Cal Wahlberg picked a good time to make some history.
A junior midfielder on the Ankeny boys’ soccer team, Wahlberg set a school record with his 15th assist to help the seventh-ranked Hawks to a 1-0 victory at Waukee Northwest on Tuesday.
Wahlberg set up Landon Benge for the game’s only goal in the first half.
“Coming off a season-ending injury last year, it’s been amazing to see him bounce back and play at this level,” said Ankeny coach Trevor Fuccio.
Benge found the net for his 21st goal of the season, which ranks third in Class 4A. He has scored at least once in each of the last four games–and Ankeny is unbeaten during that stretch.
The assist by Wahlberg allowed him to break the school record of 14 that was set by Marcus Varnum in 2010. Varnum later served as the Hawks’ head coach.
Wahlberg ranks second in Class 4A behind Jonathan Mendez of Dowling Catholic, who has 18 assists.
“We started slow, but ended the first half playing really well!” Fuccio said. “Though we battled well throughout the game, it wasn’t pretty and we were a bit fortunate to leave with a clean sheet. But I’m proud of the fight.”
The Hawks raised their records to 3-3-1 in the CIML Conference and 9-4-2 overall. Northwest, which had gone unbeaten with six ties in its previous eight games, is now 3-2-2 and 6-3-6.
“The boys know it has to be cleaner going forward, but we will take a win where we can get one,” Fuccio said.
Ankeny will travel to Urbandale on Friday for its conference finale. The J-Hawks are 3-3 in the league and 7-4 overall.
