Ankeny boys’ soccer coach Trevor Fuccio wasn’t happy with his team’s effort in the early stages of Tuesday’s game against visiting Johnston.
The Hawks’ performance over the last 10 minutes, though, more than made up for it.
Ankeny scored two late goals in a dramatic rally to escape with a 3-3 tie against the two-time defending Class 4A state champions. The Hawks are now 0-3-1 in the CIML Conference and 4-3-1 overall, while Johnston’s records are 1-0-2 and 5-1-2.
“I am obviously frustrated with how we started the game,” said Fuccio. “I’ve been on these guys about not having 80-minute performances. But, I love the fight. The group will put in the work. I’m proud of them to fight back. They easily could have hung their heads after the third (goal by Johnston). I’m proud of the boys to get to 3-3.”
The draw ended winning streaks for both teams. The fifth-ranked Dragons had scored 23 goals while winning their previous four games, while Ankeny had won two in a row.
One side was clearly more satisfied to come away with a tie.
“I think as a team we’ve battled through adversity all year,” said Ankeny junior midfielder Cal Wahlberg. “We were down, but we had our mindset right and we just fought back. We know we have the skills up top, and we have the talent. We just have to fight and come back.”
Johnston held a 1-0 lead at halftime and then extended its margin on a goal by Kadin Nguyen in the 53rd minute. Nguyen blasted a left-footed rocket from the right side that found the top left corner of the net.
“We just came out really passive in the first 20 or 30 minutes,” Fuccio said. “When we’re the aggressors and we’re on the front foot, we’re one of the best teams in the state. When we’re not the aggressors, we’re not anywhere close. We just need the boys to have an aggressive mindset.”
Wahlberg got Ankeny on the board when he scored off an assist by Brady Claeys in the 62nd minute. It was his third goal of the season.
“I got the ball at the top, and they were all trying to cut off the pass to Lando(n Benge),” Wahlberg said. “And so I just kept taking space and eventually I realized I was in the box, I might as well have a shot. It ended up going in.”
The Dragons responded, however, and took a 3-1 lead on a goal by Cael Leach with about 10 minutes left. It didn’t take long, though, for the momentum to shift again.
Ankeny closed the gap to 3-2 on a goal by Canden Ganahi in the 72nd minute. Less than 60 seconds later, Benge scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season to tie it up.
Both of those goals came off corner kicks by Wahlberg, who is tied for the Class 4A lead with 11 assists.
“I just put it in the box, and they do the rest,” Wahlberg said of his corner kicks. “I have the easy part.”
Goalkeeper Jackson Dockendorff had 10 saves for the Hawks. He has been helped by an offensive attack that has produced 23 goals in eight games.
“I love that we’re averaging close to three goals a game,” Fuccio said. “I just wish our goals against was a little less. But we’ve got a lot of good players back there, and the midfield is continuing to do the work. As long as we can keep being organized as we go forward and can continue to score like we have been, it should be a good product by the end of the year.”
The Hawks will play a non-conference game at Norwalk on Saturday. The Warriors (4-1-2) are ranked fifth in Class 3A.