The Iowa high school girls soccer season has officially entered make-or-break time, and Norwalk knows every moment that passes is crucial.
The Class 2A Warriors are in the midst of one of their best seasons in recent memory. At 14-1-2, their only loss in the regular season came against Class 3A Ankeny. The last two times Norwalk has won more games in a year were in 2021 and 2022, reaching the state tournament in both those years.
Since 2011, Norwalk has only totaled 14 or more victories six times.
The catalyst for this year’s success is the 15 seniors on the roster. Their top-seven goal scorers are seniors, along with their top-six assist leaders. Their starting goalie, Kate Liedtke, is also a senior.
The group knows better than anyone just how fragile postseason dreams can be. One bad pass, a single misplaced touch on the ball or a detrimental foul can end everything a team has been working for. Over the last three seasons, and the last two in particular, Norwalk’s seniors have found that out the hard way with heartbreaking losses that cut promising seasons short.
As the Warriors enter the all-or-nothing part of the 2026 campaign, they are playing some of their best soccer yet, turning those crushing losses earlier in their careers into motivation to win big.
“It’s a culmination of all these seniors’ four years,” said Norwalk girls soccer head coach Andrew Messer. “Saying that our success started this year would be a lie, because it definitely started since they were freshmen and building up.”
Norwalk girls soccer turns heartbreaks into one of best seasons in recent memory
The last two seasons have ended the same way for Norwalk, with 2-1 losses after penalty kicks in the regional finals.
In 2024, it was Lewis Central that took the victory over the Warriors. In 2025, it was Bondurant-Farrar. Both times, Norwalk was the No. 1 seed in their regional and poised to make the state tournament, only to fall in the most excruciating fashion.
“Obviously, being (goal)keeper, I was pretty disappointed after we lost in PK’s (penalty kicks) two times in two years,” Liedtke said. “This year, we just don’t want to feel that disappointment again.”
The extra motivation is apparent for Liedtke, owning a stellar stat line with just six goals allowed this season and a 92.2% save percentage, but the motivation extends past her. While the stat sheet for Norwalk is stacked with seniors, no single player stands above the rest. Of their top-seven goal scorers, only Addy Wood (11) and Olivia Welch (10) have recorded double-digits. Five players have tallied five or more goals this season. Five athletes have four or more assists, but none of them have more than six.
When Norwalk plays, it’s not just one player putting the team on their back, but a collection of talent all motivated as ever to find success.
“I think a lot of us just want it a lot this year, especially since (the) last three years haven’t gone our way,” senior Pearl Brown said. “I think that’s just an extra motivation, a little fire underneath us that will push us past that line to really working together and being one team.”
Team chemistry is a big part of how Norwalk keeps such a balanced box score. Some members of the senior class have been playing together since they were as young as 3 years old, but those moments of heartbreak are what elevate that togetherness to the next level.
A prime example of that came on May 12, the last time Norwalk failed to win a match this year, settling for a 0-0 tie against Indianola. Messer said the team did a great job defending and limiting shots, but Indianola did everything perfectly to shut down their attack as well.
While a tie against a Class 3A opponent is hardly a poor outing, the team still came away frustrated. After the game, the team met and challenged one another to “flip the switch,” and said that they needed to get back to putting the team first when they take the field.
Ever since, Norwalk is 4-0 and has outscored opponents 12-0. Two of those wins were against Lewis Central and Bondurant-Farrar, the very same programs that halted their run to the state tournament the last two seasons.
Norwalk begins its postseason journey on June 2 against Knoxville in the regional semifinals. When the opening whistle is blown, their opponents will be focused on slowing down a balanced attack. However, the biggest challenge their opponents will face is matching the sense of urgency the senior-laden Warriors carry as they seek a state tournament appearance to try to end their high school careers on a high note.
“It would just mean a lot to a lot of our senior class,” Brown said. “A lot of us have put a lot of time, blood, sweat and tears into this. Going back to what the past two years have been, definitely did not go our way. I think that would just be a striving force for us all. We all want to do it for each other, not just for ourselves.”
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Norwalk girls soccer uses scars of the past to motivate postseason run
Reporting by Eli McKown, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
