(GLENWOOD) — Glenwood boys soccer proved to be one of the top teams in Class 2A this year with a balanced attack, stingy defense and some quality wins.
The Rams, ranked No. 4 in 2A, currently have wins over Sargent Bluff Luton, Atlantic, Waverly-Shell Rock, Waukee, Des Moines East, St. Albert, Tri-Center, Red Oak, Le Mars and Kuemper Catholic. , with a record of 10 wins and 1 loss. Their only loss was his 2-1 at the hands of 1A No. 7 Traynor.
“I'm really excited about our start so far,” Glenwood head coach Court Lovato said. “I wasn't expecting it. We were able to get a big win early on.”
In the ADM tournament on April 6, the Rams defeated Waukee (1-0) and Des Moines East (3-2), two big wins on the same day.
“Waukee should have been up 1-0 in the first five minutes,” Lovato said. “One of their shots hit the post. After that, the players calmed down and settled down and we became a more aggressive team. Against Des Moines East, the players were patient. We After we beat Waukee, we were playing with house money.'' The players responded and we won in a way we haven't seen in a long time. โ
Glenwood had 12 players and a total of 46 goals last year. Cameron King and Adam Severn are a formidable duo with 10 goals each, along with Court Lovato Jr. (six goals), Nolan Clark (five goals), Virginio Rangel Gonzalez (four goals) and Andrew Gonzalez. Abler (3 goals), Jace Tallmon (3 goals) and Trace Johnson are also there. (1), Riley McEwen (1), Aaron Christian (1), Till Kaufman (1), and Hunter Purvis (1) also found the back of the net.
A question mark entered the year as to where the Rams' scoring power would come from following the graduation of Kayden Johnson, who scored 29 total goals last season and won the 2023 KMA Land Youth Soccer Player of the Year award.
“We're a team of 11 players,” Lovato said. “There's no selfishness. We're playing beautiful soccer right now.”
Scoring has been difficult at Glenwood this year. The Rams have allowed just six points in his first 11 games. Junior Ryan Turner has made 332 saves through 610 minutes with a save percentage of 88.9%.
“He wasn't going to play this year,” Lovato said. “Our assistant coach talked to him and Ryan was excited about it. He's the vocal leader we need in a goalie. He sets the tone for our defense. .โ
The Rams have been on top of the program's eighth state tournament trip the past two years, but missed that opportunity with losses to Lewis Central (2022) and Perry (2023) in the semistate finals. Ta.
Fourth place in the Iowa High School Athletic Association Class 2A rankings gives them an advantage if they can do business in upcoming games against Harlan (Thursday), Creston (Tuesday) and Lewis Central (May 2). ), Dennison-Schleswig (May 7th), and Abraham Lincoln (May 10th). His three games in the second half of these matchups will be key for the Rams. Lewis Central is No. 1 in Class 3A, Dennison Schleswig was last year's state tournament team, and Abraham his Lincoln has won four of his last five.
“We need to be competitive,” Lovato said. “These are three good teams. The last three games are going to be tough, but we have to perform well to be on the right path to postseason play.”
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