Cal Wahlberg scored a goal and also had two assists to lead the Ankeny boys’ soccer team to a 3-0 victory at North Polk in a non-conference game on Thursday.
It was a much-needed triumph for the Hawks, who had not been victorious since defeating Ames by the same score at the Valley Invitational on April 18.
“It was good to get the win and play the way we wanted to,” said Ankeny coach Trevor Fuccio. “It was good for the confidence level of the group.”
Ankeny (3-8-1) held a 1-0 lead at halftime. The Hawks then sealed the victory with a pair of goals in the second half, dropping North Polk’s record to 7-3-1.
Wahlberg either scored or assisted on all three goals. He now has six goals and a team-high eight assists for 20 points, which also leads the squad.
Keaton Kobow scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season. Michael Sage had the other goal, becoming only the second Ankeny player other than Kobow or Wahlberg to find the net–Alberto Romero-Rodriquez was the other.
Ryler Ntem contributed an assist for the Hawks. It was his first of the season.
Goalkeeper Jackson Dockendorff and backup Carter Lee combined on the shutout. Dockendorff made four saves before Lee added two more over the final 10 minutes.
Ankeny had lost five straight games before settling for a 1-1 draw against visiting Waukee on Monday.
“We emphasized the importance of getting results at this time as the substate pairings come out on Monday,” Fuccio said.
The Hawks used 25 different players in the game.
“We were able to manage everyone’s minutes, which is big for the guys on our bench to get the experience while also allowing guys to rest a bit as we play three days in a row,” Fuccio said.
Ankeny will travel to Davenport North for a pair of games this weekend. The Hawks will play Muscatine (8-1-2) on Friday before facing Iowa City High (5-4-2) on Saturday.