West stymied in semis

DES MOINES - One word formed the narrative for Iowa City West's last soccer match of the season.“Frustrating,” Women of Troy midfielder Alli Peterson said.And that's not just because the talented junior failed to convert a penalty kick into a goal for the first time in her career.The word provided a succinct description because Friday's state tournament semifinal foe, West Des Moines Dowling, thwarted each of West's rare, precious scoring chances, winning 2-0 at the Cownie Soccer Complex.Peterson's came late, in the 69th minute, with West needing a rally from a 2-0 deficit. Maroons goalkeeper Mackenzie Lasnek deflected her shot in the air, where it struck the crossbar, tumbling backward over the net.Moments later, a corner kick triggered by midfielder Eleni Katz nearly led to a goal, but Peterson had expected to head the ball in, making the resulting kick lack the oomph she wanted.“When you get to the end of the season, the chances are fewer and fewer and fewer,” said West coach Dave Rosenthal, who guided his team to its sixth straight tournament appearance. “You have to be able to bear them, you have to have the confidence to do it. We had good efforts. Keeper made a great save on that one on the penalty kick and I think they came up just right on the corner and the finish. If we had a little bit more meat on the ball, maybe that goes in.”Neither team put many shots on goal in the defense-driven match.The Women of Troy managed three - all in the final 11:06.Dowling notched four, but controlled the pace most of the time.“I think we had a decent game plan,” Rosenthal said. “I think we knew they were going to attack with (forward Bailey Bravard). ... They always say speed kills. I think there's no doubt about that.”The Maroons struck quickly, going ahead 1-0 in the seventh minute on Madie Avery's twisting goal.West's defense remained stingy, however, and didn't allow goal number two until the 52nd minute.“This match was a lot more physical than most of the matches that we've had,” Katz said. “But I thought both teams were really giving it their all, really had the desire to win.”There's plenty of optimism on the immediate horizon for West.Five seniors (three starters) graduated, but a core that includes Katz and Peterson remains.“We have a lot of great players coming up,” Peterson said.