Iowa high school boys’ soccer 2021 substates: Analysis, schedule, state-qualifying picks

The 2021 Iowa high school boys’ soccer postseason kicks off Thursday with substate quarterfinals in all three classes.

Here is a quick look at each Gazette area substate, plus picks for the state-qualifying banners to be handed out next Wednesday.

Class 3A Substate 4

Top seed: No. 10 Cedar Falls enters the postseason on a six-game winning streak, including its biggest victory of the season to end the regular season at No. 2-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie in penalties on Tuesday.

Top challengers: Dubuque Senior was ranked most of the season but recently slipped out. Cedar Rapids Jefferson took the Rams to OT, but fell 1-0 to snap a five-game winning streak. Cedar Rapids Washington has been up and down, most recently down, allowing 14 goals in a three-game losing skid. All three teams were handled by Cedar Falls in the regular season.

My state-qualifying pick: Cedar Falls

Thursday’s quarterfinal games

Dubuque Hempstead (3-15) at Cedar Rapids Washington (7-10), 7 p.m. (Kingston Stadium)

Waterloo East (1-17) at Cedar Rapids Jefferson (6-7), 5 p.m. (Lower Kingston)

Class 3A Substate 5

Top seed: Cedar Rapids Prairie enters the postseason ranked No. 2 in the state, but has had some close calls lately. The Hawks needed double-overtime to beat Iowa City High and penalties to edge Linn-Mar, then lost in a shootout to Cedar Falls.

Top challengers: No. 15 Waterloo West has won four straight and eight of its last 10. One of those wins was in penalties against Cedar Rapids Kennedy, a potential substate semifinal matchup. Linn-Mar is only 6-9 but has beaten Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial and taken Prairie to PKs. Marshalltown is capable of an upset as well.

My state-qualifying pick: Cedar Rapids Prairie

Thursday’s quarterfinal games

Marshalltown (9-9) at Linn-Mar (6-9), 6:30 p.m.

Ottumwa (3-12) at Cedar Rapids Kennedy (6-9), 5 p.m. (Kingston Stadium)

Class 3A Substate 6

Top seed: If it weren’t for an early-season OT loss to Prairie, we'd probably be talking about No. 3 Iowa City West’s dominance like that of top-ranked, unbeaten Waukee. The Trojans have won 14 straight, all but two (at Dubuque Senior in penalties, at Cedar Rapids Xavier) by multiple goals.

Top challengers: No. 12 Muscatine, No. 9 Bettendorf and North Scott were all in contention for the Mississippi Athletic Conference title this season and combine with West to make this one of the toughest substates in the state.

My state-qualifying pick: Iowa City West

Thursday’s quarterfinal games

Clinton (6-11) at North Scott (10-5), 6:30 p.m.

Davenport West (1-9) at No. 9 Bettendorf (12-3), 6:30 p.m.

Class 3A Substate 7

Top seed: No. 5 Pleasant Valley won the MAC outright thanks to Monday’s shootout win over Muscatine.

Top challengers: No. 8 Iowa City High lost just 2-1 to PV in a regular-season invitational and has wins over highly-ranked Bettendorf, Cedar Falls and Cedar Rapids Xavier on its resume. Davenport Central has won five of its last six, including against top-tier MAC teams Muscatine and North Scott. Iowa City Liberty upset Cedar Falls and Iowa City High in a strong stretch to end the regular season.

My state-qualifying pick: Iowa City High

Thursday’s quarterfinal games

Davenport North (7-8) at Iowa City Liberty (8-7), 5 p.m.

Burlington (4-11) at Davenport Central (8-7), 6:30 p.m.

Other 3A state-qualifying picks

Substate 1: No. 11 Sioux City West

Substate 2: No. 1 Waukee

Substate 3: No. 7 Johnston

Substate 8: No. 4 West Des Moines Valley

Class 2A Substate 3

Top seed: No. 2 Vinton-Shellsburg completed an unbeaten regular season and now takes aim at its first state tournament appearance. The Vikings have outscored their 14 opponents 87-6 and have 11 shutouts.

Top challengers: Waverly-Shell Rock won five straight and seven of eight to end the regular season and has been tested against ranked Class 3A teams. The Go-Hawks could face Decorah, who they’ve beaten twice in the last two weeks, in the semifinals.

My state-qualifying pick: Vinton-Shellsburg

Thursday’s quarterfinal games

Independence (5-9) at Center Point-Urbana (6-10), 5 p.m.

West Delaware (0-15) at Waverly-Shell Rock (10-6), 6:45 p.m.

Charles City (2-15) at Decorah (9-8), 7:30 p.m.

Class 2A Substate 4

Top seed: No. 1 Cedar Rapids Xavier isn’t the reigning 2A champion, but it was the runner-up two years ago to a Lewis Central program that is now in 3A. The Saints will once again be well-prepared for the 2A postseason. Xavier has been top-ranked all season despite compiling five losses, all against Class 3A competition.

Top challengers: No. 14 Dubuque Wahlert and No. 15 Davenport Assumption have stayed in the rankings after facing similarly challenging schedules in the MVC and MAC, respectively. Wahlert is 7-8 but handled the Knights 4-1 in the regular season.

My state-qualifying pick: Cedar Rapids Xavier

Thursday’s quarterfinal games

Mount Vernon (5-11) at DeWitt Central (4-10), 6 p.m.

Western Dubuque (0-13) at No. 14 Dubuque Wahlert (7-8), 5 p.m.

Maquoketa (2-12) at No. 15 Davenport Assumption (9-8), 6:30 p.m.

Class 3A Substate 5

Top seed: No. 4 Pella lost by just a goal to top-three teams Xavier and Dallas Center-Grimes and, at 13-4, has probably stayed this high in the rankings due to that strength of schedule.

Top challengers: No. 9 Fort Madison hasn’t won over the coaches poll voters with its 14-1 record, but the Bloodhounds are No. 3 in VarsityBound’s Class 2A power index. FM’s only loss is to 1A No. 1 Burlington Notre Dame/West Burlington in OT and it has a nice win at 3A Liberty. No. 13 Clear Creek Amana gave Vinton-Shellsburg one of its toughest tests, staying within 1-0 of the Vikings. And Fairfield was ranked most of the season after beating Pella in OT in its season opener.

My state-qualifying pick: Fort Madison

Thursday’s quarterfinal games

Washington (9-5) vs. Fairfield (9-4) (at Fort Madison), 5 p.m.

Keokuk (0-13) at No. 9 Fort Madison (14-1), 7 p.m.

Mount Pleasant (2-12) at No. 13 Clear Creek Amana (11-4), 6:30 p.m.

Class 3A Substate 6

Top seed: No. 8 Nevada was ranked No. 4 when it earned a No. 1 substate seed but is only 4-4 in its last eight, including a loss to substate No. 6 seed Newton. Still, the Cubs are the only ranked team in this substate and are favored to get to state in 2A after qualifying 11 times in Class 1A, most recently in 2018.

Top challengers: Grinnell recently upset Pella 3-1 but turned around and lost 6-0 to Nevada in a potential substate final preview. Benton Community has earned its sixth straight winning season and should feel like it has a shot at its first trip to state in a relatively open substate. Marion, on a six-game winning streak and with a win over 1A No. 2 Beckman, definitely shouldn’t be dismissed as the No. 5 seed.

My state-qualifying pick: Nevada

Thursday’s quarterfinal games

Marion (9-6) at South Tama (7-9), 6:30 p.m.

Hudson United (4-11) at Grinnell (8-6), 5 p.m.

Newton (8-9) at Benton Community (11-6), 6:30 p.m.

Other 2A state-qualifying picks

Substate 1: No. 11 Sergeant Bluff-Luton

Substate 2: No. 3 Dallas Center-Grimes

Substate 7: No. 6 Bondurant-Farrar

Substate 8: No. 16 Denison-Schleswig

Class 1A Substate 3

Top seed: No. 2 Dyersville Beckman is back among the Class 1A state championship contenders after having its run of six straight state tournament appearances end in 2018. That included titles in 2015 and 2016. The Blazers lost a couple games in the Wamac but enter the postseason having outscored their last four opponents by a combined 25-0.

Top challengers: North Fayette Valley is ranked No. 12 in just its second full season with a varsity team. The TigerHawks finished second in the annual Waverly-Shell Rock tournament and have two convincing wins over a Postville team that was ranked as high as No. 4 this season.

My state-qualifying pick: Dyersville Beckman

Thursday’s quarterfinal games

Monticello (1-8) at No. 2 Dyersville Beckman (14-3), 6:30 p.m.

Cascade (6-4) at Clayton Ridge (5-5), 5 p.m.

Anamosa (1-12) at No. 12 North Fayette Valley (11-4), 5 p.m. (Upper Iowa University)

Bellevue Marquette (5-9) at Postville (11-8), 6:30 p.m.

Class 1A Substate 4

Top seed: No. 3 Iowa City Regina had some questions at the start of this season, but as expected, will contend for a 13th straight trip to state and fourth straight state title. The Regals are only 9-7 thanks to a brutal schedule, but few teams can match their 4-1 win over North Scott last week.

Top challengers: No. 4 Solon lost 7-1 to Regina earlier this season, but that was the morning after a hard-fought 2-1 loss to Beckman. A substate final matchup could be closer. West Branch climbed into the rankings this week for the first time at No. 14. The Bears deserve to be taken seriously, despite it being just their second varsity season. They took No. 5 West Liberty to OT and beat a Mid-Prairie team that was once in the top five.

My state-qualifying pick: Iowa City Regina

Thursday’s quarterfinal games

Clinton Prince of Peace (7-6) at Williamsburg (6-9), 6:30 p.m.

Cedar Valley Christian (2-12) at No. 4 Solon (11-5), 7 p.m.

Tipton (3-9) vs. No. 14 West Branch (10-1) (at Solon), 5 p.m.

Class 1A Substate 6

Top seed: No. 5 West Liberty also tested itself against bigger programs, taking Muscatine and Assumption to penalties and handling Clear Creek Amana 5-1. The Comets are fun to watch when they’re clicking and have the talent to make a deep run.

Top challengers: No. 8 Albia is the 2-seed but just lost 4-1 to No. 4-seed Clarke. The teams split their season series. No. 15 Mid-Prairie lost four of its last six — including a 5-0 setback against West Liberty — after starting 7-0.

My state-qualifying pick: West Liberty

Thursday’s quarterfinal games

Highland (0-10) at No. 5 West Liberty (12-3), 6:30 p.m.

Centerville (3-9) at Clarke (7-5), 6:30 p.m.

Chariton (4-11) at No. 8 Albia (10-3), 6:30 p.m.

Pella Christian (2-12) at No. 15 Mid-Prairie (9-4), 6:30 p.m.

Other 1A state-qualifying picks

Substate 1: No. 10 Western Christian

Substate 2: No. 7 Waterloo Columbus

Substate 5: No. 1 Burlington Notre Dame/West Burlington

Substate 7: No. 16 Des Moines Christian

Substate 8: No. 6 Council Bluffs St. Albert