(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
The Ankeny Centennial boys’ soccer players aren’t letting their lofty status in the latest IHSAA Class 4A rankings go to their heads.
The newly top-ranked Jaguars are just focused on doing the things that have helped them reach this point.
Centennial did just that Monday night as the Jaguars posted a 4-0 clean sheet against visiting Ames to raise their overall record to 9-0-2. The non-conference game was a rematch of last year’s substate final that was won by the Little Cyclones, 2-1.
“Before the game started our entire pep talk was that the No. 1 ranking doesn’t mean anything until June 5,” said Centennial coach Brian Duax. “Still play with a chip on your shoulder, still play like you know we can and don’t come out complacent.”
“(The ranking) is great, but we can’t let it get to our heads,” added star forward Tate Duax. “Obviously I think we’ve earned it, but there’s also two ties that we could have won. It’s a great feeling, but we have to keep going.”
In order for the Jaguars to keep their undefeated streak alive against Ames, they were going to have to battle some strong winds.
Centennial spent the first half attacking with the wind, but actually found more success in the second half while going into the wind.
The Jaguars’ lone goal of the first half came on a 22nd minute strike from Duax that was helped set up by fellow senior Brock Brazeau.
“(Ames) was going long every time, we baited them, both our wingers came in and he played the ball that we wanted him to play,” Tate said. “Brock jumped it, played it to me, I kind of let it run and I just kind of slid and toe poked it in.”
The Jaguars dominated possession throughout the first half and had numerous chances get cut short with passes catching the wind, blowing out of play and lining Ames up for goal kicks. It was much like Centennial’s 3-2 win over Ankeny in similar conditions on April 23, when the Jaguars also had more trouble scoring with the wind at their backs.
It wasn’t until a miscue that Centennial was able to capitalize with their leading scorer in Duax getting a clean shot off on goal and blasting it past the keeper to give his team the early advantage. It was his 14th goal of the season, which is tied for fourth in Class 4A.
Some of those passes that sailed a little long with the wind ended up finding their marks once the Jaguars were attacking into the wind.
“I think the wind in the first half actually played against us because balls rolled too much and there were too many goal kicks,” said Brian Duax. “Those balls that are normally really good to get in behind were carrying too much. A much better performance in the second half against the wind. Played better soccer, created more chances and actually finished some chances.”
Duax assisted on a pair of goals in the span of 7 minutes by getting the ball to his teammates and letting them finish their chances.
Andrew Krueger was able to sprint past a defender to chip the ball in during the 45th minute for his fourth goal of the season, extending the margin to 2-0.
In the 52nd minute, Duax threaded a pass through Ames’ back line and Garrett Christensen was able to control it before side-setting the keeper to tap in his sixth goal of the season to make it 3-0.
Krueger and Mason Goble put the finishing touches on the game in the 72nd minute. A cross from Krueger was just out of reach for Alen Mujakovic, but Goble was left open on the back side to blast home his second goal of the season.
“Spreading (the ball) around and making it so teams can’t just key in on (Tate) is going to make us even that much more dangerous,” Brian Duax said of having four different goal scorers.
In goal, Will Krueger helped the Jaguars record their third straight clean sheet and their fifth of the season. The Little Cyclones’ record dropped to 4-5-3.
Even with four games remaining in the regular season, Centennial still has some major tests ahead that will provide some big challenges.
The Jaguars will host a CIML Conference game against Waukee (3-8-1) on Friday before facing a trio of ranked opponents next week: No. 6 Johnston, No. 8 Des Moines Lincoln and No. 3 Southeast Polk.
“We need to finish (chances) that’s for sure,” said Tate Duax. “The chances are coming, we just need to be composed and I think if we just keep playing for each other and buy into what our coaches say, I think we’ll go far.”
