Ryan Pleggenkuhle

It’s time for the postseason in Iowa high school soccer. The Park the Bus podcast previews every substate and region involving Gazette area teams and makes state-qualifier predictions.

Iowa City Liberty will need to start and stay hot to achieve its goal — reaching the girls’ state soccer tournament for the first time in program history. Friday’s victory over Cedar Rapids Jefferson was 2A No. 8 Liberty’s fifth win against a 3A opponent in 2024.

Class 3A No. 7 Linn-Mar defeated No. 9 City High, 2-1, Friday night in a Mississippi Valley Conference, Valley Division battle at Linn-Mar Stadium. Win or lose, it was a test the Iowa City High girls’ soccer team wanted.

Six days after inclement weather postponed what was originally scheduled to be opening day at Hawkeye Downs Speedway, drivers will start their engines for competition Friday night, officially kicking off HD’s 99th season.

Holden Smith and Mwena Tambwe recorded hat tricks for the Cedar Rapids Washington boys’ soccer team Monday in a bounce-back, 10-0, win over Davenport West at Kingston Stadium.

The River Valley Conference’s hold on the top of the Class 1A Iowa high school boys’ soccer rankings didn’t change, but the team at the top did. The Park the Bus podcast discusses West Branch’s rise to No. 1 and the notable results from last week, plus previews a big week of ranked matchups in the Gazette area.

Shooting against 28 mph wind directly in her face, Center Point-Urbana junior Emily Bowe connected on not one, but two second-half goals to lead the Class 1A ninth-ranked Stormin’ Pointers (5-0) past 2A No. 14 Clear Creek Amana, 2-1, Tuesday.

The River Valley Conference is home to the top three teams in this week’s IHSAA Class 1A rankings — No. 1 Iowa City Regina, No. 2 West Branch and No. 3 West Liberty.

Iowa City Regina is the new No. 1 team in the Class 1A Iowa high school boys’ soccer rankings, but the Regals weren’t the only team that moved up. The Park the Bus podcast details the Gazette-area boys’ and girls’ teams on the move on this week’s episode.

It’s been a bit of a yo-yo season for the Linn-Mar boys’ soccer team. The Lions finally broke the .500 plane with a 4-1 home victory Thursday against Class 3A No. 9-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier. The win came just five days after a 1-0 blanking of 4A No. 5 Waukee Northwest.

First-year Linn-Mar girls’ soccer coach Hannah Clark wants a state championship for the Lions, who are ranked No. 5 in Class 3A after a 5-2 start. Their only losses came by a goal to the state’s top two teams.

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union and Iowa State University announced Wednesday the girls’ state soccer tournament will be held in Ames, beginning in 2025. Eastern Iowa coaches are happy the tournament will remain on grass fields.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association’s first weekly boys’ soccer rankings provide some helpful talking points for this week’s episode of Park The Bus, The Gazette’s high school soccer podcast. We also take a look back at last week’s games by naming teams and players of the week for boys and girls.

The Wamac Conference isn’t getting any easier and the Center Point-Urbana girls’ soccer team knows the race will be one battle after another.

Casey and Caleb Gessner helped Benton Community knock off No. 1 Williamsburg on Tuesday and are having their own competition.