With a huge game coming up on Friday night, the Ankeny Centennial boys’ soccer team easily could have overlooked Thursday’s opponent.
The top-ranked Jaguars, though, didn’t want anything to spoil their Senior Night.
Centennial coach Brian Duax played only his seniors during the first half of a non-conference game against visiting Des Moines Lincoln. The Jaguars built a 2-0 lead at the break and went on to post a 4-2 victory to remain unbeaten.
“It was a great way to send the seniors out on their last home game, and they rose to the occasion,” said Duax. “The defense was stout with the exception of two times. The attack was well balanced, and we finished chances today. It was a great game to coach and watch.
“Both teams played hard and played the right way,” he added.
Alen Mujakovic scored Centennial’s first goal off an assist by Zachary Clark. Andrew Krueger later scored off an assist by Mason Goble.
Tate Duax racked up both a goal and an assist in the second half. After assisting on a goal by Brock Brazeau, Duax scored off an assist by Garrett Christensen for the Jaguars’ final goal.
Duax has a team-high 19 goals, 13 assists and 51 points for Centennial, which improved to 12-0-2 on the season. The Railsplitters’ record dropped to 8-3-4.
The Jaguars will play at No. 5 Southeast Polk (10-2-4) on Friday in a game that will decide the CIML Conference title. They can capture the outright crown with a victory.