Ankeny Centennial boys’ soccer coach Brian Duax isn’t looking forward to the end of the 2026 season.
He just hopes it lasts as long as it can.
Duax will be coaching his son, Tate, for one final season. Tate, a senior forward, is headed to Boston in the fall to play for Northeastern University.
“The last hurrah is bittersweet,” said coach Duax. “The last time I get to coach him at Centennial will be very hard, but hopefully we have until June before that happens. I love coaching all the players, but when it is your blood the great times are even better–and the bad times hurt even more.”
Duax’s youngest son left Ankeny as a freshman in 2022 to join the Austin FC Academy U15 squad. But he returned to his hometown in 2024 and joined the Jaguars’ squad midway through his sophomore season.
Last year, Duax led Centennial to a 13-6 record. It was a huge turnaround after the team struggled to a 5-12 mark the previous season.
Duax scored a team-high 10 goals and tied for the team lead in assists with six. He was named to the Class 4A all-state first team by the Iowa High School Soccer Coaches Association and was also selected to the CIML Conference first team.
Senior midfielders Brock Brazeau and Lucas De la Cuba are among the team’s other returnees. Brazeau scored six goals and had six assists as a junior, when he earned all-state honorable mention.
De la Cuba, meanwhile, contributed two goals and an assist. He joined Brazeau and Duax on the all-conference first team.
“This is probably the most senior-laden team I have ever had,” Duax said. “If work rate and attitudes stay high and positive, I believe we will be hard to beat.”
The other returning seniors are Garrett Christensen, Zach Clark, Mason Goble, Drew Kruger, Mace Nithang, Ben Ridlen and Ethan Sextro.
Ridlen, a midfielder, and Nithang, a defender, were both second-team all-conference picks. Nithang scored a goal and had two assists as a junior, while Ridlen also had a goal.
Christensen scored two goals and had three assists. He was named to the academic all-state first team by the IHSSCA.
Christensen also earned all-conference honorable mention along with fellow midfielder Goble, who contributed a goal and an assist. Sextro, another midfielder, earned academic all-state honorable mention after racking up two goals and two assists.
Kruger, a forward, was the team’s third-leading scorer. He recorded four goals and added one assist.
Juniors Brecken Allen, Maddox Rash, Max Rush, Ty Sexton and Ayden Sosa are also back for the Jaguars along with sophomore Will Krueger.
Allen and Rash each had one assist a year ago. Rash, a defender, earned all-conference honorable mention along with Kreuger.
Krueger, a goalkeeper, made 95 saves as a freshman.
“The goals for this team remain the same as always,” Duax said. “We want to win a championship.”
Centennial will open the season on Friday and Saturday with a pair of non-conference games at Iowa City West. The Jaguars will face West in their opener before meeting Cedar Rapids Washington the next day.
“The keys to our success will be positive attitude and positive work rate,” Duax said. “How we handle adversity will determine how far this team can go. We need to be a family on and off the field.”