It’s the beginning of June, and that can only mean one thing: time for the Iowa high school boys soccer state tournament.
Only eight teams were still standing in Class 4A at the beginning of the day on Monday and, by the end of the day, that field will be narrowed down to four.
First on the docket: Iowa City West vs. Urbandale, and the J-Hawks came out on top, making a statement in their return to Iowa’s largest class after winning the 3A state title last season.
Here are the highlights from each of the four quarterfinal matchups in Class 4A.
This story will be updated in real-time as games end.
Urbandale’s second-half comeback secures a spot in state semifinals
It was Iowa City West that struck first – after 37 scoreless minutes to start the game – off the foot of Tiago Gonzalez, who tapped the ball around a handful of defenders and let off a shot that trickled into the bottom right corner of the goal.
The Trojans took that lead into halftime, and then deep into the second half, while Urbandale struggled to put its best foot forward.
The J-Hawks had plenty of chances in front of the net, but no player could get off a clean shot. Further hindering Urbandale were four yellow cards, all assessed to different players, before the midway mark of the second half.
But that didn’t slow them down, and Messie Ndaruhutse scored the game-tying goal with 17:40 remaining in regulation. He collected a pass from Chris Boina, kicked it through the legs of a defender and watched as it trickled past West’s diving keeper and into the back of the net.
“It felt really great (coming off my foot),” Ndaruhutse said postgame. “I’ve been working on that all year, and to see it happen in the state tournament really means a lot to me.”
Less than two minutes later, Urbandale took the lead when Emmanuel Mauris squeezed in a second-chance shot, past the goalie’s fingers, in the left corner of the net. The J-Hawks jumped to a 2-1 lead with 15:53 left on the clock.
“I was running down the side,” said Urbandale coach John Mullins, about the two goals in less than two minutes. “I’ve never done that, but it was just so exciting. Playing in 4A is a different feel, because you’re predominantly playing some of the best teams in the state.”
And the J-Hawks put one more in the back of the net for good measure, with Chris Boina making it a 3-1 game with 2:44 left on the clock.
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa boys state soccer, Class 4A quarterfinals: Urbandale beats IC West
Reporting by Alyssa Hertel, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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