Fifth-ranked Williamsburg best Independence 1-0

WILLIAMSBURG — Toss records aside.

There are no free boys’ soccer wins in the Wamac Conference — not even for Class 2A’s No. 5 team.

Fifth-ranked Williamsburg (8-1-2) needed a 66th-minute Mohammed Ali goal on a beautiful cross from Gunnar Van Hyfte to best Independence (2-7-1), 1-0, at home Tuesday.

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“You love the energy from Mohammed there,” Williamsburg Coach Ryan Sauser said. “I'm sure the scoreboard didn't reflect it, but you just have to get away with the win in some of these conference games.

“Guys are going to play hard. They have good players, good athletes. You’re not going to get a day off here.”

It was a bit of a next-man-up game for the Raiders.

Williamsburg was without leading scorer Mason Eggleston and Braysen Doehrmann exited the game early.

“It was a good opportunity for guys to step up, especially filling in when Braysen went down and Mason already out,” Sauser said. “I felt like we took a step of growth there.”

Eggleston was ruled out after taking a hit to his hip Monday night in a “physical” battle against Wamac-rival Benton Community (3-5-3) — a game that ended in a 2-2 tie.

“It was just an unfortunate hit on my hip, but hopefully I’m back soon and it’s a quick recovery for the postseason and next week’s game against CCA (Clear Creek Amana on May 8),” Eggleston said. “They’re (Benton) a good team and they were pretty physical.”

Doehrmann is second in goals for Williamsburg with 12, one behind Eggleston. He was forced to leave Tuesday’s contest with an ankle injury.

Fortunately for the Raiders, he also anticipates a quick return.

“I’ll give it a day of rest, but I plan to play the next one,” Doehrmann said.

Williamsburg travels to Vinton-Shellsburg (2-6-1) for another Wamac contest on Thursday.

At full strength, the Raiders are among the most dangerous teams in their class. They’re ninth in 2A with 36 goals scored — tops in the Wamac.

Eggleston was the 2023 Wamac West Player of the Year, but missed most of 2024 after suffering an early-season ACL injury. Doehrmann stepped in, scoring 14 goals and earning first-team all-state honors.

“You’re going to be faster, one of you, than most defenders — let alone having two coming at you,” Sauser said referencing Eggleston and Doehrmann. “When you've got this kind of speed up front, that's hard to deal with. When we get these guys healthy heading into the home stretch and continue to grow in our ways of attacking, good stuff can happen.”

With a 6-1-1 conference record, Williamsburg is in the mix for a third straight Wamac title.

“We’re going for gold again this year,” Eggleston said.

The Raiders currently trail Grinnell (6-3-2, 5-0-2 Wamac), amplifying the importance of every match from here on out.

Another milestone Williamsburg has its sights set on is reaching the state tournament for the first time since 2018.

“That’s the main goal,” Eggleston said. “The last two years we’ve gotten beat in the substate finals. I think this year is really the one where we make the push through.”

“I think you always have the same goals, but you've just got to take it a game at a time,” Sauser said. “If we can get ourselves on our home turf in the postseason, that always helps. But we need to take care of business and not look too far ahead.”