Prairie stays hot, cools off Iowa City

IOWA CITY - Like its boys counterpart, the Prairie girls' soccer team has served notice that it must be reckoned with this season.

The Hawks got goals from senior Mackenzie Serbousek and sophomore Cayla Renwick and beat Iowa City High 2-0 Tuesday at City High.

The victory gives the Hawks sole possession of second place in the MVC's Mississippi division with a 5-2 record (7-2 overall).

City dropped to third with a 4-3 record, 6-3 overall.

'They've really stepped up after a rough beginning to the season,” Prairie Coach Dave Kea said.

'The biggest thing is just getting into the season, finding the rhythm and the oneness with each other.”

'We're just starting to click as a team,” Serbousek said. 'Figuring out where our strengths are, where our weaknesses are, where we should attack.”

While Prairie threatened constantly it didn't score until Serbousek's bolt from the right side of the box about 20 yards away in the 33rd minute.

'It kind of ricocheted out and I was in the right spot and I took the shot,” she said.

'She keeps telling us she's not one to normally score, and I'm kind of thinking differently,” Kea said.

City sophomore forward Grace Brown nearly scored with 8 seconds left in the half, but keeper Riley Hansen leapt and deflected the shot before it found the upper left corner.

City came out with more aggression for the first six or seven minutes of the second half but couldn't capitalize on its runs.

'We just had to match their intensity and not let them get into our heads,” Serbousek said.

Renwick, who played both the back line and forward, scored the second goal in the 52nd minute when she stole the ball at the top of the box and found herself all alone against the keeper. She smashed the ball into the upper left corner of the net.

'I just got lucky; she had a little missed touch and it happened to sneak out right where I was,” she said.

City struggled with possession all game.

'The way they played made it real difficult to do what we wanted to do,” City High Coach Michael Prunty said. 'We weren't sharp enough.”