Anamosa girls’ soccer embraces a ‘culture shift’ and clinches its first winning record since 2004

ANAMOSA — There's a revived energy within the Anamosa girls' soccer program.

For the first time since 2004, the Blue Raiders are guaranteed to end the season with a winning record.

Already matching last season’s win total, Anamosa (8-1) finds itself ranked No. 13 in Class 1A and atop the River Valley Conference standings with an 8-0 conference record.

So, what's different about the 2023 Raiders?

“Heart, no question,” Anamosa Coach Tom Rogers said. “They've got more heart than any team I've coached. They don't take losing lightly, and they give it everything they've got to pull through.”

“I can see everyone, and I can tell everyone wants it genuinely,” junior Chloe Breitbach said. “In the way people play, in the way they carry themselves on and off the field. Everyone's very committed to this team and our success.”

Anamosa is on a seven-game winning streak that began on April 10. The streak has not only brought enough victories to ensure a winning season, but also a vibrancy to the program that the community has embraced.

“I do believe there's been a culture shift,” Breitbach said. “I've seen a lot more students from the school and community members turning up at the games. I definitely think Anamosa soccer has a winning culture now.”

“This year, even at the beginning, there was more energy at the games and more people coming and believing in us,” junior JJ Christensen said. “And I think that's also pushed us to be the best we can be.”

  Buy Photo

Breitbach and Christensen are first and second, respectively, in goals scored for Anamosa — and there's a lot more to this team than scoring.

Defensively, Norah Humpal, Emma Whitson, Ava Scranton and Leah Whitson have all played significant roles for the Raiders.

“Norah's our sweeper,” Christensen said. “If the ball goes by another defender, I have confidence that Norah will get it. And if she doesn't, our goalkeeper (Whitson) will. Just knowing that they're our last line of defense is really comforting.”

Breitbach said this year's success didn't happen overnight.

The Raiders finished 8-8 in 2022, which helped build some confidence coming into this season.

“The last couple of years have really started to build our program back up,” Breitbach said. “A couple of the classes in front of us helped set the precedent of working hard and having high expectations for ourselves. And this year, I think we just took it and ran with it.”

Another reason for Anamosa's success is the effort the team puts into conditioning and physical fitness throughout the year.

“I think one of the biggest things that's led to this turnaround is everyone has been working really hard,” Breitbach said. “From preseason conditioning and getting in the gym before practice, everyone has been doing their part to get better on a personal level, which has helped our team come together and succeed.”

“We've been working more in the offseason in the weight room and just trying to develop that attitude that games are won in the offseason, in spending more time becoming physically fit,” Rogers said.

Another memorable moment for the Raiders was defeating Iowa City Regina on April 14. Anamosa hadn't beaten the Regals since 2005.

“We've beaten a couple of teams this year that we haven't historically beaten,” Breitbach said. “We looked back on Varsity Bound and saw that ‘wow, Anamosa hasn't beat Regina in years.’ So, I feel like we have been tracking that throughout the season, but we're still trying to stay in the present and just play the best game we can.”

While the winning record and taking down a prominent opponent are certainly achievements worth celebrating, the Raiders have their eyes on more.

“I would say we're going to try to win the conference title,” Breitbach said. “There's going to be a couple of games that we'll still have to win, especially a tough one against Beckman (next Friday).

“And then I would go as far to say that we have a chance of making a run at state this year.”

“They've got their goals set higher (than finishing with a winning record), and they're working hard to achieve those goals,” Rogers said. “So, I'm very excited to see how they finish this season.”