Unselfish Iowa City High boys’ soccer team focused on another state tournament

IOWA CITY — It's a sunny Wednesday afternoon practice at Iowa City High's soccer field.

The boys' state tournament starts Thursday, but if there are any nerves, the Little Hawks aren't showing it. Before practice even officially starts, players and assistant coaches are already working. Some are off by themselves with a ball, working on moves and footwork. Others are talking quietly to their teammates.

Overall, however, this is as confident a group as any in the state. And why shouldn't they be? The Little Hawks enter the tournament as the returning state runner-up and on a 10-game win streak.

They're seeded second and they narrowly lost to Cedar Rapids Prairie — the No. 1 seed — earlier this season, a game in which the Hawks only sent three shots toward City High keeper Sam Tomek.

The Little Hawks had six shots on goal in that game and 15 total. There's a reason head coach Jose Michel Fajardo doesn't hesitate to say his team is better than any it's played. He knows they can win these type of games because he sees the chances they've created.

It's just about finishing them.

Likewise, last season the squad fell to West Des Moines Valley 3-1 in the state final. Rectifying the championship loss is what this season has been about.

'We learned from that,' Farjardo said. 'I hope they learned from that, at least, and they just need to keep doing the things we do.'

What City High likes to do is attack you from just about everywhere. They're a team with clean sets and it's not hard to see how well Farjardo has his team coached up. They create offense with ease and defend quite well.

City High is also remarkably unselfish. There isn't a single player on the team with more than 10 goals and nine different players have four or more. This distribution is one of the reasons Fajardo likes his team's chances.

'We have many, many, many players who can score for us,' Farjardo said. 'We don't know where the goals are coming from because we create so many opportunities by so many players.'

Jonah Dancer leads the team with nine and also has four assists this season. The junior is one of 15 upperclassmen on the squad and experience is certainly not a thing the team lacks.

'It's a whole bunch of fun, really,' Dancer said. 'But there's also a lot of focusing on one game and then if you win that, you move on, and if you win that you turn right back around and play another.

'It's hectic, but it's a great opportunity to be there.'

After Prairie — which sits 19-0 and is gunning for a perfect season — and City High, Iowa City West will also participate in the 3A state tournament.

Marion and Cedar Rapids Xavier will play in the first round of the 2A tournament.

• Boys' state soccer brackets

Dyersville Beckman, Solon and Iowa City Regina are Class 1A teams to watch out of the area. That type of representation is impressive and is just another statement in how good Eastern Iowa high school soccer has gotten in the past few years.

'Since 2008, 2007, 2006, things have changed, every game we play now is a tough game,' Fajardo said. 'It's good, because you're competing against the best and it's getting you ready for this tournament.'

l Comments: jordan.hansen@thegazette.com