Senior midfielder/forward Garrett Christensen has helped the Ankeny Centennial boys’ soccer team to a 3-0 start this season. He has recorded three goals and two assists for the Jaguars.
Christensen scored a pair of goals as Centennial opened the season on Tuesday with a 5-0 victory at Waukee Northwest. He had a goal and an assist in the Jaguars’ 5-1 win at Council Bluffs Lewis Central on Friday afternoon, then added another assist in a 3-2 triumph over Omaha (Neb.) Skutt Catholic on Saturday morning.
Here is some inside info on Christensen:
Congratulations on the win at Waukee Northwest. Did you ever imagine before the game that your team could hand the Wolves their worst loss ever?
Going into the game, I think a lot of us were excited and ready to get out on the field and show what we were capable of. I feel that we have something to prove this year, and that really fueled our mindset and mentality of the game against Waukee Northwest. When it comes to handing Northwest its worst loss ever, I don’t think it was expected but we knew we needed to show that we are a team that can get big wins against very good teams. Going into every game we are aiming to play our best game and I think if we play our “A” game all the time, then we can expect to be very successful throughout the season.
What was the key to dominating the game?
Following the game plan that was designed for us was key. Our coaching staff puts in more work than any staff I’ve been around, and they find things to exploit that many people don’t see. So I think trusting in the staff and the team understanding their roles really benefited our ability to go out and execute what we worked on in practice.
Tate Duax scored the game’s first goal about 90 seconds into the first half. What did that early goal do for the team’s confidence?
I think it was an immense boost to our confidence. We had some trouble scoring goals last year so getting one early against a very strong opponent in our first game really gave our attack energy that I think we were lacking last year.
Coach Duax told me that Northwest likes to push guys forward, and he was hoping that your team could get the ball to Tate in a 1 v 2 situation, because that could potentially pay off. Were you confident that Tate could win those battles?
I was confident in Tate’s ability to win his battle in a 2v1 because it’s something we expect him to do if that’s what is asked of him. Tate being able to do that really opens up the game for the rest of the team, and it showed when we had four different goal scorers on the night.
The game was played under cold and windy conditions. Did you find it difficult to stay warm?
Honestly, the start of the game wasn’t as bad as I thought it would have been with the weather, but it wasn’t the best. The cold really set in when you came to the bench and then returning to the game for the second half. It was just a matter of not letting it get to you and trying to stay warmed up whenever you could. The wind played a major factor in the game, too. We had the wind the first half and knew exactly how we wanted to use it and it led to us scoring four times in 20 minutes. It was clear in the second half, though, that the wind had picked up and it is what ultimately led to Waukee Northwest getting more chances in the second half than they did in the first.
What did you think of your team’s performance in the two games at Council Bluffs?
I think that we could have been better than we were. There were moments where we eased off the gas and we allowed teams to have more chances than they should have, but coming out with two wins is always a good thing. As a team we just need to continue improving and developing a killer instinct in front of goal to put away games early and give no hope for the other team of coming back.
I know Skutt Catholic is a perennial power. Do they compare pretty favorably to teams from the CIML Conference?
Yes, Skutt Catholic is a good team who likes to play a possession-based style of soccer. They would be a competitive team in the CIML for sure, and they’re a team we really like to play for that reason as it prepares us for more of our conference games throughout the season.
Do you feel like this team can compete with anyone?
I do–I think we can compete with anyone. After our year last year, albeit a disappointing end, we knew we were returning a very good squad this spring and I think we showed that against Waukee Northwest, who I feel is a very good team.
Goals for this season?
This season is a very important one for everyone, and our team as a whole has one goal in mind and that is to bring a state championship to Ankeny Centennial. If you were to ask around our entire team, I don’t think anyone has a different goal in mind other than that, and I think that’s what makes us good. Individual accolades are a great thing to have, but really what my team and I want most is to end the season without any regrets and have our legacy remembered.
Would you like to play soccer in college?
I made the decision to not play college in soccer earlier this year due to the strain that my body has taken over my career. I’ve yet to have a full year of staying healthy, and I can feel the toll that my body has taken over the years I’ve played. I just felt it was the right time to let go of the game, and I think that’s another reason I’m pushing myself so hard this spring.
What are you going to study?
In the fall I’m going to Iowa State University to study kinesiology and health and work through a physical therapy graduate program to hopefully become a physical therapist to help people get healthy from injuries because I know all too well what it was like to be injured and have to work extra hard to come back better and stronger than before.