No. 1 Prairie survives substate semifinal clash with Marshalltown

CEDAR RAPIDS — Logan Serbousek stood on the sideline at John Wall Field Wednesday and watched Marshalltown's Jose Torres find himself open near the center of the box.

A few minutes earlier, Serbousek left the game clutching his ribs after challenging for a header. As Torres won and converted a penalty kick to tie this Class 3A boys' soccer substate semifinal at 1-1 in the 37th minute, the Cedar Rapids Prairie center back and senior captain made up his mind.

'It's a big game, I'm a senior. If this was going to be my last game, I decided it wasn't worth sitting out,' Serbousek said.

Serbousek returned for the second half and the Bobcats (6-11) rarely threatened the goal again. His cousin, Matt Walter, knocked in a bouncing ball in the box in the 75th minute to put the top-ranked Hawks (18-0) in the substate final with a 2-1 victory, then jumped into Serbousek's arms after the final whistle.

'It hurt a little bit, but it's worth it,' said Serbousek, whose team will host No. 16 Cedar Rapids Kennedy (11-4) at 9 a.m. Saturday. 'Big game, big win.'

'When he came in, we were all super excited,' Walter said. 'We were just trying to get that one for him because it could be his last game.'

Serbousek's availability going forward wasn't the only thing in question. Words and a few shoves were exchanged after the match, ultimately resulting in Marshalltown head coach Chris Fuchsen and two of his players being given red cards while Prairie avoided discipline from the official.

'It's unfortunate it ends like that,' Prairie Coach Curt Lewis said. 'I know your season ended, but I'm proud of our guys for not responding because we could have taken some (suspensions) to red cards for that and the silliness out there on the field.'

Caleb Halleran opened the scoring in the 32nd minute when he tapped a Mateaus Lewis ball past Marshalltown captain John Boland, then converted a one-on-one opportunity against goalkeeper Ricardo Ibarra.

The Hawks had multiple chances for a winner in the second half, including two open Andrew Russell headers that went just over the bar. Finally, Joel Collett's free kick was crossed to Boston Riley, who headed it back to Walter.

'They were a shorter team, we were able to find Boston's head,' Walter said. 'He played it back across and I put it in the back of the net."

l Comments: (319) 398-8252; nathan.ford@thegazette.com