It won’t be easy for the Ankeny Centennial girls’ soccer team to replace the leadership from players like Maddison Balashaitis, Olivia Kroska and Ava Martin on last year’s squad.
Those three standouts all graduated after leading the Jaguars to a 15-4-2 record and a trip to the Class 3A semifinals in 2025. They are now playing at the collegiate level–Balashaitis at Concordia St. Paul, Kroska at the University of Denver and Martin at Missouri Western.
“Our program has a history of incredible leaders who have gone on to lead in their lives after Jaguar soccer,” said Centennial coach Chris Allen. “Similarly, when we lose great leaders like Maddison, Ava, Olivia and the other seniors, there are always players ready to step up. Currently, Emmarie Becker is our sole captain, and she is doing great as she upholds the Jaguar standard while creating an inclusive environment. But she’s not the only one. We have other players who are also willing to lead, and they have spoken to their teammates as they begin establishing our expectations for the season.”
Becker, a defender/midfielder, is one of four returning seniors who will lead the way for the Jaguars. The others are defender Evie Boyle, midfielder Emily Conger and forward Piper Zeman.
Conger scored four goals and had four assists as a junior. She was named to the CIML Conference first team.
Boyle played a key role for a defensive unit that posted 13 clean sheets. She also contributed four goals and six assists.
Boyle was a repeat selection to the all-conference second team. She has committed to play for Southwest Minnesota State.
Becker scored five goals and had four assists while also seeing some action at goalkeeper. She scored the tying goal against Johnston in the Class 3A quarterfinals, then moved to keeper and made a crucial save as the Jaguars posted a 3-2 victory in a shootout.
Becker was a third-team all-conference pick. She will play for St. Olaf.
Zeman, meanwhile, had a pair of goals.
“The weather has been great and enthusiasm has been high, so practices have been going very well,” Allen said. “Our first days were primarily for identifying appropriate groupings for the 75 kids we have in the program. At this point, we have a preliminary varsity roster of 18 players, and we will monitor our JV1 closely throughout the season for potential additions to that roster.”
Among the other returnees are junior defender Kenna Gray, junior goalkeeper Rylee Litchfield and junior midfielder Mady Postma. Gray earned all-conference honorable mention for the second straight year, while Litchfield and Postma also received honorable mention.
Postma scored four goals and had seven assists, while Gray added a goal and an assist. Gray has verbally committed to MSU Mankato.
Litchfield racked up 32 saves while allowing just 14 goals. She will be reunited with Balashaitis at Concordia St. Paul in the fall of 2027.
Other returning juniors are forward Josie Ehlinger and defender Kaelen Jackson. Ehlinger is the team’s top returning scorer after notching six goals a year ago, while Jackson has returned to the pitch after missing the 2025 season due to an injury.
Centennial also returns a trio of sophomores in defender Hadley Bergan, forward Jaeden Jackson and midfielder Grace Poskevich. Jackson had one assist as a freshman.
“We will need to stay healthy, and we will need our younger players to grow quickly into the environment,” Allen said. “They were selected (to play varsity) for a reason, so we hope that they can play with confidence. We will need to be resilient. The CIML will show no mercy, so we need to be able to weather the challenges and stay cohesive through them. And we need to remember to enjoy it all. High school soccer passes quickly, so they need to embrace the opportunities they have to be together and not let it become a chore.”
The Jaguars will open their season on Friday by hosting a non-conference game against Iowa City West. It will be the start of a two-month journey that could culminate with the team’s 11th trip to the state tournament in the 12-year history of the program.
But Allen knows that there will be some occasional bumps in the road.
“An overarching goal, and ultimately our mission, is to develop leaders who will help the team maintain its resilience through moments of adversity,” he said. “In terms of style of play, we plan to develop a team that values the ball yet has a desire to advance into attacking areas. Defensively, we would like to reduce the number of corner kicks we allow and be highly organized around the goal.”