Linn-Mar avenges regular season loss to reach girls’ state soccer tournament

DUBUQUE - Motivated by a disappointingly early exit from the postseason a year ago, the Linn-Mar girls' soccer team has been on a mission.

Thanks to Jensen Sevening and Allie Noggle, that mission is right on track.

Sevening scored in the 12th minute, then assisted on Noggle's game-winner in the 51st as the seventh-ranked Lions fended off No. 3 Dubuque Hempstead, 2-1, in a Class 3A regional final Monday night at Dalzell Field.

'Our slogan this year has been ‘unfinished business,' so we really wanted to be sure to win this game and get back to the state tournament,” Noggle said.

The Lions advanced to the state quarterfinals on Thursday at Cownie Soccer Park in Des Moines.

Linn-Mar's only loss last season came in the regional final against eventual state champion Cedar Rapids Kennedy, which defeated Hempstead in the state final.

'They felt like they didn't get something done last year that they should have got done, so it's been on their minds since the start of the year,” Lions coach Stephan Dickinson said.

Linn-Mar (15-4) struck first on Monday.

Sevening netted a shot from nearly 25 yards out just 11:06 into the match as the Lions gained momentum early.

'First goal always helps,” Dickinson said. 'We knew at halftime, we talked that we had another hard 40 minutes. Hempstead came down and ran a great play to score on, but the girls didn't buckle. They didn't hang their heads. They got right back into it and we got the later goal and then hung on for the win with a lot of pressure by Hempstead.”

Hempstead (15-4) - which won the regular-season meeting between the schools, 1-0, last month in Marion - drew level just 1:24 into the second half when Rachel Bybee converted an assist from Mariah Morris.

Less than 10 minutes later, Noggle snuck behind the Mustangs defense and buried the through ball from Sevening.

'She played a beautiful ball in and I was just thinking, ‘Can't miss this, cant miss this,'” Noggle said. 'I was trying to go for the corner and got the goal.”

Hempstead outshot Linn-Mar, 16-12, and finished with eight shots on goal to the Lions' six. Rylie Frese made seven saves to preserve the victory for Linn-Mar.

'Dubuque Hempstead and Linn-Mar have been going back and forth with one-goal games for I think the last five years,” Dickinson said. 'Both teams left it out on the field tonight.”