GILBERT — Tyler Jerkins was not going to lose his final game at Tiger Stadium with his team going for a second-consecutive Class 2A boys state soccer championship.
Jerkins made two clutch saves in the second shootout to clinch a 1-0 Gilbert victory over Aplington-Parkersburg/Dike-New Hartford United in the 2A state quarterfinals at Gilbert.
“He was amazing,” said Gilbert coach B.J. Jordison. “He’s the type of keeper you want to have back there in a shootout. He never got rattled, and when he needed to make the save, he did.”
After regulation and two overtimes the game was a scoreless tie. But in the first shootout neither team could miss as they each went 5-for-5 to force a sudden death shootout round.
In the sudden death shootout United keeper Isaiah Olson stopped the scoring string by deflecting a shot by Gilbert’s Zachary Schrader. But Jerkins followed up by diving to his right to knock away United’s Dayton Luhring to keep the shootout tied at 5-5.
Then senior Mitch Walter stepped up and delivered huge for Gilbert. He slipped one by Olson for a 6-5 lead in the shootout.
“I knew I had to believe,” said Walter. “I trust in Jerk and I trust my teammates. I knew that one mattered.”
Then with the game on the line United’s Chase Bertram stepped up for the PK. He tried to slip one by Jerkins on the right side.
The Tiger keeper was not having it.
“This is what we build for,” said Jerkins. “Six-fifteen out on this field, we’re working our butt off. I knew the second it went to (PKs) this was mine.”
Jerkins dove the right way and deflected the ball to set up a date with Bishop Heelan in the semifinals on June 4.
“I saw his hips open and I knew it was mine,” Jerkins said. “For a second it didn’t feel real. But then you hear the crowd erupt and that’s when you know you really saved it.”
Gilbert will take a 16-1 into the semifinals. It was the second year in a row the Tigers won a squeaker in the quarterfinals on their home field.
The Tigers defeated Knoxville by a 3-2 score in the 2025 2A quarterfinals at Gilbert after a clutch winning goal from Tyler Holtan.
United (13-4-2) gave Gilbert a heck of a run. Gilbert had blanked them by a 4-0 score on April 10, but United executed its defensive strategy to perfection on June 1 to give the Tigers a scare.
Gilbert controlled possession for most of the game. But the Tigers just could not find a way to break through United’s deep defensive back line.
Gilbert got off seven shots on goal to United’s three in regulation. The Tigers also had a huge 12-2 advantage in corner kicks.
The Tigers had a golden opportunity when Zachary Schrader got a run and nearly punched one past United keeper Isaiah Olson with 13 minutes left in the second half, but Olson came up just in time to make the stop before Schrader got to the ball.
United’s best chance to score came five minutes into the first overtime. Cooper Mulder got an open look from 20 yards out near the middle of the field, but it went wide left.
The game concluded a fantastic day of 2A quarterfinal soccer at Tiger Stadium. Des Moines Christian defeated Wahlert Catholic in overtime, 2-1, Unity Christian blanked Knoxville by a 3-0 score and Bishop Heelan defeated Mount Vernon by PKs, 3-2 (4-2).
Jordison said he is looking forward to getting a chance to face Heelan again in the semifinals.
The two teams have had quite a rivalry over the past three years. Gilbert won last year’s 2A title game over the Crusaders by a 3-2 score, Heelan knocked off an undefeated Tiger team in the 2024 state semifinals by a 3-1 score on its way to the title and the Tigers scored a 2-1 win in overtime during the 2023 tournament on its way to a 2A state championships.
Gilbert also defeated Heelan earlier this season at home, 3-0.
“There’s a healthy rivalry there,” Jordison said. “It should be a good game; however, it goes.”
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Gilbert tops AP/DNH in Iowa boys soccer state quarterfinals
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
