AMES — Nevada could not dig itself out of an early hole during a 5-1 loss to old nemesis Davenport Assumption in the Iowa high school girls state soccer tournament quarterfinals on June 3.
Nevada gave up three goals in the first 20 minutes. The Cubs could not make up the difference as Assumption ended their bid to repeat as 1A state champions.
“Assumption is always a high-level quality team,” said Nevada co-head coach Mark Rhodes. “You just always know it’s going to be a dog fight when you play them. They put us in a hole right away, which obviously deflates you. They put you under a lot of pressure and if you make a few mistakes, they’ll punish you for them, and they did that today.”
Nevada knew it would face some big challenges in 2025 after graduating the bulk of its 2024 team and replacing legendary head coach Randy Davis, who retired after the 2024 championship run.
But new Cub coaches Rhodes and Justin Evans, who were both long-time assistants under Davis, made the transition go very smoothly. They also built up younger players to complement returning all-state twins Avery and Evelyn Anderson and midfielder Aubrey Thompson.
Nevada still ended the regular season ranked in the top 10 of Class 1A. During regional play, the Cubs crushed South Tama (12-0) and Colfax-Mingo (5-0) before avenging an opening-game loss to top rival Gilbert with a 1-0 road win in the regional final. That sent Nevada to the state tournament for the 13th year in a row.
“We had five, seven girls to rebuild, and we had a lot of freshmen that stepped up,” said Avery Anderson. “It took a while for everyone to get adjusted because it’s a big change from having 11 starters that have been playing together for eight years to having freshmen who have never seen a varsity field. We were rough at first, but at the end of the season, we got where we wanted to be.”
Unfortunately, Assumption had too much firepower in the quarterfinals. Especially for a team without Thompson, who missed the contest while she was at basic training for the Army Reserve.
Ruby Stevens got Assumption on the board in the opening minutes of the state quarterfinal game. Dru Dorsey followed with a goal, and then Maddie Tolle scored to give the Knights a 3-0 lead in the first 20 minutes of play.
Nevada continued to fight. Late in the second half, Evelyn Anderson scored for the Cubs to cut their deficit to 3-1 at the half.
In the second half, Nevada fought hard for the first 29 minutes to stay within striking distance. But Assumption eventually broke through for two more goals in the final 11 minutes to sew up the victory.
Dorsey scored her second goal off a ball from Stevens and Amalie Yates wrapped up the scoring with a shot from around 15 yards out.
“Dru Dorsey is a weapon,” Evelyn Anderson said. “She does really good stuff, so there’s not a lot you can do about a player like that.”
Nevada ended its season with a 12-6-3 record.
Assumption 13-4-1 will face Bishop Heelan (18-2) in the 1A semifinals on June 5.
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: Nevada falls to Assumption in Iowa girls state soccer quarterfinal
Reporting by Joe Randleman, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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