It was only a matter of time before Ava Martin became the career scoring leader in Ankeny Centennial girls’ soccer history.
When the senior forward finally set the all-time record on Friday night, she did so in dramatic fashion.
Martin scored off an assist from Emmarie Becker with about 8 minutes left to give the third-ranked Jaguars a 1-1 tie against No. 4 Waukee in a CIML Conference game at Ankeny Stadium.
“We don’t play for ties, so the result doesn’t feel great,” said Centennial coach Chris Allen. “But it’s nice to have battled back and to see Ava break the career goals record with a few games left in the regular season.”
The goal was Martin’s 10th of the season and the 42nd of her career. Claire Dahm held the previous mark of 41 goals.
Martin scored 14 goals as a junior, eight as a sophomore and 10 as a freshman.
“That moment was amazing, and I’m feeling so blessed to have these opportunities and be surrounded by supportive people!” said Martin, who also ranks second on the school’s all-time list with 26 career assists. “To do on Senior Night was even more special, and I’m ready to keep working.”
It was the fourth tie of the season for Waukee, which was outshot by a 17-7 margin but got 14 saves from standout goalkeeper Lauren Nidey. Martin and Olivia Kroska each took four shots for the Jaguars.
“I thought the game went pretty well,” said Kroska. “We dominated for most of the game and had a lot of possession and were able to do connect passes. We kept them out of our half for the majority of the game.”
Allen said his team struggled to capitalize on its opportunities.
“We did an excellent job of creating chances, and there are moments we will wish we could have had back,” he said. “Nidey is one of the best shot stoppers in the state, and Waukee’s defense can be one of the most organized, so when a team has a chance to get in on goal, they need to be extremely accurate. Unfortunately, that wasn’t us tonight.”
After a scoreless first half, the Warriors took a 1-0 lead when Laney Haviland converted a penalty kick. It was her second goal of the season.
“We did a great job of holding off the counters until they were given a corner on an overload in the wing,” Allen said. “We didn’t set up to defend it very well, and it ended in them earning a penalty kick on the cross.”
The Jaguars answered later, though, with Martin’s record-setting goal. Becker won a ball in the middle and passed it to Martin, who beat two defenders on the dribble and then tucked it away.
“Our effort was very evident,” Martin said. “I think we fought hard the whole game and responded especially well after we got scored on. Obviously, a tie isn’t what we’re looking for, but our efforts and will to fight were positive.”
Kroska said she was excited to see her teammate break the record.
“Ava has been working really hard to put herself in situations to score,” she said. “She’s also really humble and acted like it was no big deal when she scored. It just shows that she wasn’t playing for herself and the record, but she was playing for the team.”
Centennial is now 3-2-1 in the conference and 10-3-1 overall. The Warriors are 2-1-3 and 6-1-4.
Martin is hopeful that the Jaguars can score even more goals in their upcoming games, beginning with Tuesday’s contest at No. 7 Johnston. The Dragons are 3-3-1 in the league and 7-3-3 overall following Friday’s 2-0 loss at No. 2 Valley.
“We can learn to be more dangerous around the goal,” Martin said. “We need to really focus on hitting shots hard, finding the extra pass around goal and just taking advantage of our opportunities.”
