(Story by Stephen McDaniel)
If there was any rust formed in the near two-week stretch between the end of the regular season and Tuesday night’s Class 3A Region 6 semifinals, the Ankeny girls’ soccer team certainly didn’t show it.
The sixth-ranked Hawkettes looked to have their matchup won not long after it started as Ankeny scored nine first-half goals before reaching the 10-goal mercy rule in the 49th minute of its 11-1 victory over visiting Marshalltown.
“First, just credit to Marshalltown and they had a great season,” said Ankeny coach Gavin Mason, whose team improved to 10-5-1. “I thought tonight was a chance to shake off a little bit of the rust. I don’t think we were at our best, but at the end of the day you can’t complain too much. I’m happy to get a win to get started and we’re on to Thursday.”
Marshalltown (9-8-1) aimed to keep catching the Hawkettes offsides with its back line playing further up the field, but the constant pressure generated by Ankeny had the game out of reach in the first half.
The team’s leading goal scorer, Ava Paoli, got things started for the Hawkettes in just the 4th minute when she scored off an assist from sophomore Abby Steinkamp. It was the first of her three goals on the night.
The Hawkettes had a 6-0 lead by the time they reached the midway point of the first half.
Isabel Squires had a career night for Ankeny by scoring four goals, giving her 12 goals on the season.
“Our ability to get in behind and be dangerous going forward,” Mason said of the key to their success attacking. “Lots of different players contributed to that, and we have a lot of talent in forward areas.”
Squires scored her first of the night in the 8th minute to make it 2-0 before Steinkamp scored both of her goals in the span of 12 seconds during the 11th minute to increase the margin to 4-0.
Paoli and Squires each recorded another goal to give Ankeny a trio of players with two goals apiece by the 18th minute.
Marshalltown made good on one of the few looks it had at the net during the 21st minute when Bobcat sophomore Claire Bonzer was able to win a battle for a ball near the goal and managed to knock it past Hawkette goalkeeper Paige Hartz.
Ankeny bounced right back with Steinkamp threading a ball through for Abby Stetich, and the sophomore netted her second goal of the season to give the Hawkettes a 7-1 lead.
“We’ve said all season that we believe we’re one of the best teams in the state,” Mason said. “I think we showed that with our results and showed that again tonight of what we’re capable of.”
The 10-goal mercy rule was being threatened with a late flurry from the Hawkettes which saw Avery Taylor get in on the goal to score in the 36th minute and Squires completing a first half hat trick with a 38th minute goal.
The mercy rule came into effect 9 minutes into the second half.
A hat trick for Paoli made it a 10-1 game 2 minutes into the half, and Squires closed things out with her fourth goal of the night in the 49th minute.
Sophia Kephart ended the night with a team-high three assists, while Steinkamp and Allison Hawkins each added two.
“It’s easy after a game like tonight to have a little bit of complacency creep in,” Mason said. “But with this group and the leadership we have, I think we’ll use Wednesday’s practice to get locked in and we’ll be ready to go come Thursday.”
Ankeny’s sights have been set on a return to the state tournament, so the Hawkettes are aiming to get right back to work as they have one more roadblock in the way.
The Hawkettes will host No. 11 Cedar Rapids Kennedy (10-1-2) in the regional final on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Cougars advanced with a 3-0 victory over Mason City.
“We talked before the game that this is step one and we’ve got bigger goals, but we can only take it one at a time,” Mason said. “We took care of business tonight and that sets us up well. Now we’ve got to come back tomorrow, get prepared and take care of business on Thursday.”
