Van Meter upsets No. 1 West Branch in 1A boys’ state soccer quarterfinals

DES MOINES — The West Branch Bears were giants all season.

Class 1A’s top-ranked boys’ soccer team was third in the class in goals scored. It won a strong River Valley Conference that sent three teams to the state tournament.

Alas, the ball didn’t roll the Bears’ way Wednesday in their only loss of the season, a 3-1 state quarterfinal defeat to Van Meter at Cownie Soccer Park.

Van Meter (15-5) jumped on the board late in the first half as a West Branch handball led to a Henry Lounsberry penalty kick with 10:51 left.

The Bulldogs tacked on another score five minutes later on a free kick headed in by Caleb Moore. Then Lounsbury collected a pass at the top corner of the box and fired in a shot to the far corner for his second goal with 1:32 left in the half.

“It’s never easy to get scored on first, it’s kind of a hold that’s hard to come out of,” West Branch Coach Ted Miller said. “But going down 3-0 at halftime, a lot of teams would just put their tails between their legs and just kind of go through the motions for the second half. We just kept fighting.”

West Branch (18-1) was composed in the second half. The defense was solid.

Finally, with just over 19 minutes left, Reese Gingerich put the Bears on the board.

“Even though they went down 3-0, they didn’t give up,” Miller said. “They’ve never given up all season, so I’m just proud of the way they played all game.

“A lot of these kids didn’t even get any breaks. The defenders, three out of the four, played the entire game.”

The outcome wasn’t what the Bears wanted, but it was still a season to be proud of.

A year after West Branch’s first state tournament appearance, the Bears accomplished two new feats this year — wins over Iowa City Regina and West Liberty.

“This season was extremely special to me,” Miller said. “These seniors, eight of them, have been playing together since kindergarten. I think that’s why our team was so successful.”

North Fayette Valley breaks through against West Sioux

North Fayette Valley’s fifth season as a varsity boys’ soccer program will forever be remembered. The third-ranked TigerHawks rallied for their first state tournament victory Wednesday, 2-1 over No. 7 West Sioux.

Oscar Robles delivered the Falcons (12-4) a 1-0 lead by tapping in a cross less than seven minutes into the game, but NFV (16-3) recovered quickly.

Andre Fuentes followed up a missed penalty and scored with 29:34 left in the first half, then Lincoln Aeschliman — who drew the PK — fed Brody Schupbach for the go-ahead goal less than three minutes later.

Trey Frieden saved a 59th-minute penalty kick and the TigerHawks held on in their third trip to state.

Iowa City Regina shuts out Hudson, moves on again

Iowa City Regina does not automatically advance to the semifinals; it only feels that way sometimes. The second-ranked Regals (16-3) are in the final four for the seventh time in the last eight seasons and 14th time since 2008 after a 3-0 win over No. 8 Hudson (14-6).

Jack Hoover found Quinn Warren in the 16th minute to open the scoring, then Ethan Beard’s 30th-minute shot caromed off the goalkeeper’s hand, the post and in.

Beard drew a penalty with 10:26 left and Eddie Petersen scored Regina’s third from the spot.

Regina and North Fayette Valley will meet in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday at Drake Stadium.