Regina grabs early lead against Holy Trinity, returns to state soccer tournament

IOWA CITY — The 2-0 final score doesn't do justice to how dominant Iowa City Regina was against Fort Madison Holy Trinity in Monday night's Class 1A girls' soccer regional final.

From the opening whistle, the Regals spent the majority of the game on Crusader half of the field. The Regals dominated both physically and with skill, and looked every bit the part of a team that has qualified for the 1A state tournament five years in a row.

No. 2-ranked Regina takes on eighth-ranked Council Bluffs St. Albert in Thursday's quarterfinals at 12:15 p.m.

It took just four minutes for the Regals to crack the egg on the scoreboard. Lauren Gaarde punched in a back-post goal with the outside of her right foot after a cross from Cammy Verducci.

'(Verducci) did really well crossing it tonight,' Gaarde said. 'It was just all her. She just made a really great ball that snuck in behind their defenders, and I was able to finish it.'

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As good as Gaarde's goal was, Lauren Ronnfeldt's score to make the game 2-0 in the ninth minute was even more entertaining.

A cross from Jenny Wick, who left the game with a yellow card in the 21st minute, landed at Ronnfeldt's feet, and as the Crusader keeper rushed her, Ronnefeldt punched the ball through the keeper's open legs.

'Our coaches said this could be our last game,' Ronnfeldt said. She added the Regals would not take the opportunity for granted.

And they didn't. Although the attacking slowed down when Wick left the game, the Regals still outshot the Crusaders 16 to 1 in the first half and 24 to 4 overall.

Defensively, goalkeeper Megan Wick was rarely tested, though she did make a pair of clutch saves midway through the second half.

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Overall, Regina Coach Ann Larew said she was pleased to see her team take the lead early.

'I talked to them about right away, go out there and set the tone, and that's what they did,' Larew said. 'We're at the point in the season where they have all the tools, and now it's a matter of fine tuning it.'

After winning the Region 8 title, the Regals said they knew there still is work to be done in Des Moines.

'We had a goal all season,' Gaarde said. 'And now we're just trying to finish it off.'

l Comments: ian.murphy@thegazettecompany.com