutes,” Duax said. “And then a couple costly turnovers in the back made it 3-2, and then Johnny ended up getting another goal or two and all of the sudden it was 5-2 at the half. There was a 10-minute stretch where we lost our plan for trying to contain Johnny, and he punished us. He’s really good at that. If you give him an inch, he’ll take a mile.”
Duax said the brutal CIML schedule doesn’t allow for any letdowns.
“The CIML is a buzzsaw,” he said. “If you don’t show up to play in every game, this can happen. It just wasn’t our night.”
The Jaguars will play a non-conference game on Thursday at Norwalk. The Warriors (4-1-2) are ranked fifth in Class 3A.
“Norwalk is basically another CIML school,” Duax said. “We’ll have to be ready to go.”
