Gavin Mason

The Ankeny girls' soccer team celebrated its Senior Night on Friday with its most complete effort of the season. The sixth-ranked Hawkettes got two goals and two assists from Ava Paoli in a 5-0 victory over visiting Dowling Catholic. Paoli was honored along with fellow seniors Allison Hawkins, Kyla Schaapveld, Avery Taylor and Sydney VanHouweling. "I … [Read more...] about ‘I can’t say enough about the 5 seniors’: Hawkettes roll past Dowling for 5-0 win

The Ankeny girls' soccer team bounced back from Monday's loss at Waukee with a 3-1 victory over visiting North Polk in a non-conference game on Tuesday. It was a matchup of neighboring schools and the fourth-ranked squads in Iowa's two largest classes. "We played an excellent game," said Ankeny coach Gavin Mason, whose team is now 6-4 on the season. … [Read more...] about ‘We played an excellent game’: Hawkettes top North Polk, raise overall record to 6-4

A gusty wind wreaked havoc on the Ankeny girls' soccer team Monday night. It also didn't help that the fourth-ranked Hawkettes were playing on the road against a talented Waukee side without their starting goalkeeper. The No. 6 Warriors got a pair of goals from Sydney Burrier in the first half and went on to defeat Ankeny, 2-0, in a CIML Conference … [Read more...] about ‘It just wasn’t our night’: Depleted Ankeny girls succumb to gusty wind, Warriors

Friday's game against visiting Southeast Polk got off to a rocky start for the Ankeny girls' soccer team. "Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong for us in the first 6 minutes," said Ankeny coach Gavin Mason. "We were put under pressure, gave up a silly goal right away, and then our goalkeeper (Paige Hartz) got hurt and wasn’t able to … [Read more...] about ‘Every one of the girls stepped up’: Ankeny survives injury to Hartz, rallies past Rams

Abby Steinkamp scored the go-ahead goal in the second half as the Ankeny girls' soccer team posted a 2-1 victory at Norwalk in a non-conference battle between top-five squads on Tuesday. The fifth-ranked Hawkettes overcame a 1-0 deficit to improve their record to 4-3 on the season. Norwalk, the No. 2 team in Class 2A, suffered its first loss. The … [Read more...] about ‘I’m incredibly proud of the composure we played with’: Hawkettes top No. 2 Norwalk

Thursday's top-five showdown against its crosstown rival could have lost some of its luster if the Ankeny girls' soccer team didn't take care of business on Tuesday. After battling ninth-ranked Johnston to a 1-1 tie at halftime, No. 5 Ankeny needed a strong second half on its home pitch to even its record in the CIML Conference. And the Hawkettes … [Read more...] about ‘We really imposed our will’: Hawkettes control 2nd half in 2-1 win over Johnston

It was a rollercoaster of a weekend for the Ankeny girls' soccer team. After cruising to a 5-1 victory over fourth-ranked Linn-Mar (Marion) on Friday, the No. 5 Hawkettes dropped a 2-0 decision on Saturday to Waverly-Shell Rock in their final game of the Crosstown Invitational at Ankeny. The Go-Hawks (3-0) are ranked No. 2 in Class 2A. "Waverly-Shell … [Read more...] about Hawkettes roll past Linn-Mar, then fall to Waverly-Shell Rock at Crosstown Invite

Sometimes, a loss can pay dividends down the road. That was the attitude of Ankeny girls' soccer coach Gavin Mason following the fifth-ranked Hawkettes' 2-0 setback at No. 2 Valley on Tuesday. "I'm proud of the way we battled, and looking at the big picture this is a great early-season experience to learn from," said Mason. "We will certainly take some … [Read more...] about ‘We let them dictate a bit too much’: No. 2 Tigers win showdown vs. Ankeny girls, 2-0

It will take a team effort for the Ankeny girls' soccer squad to replace one of the best players in school history. Midfielder Alli Macke graduated last year after leading the Hawkettes to an 11-3-3 record and an appearance in the Class 3A state tournament. She scored a team-high 16 goals and also had five assists. Macke was a repeat selection to the … [Read more...] about ‘We have a very connected group’: Ankeny girls begin new era under coach Mason