The race for the CIML Conference boys’ soccer championship will be decided on Friday night.
Top-ranked Ankeny Centennial remained in the driver’s seat with a 3-1 victory at No. 6 Johnston on Tuesday. The Jaguars, who are rated No. 14 nationally by United Soccer Coaches, improved to 5-0-2 in the league and are the only contender who controls its own destiny.
“It was an average performance overall,” said Centennial coach Brian Duax, whose team is now 11-0-2 on the season. “I’m proud of the boys for coming back after giving up an early goal. Credit to Johnston for playing really hard and with a ton of heart.”
The Dragons got a goal from Chayten Pope off an assist by Toriawoe Monger, but then were held scoreless the rest of the way. They finished 3-3-2 in the conference and dropped to 6-3-3 overall.
Centennial goalkeeper Will Krueger had three saves in the win.
“The boys faced adversity and overcame it, which is a great step forward for us,” Duax said.
Ben Ridlen scored the Jaguars’ first goal off an assist by Mace Nithang. The game was tied, 1-1, at halftime.
Three of Johnston’s previous four games had ended in draws, but this time there would not be another tie. Lucas De la Cuba scored the go-ahead goal in the second half off an assist by Brock Brazeau, then Mason Goble later added an insurance goal off an assist by Andrew Krueger.
The Jaguars won despite getting no points from explosive forward Tate Duax, who entered the game with a team-high 18 goals and 12 assists.
“We had lots of missed chances, but we got goals from three different players and had three different players with assists,” coach Duax said. “We still need more composure in front of the goal.”
Centennial will host a non-conference game against Des Moines Lincoln (8-2-4) on Thursday. The Jaguars will then close out the conference season on Friday with a showdown at No. 5 Southeast Polk, which is now 4-1-2 in the league and 10-2-4 overall after posting a 3-1 win over Dowling Catholic on Tuesday.
No. 2 Waukee Northwest also stayed alive in the title chase with a 4-1 win at Ankeny. The Wolves are now 5-1-1 in the conference and will host Dowling on Friday.
Centennial can clinch the outright league crown with a victory over the Rams. If Northwest beats Dowling, the Wolves can win the title with a Centennial loss or tie for the crown if the Jaguars battle Southeast Polk to a draw.
The Rams can share the championship with Centennial by defeating the Jaguars while Northwest also loses. One other potential outcome is a three-way tie for the title with a Southeast Polk win and a Northwest draw.