West deflates Kennedy with early barrage in top-10 boys’ soccer battle

IOWA CITY — It happened really fast. A blink of an eye and the game was virtually over.

Third-ranked Iowa City West scored two goals in the first two minutes, added a third in the ninth minute and a fourth in the 19th and went on to a 5-0 victory over No. 10 Cedar Rapids Kennedy Thursday at Barker Field.

'We all just came out strong as a team,' West's Alex Anderson said. 'We all had the goal to win tonight, and we knew if we scored quick we'd score often. We saw the gaps and communicated on the field and just took advantage of what they were giving us.'

Nicholas Pitcher scored first, 73 seconds into the game on a pass from Jackson Nasby.

'I just think we came out 100 percent and they weren't ready,' Pitcher said.

Anderson was next 25 seconds later on an assist from Antonio Sanchez.

'The cross came in and the ball was bouncing around and just faked a shot and passed it in,' he said. 'I was just thinking 'let's keep going, let's not let up.''

'We were able to put the pressure on them when they didn't expect it and get two goals,' Pitcher said.

Coach Brad Stiles said the first goal came off a play the Trojans (6-0, 3-0) practiced.

'We let the attackers kind of go off on their own and we made a game with a point system where they had to shoot for the corner, shoot for the side and make some different runs,' he said. 'I don't think they thought much of it, but I got my point across. Literally the first goal looked a lot like something we did in practice.'

The third goal was a pretty cross from Alex Infelt that Nicholas Raley headed in. Gada Ambo scored in the 19th minute and assisted on Pitcher's goal in the 59th minute. Naturally the coach loved the defense.

'The shutout was a huge momentum swing because we've given up goals that maybe haven't been earned by the other team,' Stiles said.

Kennedy (1-2, 1-2) coach Mike Robertson wasn't happy with his team's first-half play.

'We were passive and weren't really going and winning any 50-50 balls,' he said. 'We made some obvious, simple mistakes (defensively). The second half we came out and fought. If they fight like that it's a place to start and build from.'