From the hallway outside the Mediacom Stadium locker rooms, one chant rang out for the world to hear.
“Ole, ole-ole-ole, ole, ole.”
Those words echoed, minute after minute, from the Des Moines Hoover locker room. The Huskies will assuredly be celebrating until long after the sun goes down after winning their first-ever Iowa boys soccer state title.
The No. 6 Huskies defeated No. 4-seed Norwalk on Friday, June 5, in a game for the ages. Des Moines Hoover rallied from a 2-0 deficit late in the second half to come out with a 4-3 victory. It is the first time that a Des Moines Public Schools program has ever won a boys soccer state title.
Starring in the effort was Danny Baquedano Andino, who buried a pair of penalty kicks in the second half to tie the game. Ombewambapole Simbi scored the third goal from off the bench, while Esanda Kilozo, another reserve player, scored the game-winner and recorded an assist in the victory.
Norwalk received an outstanding effort from Eli Scavo and Tyden Eng, who each recorded a goal and an assist, while Hudson Ford tallied the first goal of the game for the Warriors. Behind those three, Norwalk upended No. 4 Marion and No. 1 Cedar Rapids Xavier to reach the program’s 11th state final, but came one goal short of winning a fifth state title.
But at the end of the game, it was Hoover who prevailed in an instant classic to claim the program’s first championship. While the Huskies had been knocking on the door for the last few years, unselfishness and grit from its players up and down the roster saw the team accomplish a major milestone.
“Even though we were down by two goals in the second half, we worked as a team and came up and beat the odds,” said Des Moines Hoover senior Isack Ramadhani.
Norwalk broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute, starting with a long ball down the field to open a fastbreak opportunity. Scavo was on the receiving end but had his shot blocked in transition by Hoover goalkeeper Amisi Bita. However, Ford was there to tap in the rebound for Norwalk, claiming his third goal of the tournament and giving his squad a 1-0 lead headed into halftime. In the 57th minute, Scavo got loose on a breakaway opportunity again, but converted this time to expand his squad’s advantage to 2-0.
Then came a barrage of goals in the final 17 minutes of play.
Des Moines Hoover cut the deficit in half in the 63rd minute, as the Huskies drew a penalty kick. Stepping up for the attempt was Baquedano Andino, who buried his shot to get his team back in the match. Just four minutes later, Hoover drew another penalty kick, with Baquedano Andino coming up in the clutch again from the spot to tie the match.
While Ramadhani is undeniably the focus of all opposing defenses and Hoover’s leading goalscorer, he and the rest of his team all point to Baquedano Andino as the guy they can count on in high-pressure situations.
“I’m so proud of him,” Ramadhani said. “He’s a class player. Anytime I get a PK, I’m always going to look up for Danny.”
For a brief moment, the Huskies jumped out in front as Simbi found the back of the net. He received the ball in the center of the box in the 73rd minute, dribbled back and fired a shot through traffic to grab a 3-2 lead with the clock ticking down. However, the Warriors had an answer just 53 seconds later as Eng received a nice touch pass from Scavo and blasted a shot just inside the left post to knot the game at 3-3.
While Norwalk had seized the momentum, Hoover’s refusal to stop chasing after every ball with maximum effort paid off. In the 75th minute, a Norwalk defender slipped while receiving a pass from their goalkeeper. After providing the assist on the previous goal, Kilozo was there to capitalize and scored the game-winning goal to put Des Moines Hoover into the history books.
“We’re going to eat pizza and party all night,” Kilozo said.
Des Moines Hoover has been to the state tournament for four consecutive years, including a trip to the state finals in 2024. They lost to Dallas Center-Grimes in heartbreaking fashion two years ago, leaving this year’s group of seniors as motivated as ever to capitalize this time around.
For Bita, who has started in goal the last three years for Des Moines Hoover, he said he already knows this will be one of those moments he remembers forever.
“These past three years, I’ve been always wanting to do something worth mentioning for my kids in the future,” Bita said. “This is it.”
While down 1-0 at halftime, Hoover head coach Jonathan Rubino reminded his team of all that they had been through to reach this moment. Beyond just outsiders doubting that a DMPS program could win a state title, many of his athletes have come to Des Moines from across the world, from underprivileged areas. They overcame several obstacles just to be on the pitch for the state final, from learning new languages, adjusting to life in the United States and everything in between.
That’s why on the afternoon of June 5, the Huskies were not going to let this game end any other way.
“I told them at halftime, they’ve overcome so many challenges in their lives. Obstacles, wars, poverty, just so much,” Rubino said. “To go and be able to have this moment and celebrate it with their fans, their school, their community and be the first to do something, they’re pioneers. They’re the first ones to ever win a championship in boys soccer in Des Moines. That’s an incredible feeling.”
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: Hoover wins first-ever boys soccer state title, downs Norwalk
Reporting by Eli McKown, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Eli McKown, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
