The regular season is over for the Ankeny boys’ soccer team.
The Hawks will now enter the postseason with a 0-0 record, like every other squad.
“We’ll turn our focus to Des Moines East, knowing it’ll be a tough match,” said Ankeny coach Trevor Fuccio. “We’ll work to keep the season going as long as we can.”
Ankeny closed out the regular season on Friday with a 2-1 loss to visiting Urbandale, the No. 4 team in Class 4A. It was the sixth consecutive victory for the J-Hawks, who improved to 4-2-1 in the CIML Conference and 10-2-3 overall.
The Hawks finished 0-7-1 in league play and dropped to 4-11-1 overall. Despite the team’s record, Fuccio expressed his gratitude for the team’s 12 seniors.
“I want to thank them,” he said. “They are a talented group that has provided us with a ton of leadership and helped mentor this very young squad, and they are asked to fill significant roles.”
All of the scoring in Friday’s game came in the first half. Neither team was able to find the net–or even threaten much–over the final 40 minutes.
“Overall, it wasn’t a great performance,” Fuccio said. “We made a few defensive errors early, and neither team really generated much in the attack after the first 20 minutes. It was frustrating as it was a game we thought we could win, and we wanted to be able to celebrate the senior class properly.”
Ankeny will host Des Moines East (3-10) in a Class 4A substate quarterfinal on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Scarlets have recorded shutouts in two of their last three games, including a 10-0 win over Waterloo East in their season finale on Tuesday.
The winner will play at top-seeded Southeast Polk (10-3-4) in a substate semifinal on May 27.
