The Ankeny girls’ soccer players were hoping to get another shot at their crosstown rival.
The sixth-ranked Hawkettes got the rematch they wanted in the Class 3A quarterfinals at the state tournament, but the revenge they were seeking never came to fruition on a sultry Tuesday afternoon.
No. 3 Ankeny Centennial scored four goals in a 23-minute span of the second half and rolled to a 5-1 victory over Ankeny at the Lied Recreation Fields in Ames.
“I didn’t expect that, and that doesn’t say anything about Ankeny,” said Centennial coach Chris Allen, who earned his 300th career win. “They gave us everything we had to handle, but we just kept persistent. As the game wore on, I think our depth really paid off. We were able to run subs at them and keep them under pressure, and these conditions played in our favor and we took advantage of it.”
Rebecca Flick scored a pair of goals for Centennial, while Evie Boyle and Jaeden Jackson each had a goal and an assist. Kayle Pezzetti also had a goal as the Jaguars improved to 11-2-1 in the all-time series against Ankeny.
“It feels good,” said Boyle. “I’m glad that we got this game done. It was really hot out today. I just thought everyone worked well, and we worked through the heat.”
This was just the second postseason meeting ever between the rivals. The Jaguars defeated Ankeny, 3-2, in the Class 3A title game in 2018.
Centennial (16-2-1) advanced to the semifinals for the second straight year. The Jaguars will play No. 2 Valley (16-2-1) on Thursday at 5:15 p.m. on Field 2.
The Hawkettes, meanwhile, finished their first season under coach Gavin Mason at 11-6-1. They also lost in the quarterfinals a year ago.
“It was a good game,” said Mason, whose team had lost the earlier meeting, 1-0, on April 23. “Centennial played well, and I thought it was really hard fought by both teams. We had a couple breaks that didn’t go our way, and I thought (the score of) 5-1 was really harsh. I think we put a lot more into the game than that. I’m just really proud of the effort that the girls gave today.”
Centennial took a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute after Emmarie Becker was fouled by Ankeny’s Kiersten Petersen, setting up a free kick for the Jaguars near their bench. Boyle then booted the ball into the box, where Ankeny goalkeeper Paige Hartz got a hand on it as she collided with Pezzetti.
The ball bounced right to Flick, who easily tapped it into the net.
“I knew if I put it in the box that one of my teammates would go get it,” Boyle said. “That’s all I was trying to do.”
Ankeny got an equalizer in the 23rd minute when Abby Steinkamp scored her sixth goal of the season. Ava Paoli dribbled in from the left side and crossed the ball to Steinkamp for her team-leading seventh assist.
“I’ve seen Abby make those runs into the box before,” said Paoli. “I was hoping she’d be there, and thankfully she was able to finish it.”
The game remained tied for about 27 minutes as neither squad seemed to gain the upper hand in the brutal heat. Boyle was confident, though, that the Jaguars would eventually find the net again.
“I knew we were going to get one back,” she said. “If we wanted it bad enough, it was going to go our way.”
In the 50th minute, Jackson scored what proved to be the winning goal in spectacular fashion. The sophomore put some pressure on an Ankeny defender in the Hawkettes’ defensive third, forcing her to pass the ball back to Hartz.
Hartz tried to clear it, but Jackson jumped and deflected the ball back toward the goal. She then finished into an open net for her sixth goal of the year.
“I was trying to get it off the defender and they passed it back to Paige, and I just jumped and tried to deflect it,” Jackson said. “It ended up deflecting and I wanted to finish it to get us up in the game.”
Jackson started for only the third time this season, but has made a huge impact in the postseason. Allen’s niece had two assists in a win over Cedar Falls in a regional semifinal, then scored a beautiful goal on a header in a victory over Cedar Rapids Prairie in the regional final.
“She’s had a really good close to the season, and hopefully she can keep it going for two more games,” Allen said.
Both Jackson and Flick, a freshman, were dual-sport athletes this spring. They ran in the state track meet last month, helping Centennial to a tie for seventh place–its highest finish ever.
Their conditioning appeared to pay off as the game progressed.
“We have a young team, and we have so many players that we can rotate on and off,” Jackson said. “Everybody just puts the same amount of effort in.”
Flick extended the lead to 3-1 in the 63rd minute. She took the ball away from an Ankeny defender, dribbled in from the left side and fired a shot that deflected off Hartz and into the net.
“There was nobody in the box, and the girl wasn’t letting me cross so I took a touch in and shot it,” Flick said. “I saw the goal was open so I took my chance and made it.”
It was Flick’s third goal in the last two games and her fifth of the year.
“That was quite a performance from her,” Allen said. “She just finds the right spot at the right time.”
Flick, who doesn’t start, said the Jaguars’ depth allowed them to keep their players relatively fresh throughout the second half.
“That was very helpful because we can go in and come out with the same energy and still attack the ball very well,” she said.
Centennial scored off another free kick in the 69th minute to make it 4-1. This time, Boyle lofted a deep kick over the outstretched arms of Hartz and into the upper right corner of the net for her third goal of the season.
“I prefer to take long shots rather than up close,” Boyle said. “I was just trying to get it close and see if one of my teammates could get a head on it.”
A few minutes later, Pezzetti punctuated the victory when she scored her seventh goal. It came off an assist from Jackson, who stole a pass and then dribbled in from the left side before crossing it to Pezzetti.
“Becci had an amazing goal on the third one, and that got us really excited and going,” Jackson said.
Mason said the Hawkettes were left exposed at times after pushing forward in an effort to score themselves.
“Once we went down, we had to try some things obviously to get back in it. I’m just proud of the way we battled,” he said. “And credit to (the Jaguars). They were good enough in those moments. They did enough on the day.”
Paoli and fellow seniors Allison Hawkins, Kyla Schaapveld, Avery Taylor and Sydney VanHouweling helped Ankeny to a 48-18-4 record over the last four years.
“Obviously, it’s not how we wanted the season to end, but I’m definitely proud of what we accomplished,” Paoli said. “Making it to state all four years of our high school careers is something really special, and I think it says a lot about the work this group has put in over the years. We’ve built a really strong culture and made a lot of memories together that I’ll always be thankful for.”
Centennial will now get a rematch against Valley, which advanced to the semifinals with a 4-1 win over No. 7 Linn-Mar (Marion). The Tigers got two goals and an assist from Sabrina Rogers in the victory.
The Jaguars dropped a 2-1 decision at Valley on April 28. Bryn Kenworthy scored a goal for the Tigers just 12 seconds into that game.
“This is the state tournament–you wouldn’t expect it to get any easier,” Allen said. “You’ve just got to grind.”
This will be the fourth postseason meeting between the two programs–all of them have come in the semifinals. Valley won in 2017 and 2021 before the Jaguars prevailed in a shootout in 2022 and went on to capture the title.
Jackson said the Centennial players will prepare for another tough battle.
“Communication and staying fit will be important,” she said. “I know it’s going to be hot again, so we have to stay hydrated too.”
The winner will play No. 1 Waukee Northwest (12-0-3) or No. 5 Bettendorf (16-1-3) in the championship game on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the Cyclone Sports Complex.
