(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
It took just a tick under 7 minutes into the game for Alli Macke to score off a corner kick, and the rest was history.
The fifth-ranked and top-seeded Ankeny girls’ soccer team set a new season-high in goals after seven different players combined for nine goals in a shutout victory over visiting Des Moines Lincoln in a Class 3A regional semifinal on Wednesday.
“Everyone played that needed to play, and we got out of here with everybody fresh and healthy that can play in Friday’s game,” said Ankeny coach Simon Brown, whose team improved to 10-2-3. “We wanted to be in Friday’s game with a chance to go to state, and we got that with this result.”
Ankeny’s previous season-high was six goals, which came in a win at Dowling Catholic on May 9. The Hawkettes then matched that total against Urbandale to close out the regular season a week later.
Macke, Ankeny’s leading scorer, was the one that got the snowball rolling early in the game. After scoring off the corner kick, Macke blasted a shot off a pass from Presley Sullivan in the 24th minute to extend Ankeny’s lead to 2-0.
Macke has now scored 15 goals this season.
“There’s quite a bit of nerves going into the game knowing there was nothing guaranteed if we didn’t take care of business,” Macke said. “Getting that first goal really kind of relieved some pressure, helped us score a couple more and feel more confident going into Friday’s game.”
The Hawkettes doubled their lead before halftime with junior Ava Paoli scoring the first of her two goals in the 27th minute and freshman Abby Steinkamp stealing the ball after a goal kick and giving them a 4-0 advantage in the 33rd minute.
The offense didn’t slow down after the break as Ankeny scored three of its next five goals within the first 10 minutes of the second half.
It took less than 4 minutes for sophomore Isabel Squires to make it a 5-0 lead, and Paoli followed her up by scoring her second goal just 49 seconds later.
Ankeny sealed its victory with a Sullivan goal in the 50th minute, an Avery Taylor goal in the 54th minute and a Sophie Loeffler goal to close things out in the 76th minute.
“We had a lot of chances in our attacking half, and we knew this would be a game where we’re in front of the goal a lot,” Macke said. “We ended with a lot of goals, but with the amount of chances we had, we definitely want more composure in front of goal and be better going into the next games.”
Despite closing in on the double-digit mark, the Hawkettes knew there were a couple of other goals left out on the pitch.
They dominated the possession time and spent a majority of the game on Lincoln’s half of the field, which led to several prime scoring opportunities. The Railsplitters (7-10-1) only managed a single shot through the full 80 minutes.
While it might not make a big difference in a game where the Hawkettes hold the lead comfortably from start to finish, going into the region finals and a potential state tournament appearance will require scoring when the opportunity presents itself.
“We probably would’ve expected a little bit more productivity in front of the goal,” Brown said. “We created a ton of chances, probably too many, for not a lot went in. Hit the back of the net, the keeper made some nice saves, hit the crossbar and post like four or five times.”
One of the biggest positives was the fact that the Hawkettes were able to play their entire roster in the victory. Keeping legs well rested in postseason play becomes much more important with their season on the line with every game they play moving forward.
“It was awesome,” Macke said. “I think everyone on our roster played tonight and just to get girls some rest going into Friday, and if we’re lucky enough to continue our run into state, having fresh legs is a huge benefit.”
Ankeny will host No. 12 Cedar Falls (10-4-2) in the regional final on Friday at 7 p.m. The Tigers advanced with a 1-0 victory over Cedar Rapids Prairie, getting the game’s only goal from freshman Niyah Ling.
It’s a rematch of the season opener on April 1 at Ankeny, where the Hawkettes got a goal from Squires in a 1-0 victory. Cedar Falls did not get off a shot in that game, while goalkeeper Alexis Montgomery kept the Tigers in it by making 17 saves.
Montgomery also had 17 saves in last year’s meeting at Cedar Falls, where the Tigers were outshot by a 30-3 margin but posted a 1-0 win.
