The Ankeny Centennial girls’ soccer team needed to take care of business on Friday in order to set up Tuesday’s showdown against top-ranked Waukee Northwest for the outright CIML Conference title.
The No. 3 Jaguars did just that by posting a 3-1 win over visiting Southeast Polk on their Senior Night at Northview. One of the team’s seniors, Piper Zeman, got the ball rolling with a goal in the 6th minute–her second of the season.
“Piper’s goal came from hunting a deflection in the box and finishing with her head,” said Centennial coach Chris Allen. “It was a big moment for her on Senior Night.”
Kayle Pezzetti and Mady Postma each had a second-half goal for Centennial, which improved to 6-1 in the league and 12-1-1 overall. The Rams’ records dropped to 1-6 and 4-10-1.
Pezzetti and Emily Conger each added an assist for the Jaguars. Conger, Zeman, Emmarie Becker and Evie Boyle were the four seniors who saw some action on Friday.
“We were happy to get the result as Southeast Polk is better quality than their conference record indicates,” Allen said. “We wanted the result and to come out healthy, and we checked off both those objectives. We were able to generate some quality chances during the first half, but it lacked passion or energy. We didn’t make any tactical changes at half—it was more about finding joy in playing.
“We felt the girls responded well to that, and the mental shift led to an early second-half goal,” he added.
Northwest, meanwhile, kept its conference title hopes alive with a 3-0 victory at Dowling Catholic. The Wolves are now 5-0-2 in the league and 8-0-3 overall.
Centennial is seeking its first win over Northwest since 2022, when the Jaguars posted a 2-1 triumph in the Class 3A quarterfinals and went on to claim the state title. The Wolves have won the last five meetings in the series, including Class 3A quarterfinal matchups in 2023-24.
