Iowa high school girls’ state soccer 2021: A closer look at the tournament

DES MOINES — The 2021 Iowa high school girls’ state soccer tournament kicks off Tuesday with the quarterfinals in all three classes at Cownie Soccer Park.

The semifinals are Wednesday and the finals are set for Friday.

Let’s take a closer look at the field.

Class 3A

Top seed — West Des Moines Valley (18-1) lost just once this season, 2-1 to No. 5 Ankeny Centennial on April 13. The Tigers have won 15 straight since, including 11 shutouts.

Defending champion — Ankeny was ranked sixth when it knocked off No. 3 Linn-Mar, No. 7 West Des Moines Dowling and No. 1 Waukee for the 2019 state title. This year, the Hawkettes (12-4) are ranked No. 8 and looking for another first-round upset against No. 2 Pleasant Valley (14-2). Leading scorer Rachel Christmann (14 goals) was also a starter two years ago.

Surprise team — No. 11 Muscatine (15-3) scored twice as many goals against No. 6 Linn-Mar as the Lions’ other 18 opponents combined did this year in a 4-1 regional-final stunner.

Top goal scorers

1. Anna Van Wyngarden (West Des Moines Valley) 28

2. Liberty Bates (Council Bluffs Lincoln) 23

3. Morgan Russmann (Pleasant Valley) 21

T-4. Elizabeth Overberg (Ankeny Centennial) 20

T-4. Mya Jansen (Muscatine) 20

Tuesday’s state quarterfinal games

No. 1 West Des Moines Valley (18-1) vs. No. 11 Muscatine (15-3), 3 p.m.

No. 4 West Des Moines Dowling (15-3) vs. No. 5 Ankeny Centennial (17-2), 3:15 p.m.

No. 2 Pleasant Valley (17-2) vs. No. 8 Ankeny (12-4), 3:30 p.m.

No. 3 Waukee (14-3) vs. No. 7 Council Bluffs Lincoln (16-3), 3:45 p.m.

Class 2A

Top seed — Waverly-Shell Rock (16-2), the 2019 state runner-up, has won 15 straight games entering the tournament. Iowa signee Kenzie Roling set a state single-season record with 68 goals. Roling, defender Sasha Wilson and midfielder Siri Ott were starters on the 2019 team. The Go-Hawks have only lost to 3A qualifiers Ankeny Centennial and West Des Moines Valley.

Defending champion — No. 8 Cedar Rapids Xavier (13-5) beat Waverly-Shell Rock 2-1 in overtime in that 2019 final and now has a rematch in the 2021 quarterfinals. The Saints have five starters back from the team two years ago and took No. 1 WSR to OT this season before falling 2-1. Xavier has won nine state championships.

Surprise team — There weren’t any upsets in the 2A regional finals, as the top-eight teams all advanced. For a surprise team, let’s look at the season’s first rankings. North Scott was barely in at No. 15 with a 4-4 record after a 1-3 start but has since moved up to No. 6. The Lancers (13-5) have won seven in a row, including a 2-0 victory over Iowa City Liberty in the regional finals.

Top goal scorers

1. Kenzie Roling (Waverly-Shell Rock) 68

2. Alexa Johnson (Spencer) 54

3. Brooke Moser (Spencer) 33

4. Kirsten Small (Spencer) 27

T-5. Jojo Bice (Norwalk) 22

T-5. Anna Stromberg (Waverly-Shell Rock) 22

Tuesday’s state quarterfinal games

No. 1 Waverly-Shell Rock (16-2) vs. No. 8 Cedar Rapids Xavier (13-5), 12:30 p.m.

No. 4 North Polk (17-2) vs. No. 5 Spencer (15-4), 12:45 p.m.

No. 2 Lewis Central (17-2) vs. No. 7 Dallas Center-Grimes (13-5), 1 p.m.

No. 3 Norwalk (15-2) vs. No. 6 North Scott (13-5), 1:15 p.m.

Class 1A

Top seed — Davenport Assumption (14-5) has five shutout losses, but all to 2A and 3A ranked teams. It also has impressive wins on the resume, including 3-2 over 3A No. 10 Ames and 2-0 against 2A No. 6 North Scott. The Knights are 5-0 against 1A opponents this year, outscoring them 49-0.

Defending champion — Top-ranked Davenport Assumption is looking to make it five consecutive state titles in its record 14th-straight tournament appearance. The top challenger this year? It could be state-tournament newcomer Treynor (17-1), which only has a 2-1 loss to 3A No. 7 Council Bluffs Lincoln. The second-ranked Cardinals face No. 8 Gilbert in the quarterfinals, who they rallied to beat 2-1 in a May 1 tournament.

Surprise team — It’s hard to call Sioux City Heelan a surprise, considering the Crusaders (10-7) are in their 19th state tournament, the most all-time. But this year’s team started 0-4 and was only ranked 11th when it knocked off No. 4 Tri-Center 3-0 in a regional final.

Top goal scorers

1. Clara Teigland (Treynor) 40

2. Alyssa Kellar (Treynor) 35

3. Nikayla Youngblut (Waterloo Columbus) 30

4. Peyton Scott (Treynor) 27

5. Jade Jackson (Davenport Assumption) 26

Tuesday’s state quarterfinal games

No. 1 Davenport Assumption (14-5) vs. No. 11 Sioux City Heelan (10-7), 10 a.m.

No. 5 Nevada (13-5) vs. No. 6 Dubuque Wahlert (11-6), 10:15 a.m.

No. 2 Treynor (17-1) vs. No. 8 Gilbert (12-7), 10:30 a.m.

No. 3 Waterloo Columbus (16-2) vs. No. 7 Des Moines Christian (16-2), 10:45 a.m.