Iowa high school boys’ soccer substate finals set: 2022 state tournament spots on the line Wednesday

Cedar Rapids Prairie’s Gavin Lewis runs to celebrate the winning goal with his teammates during a Class 3A boys’ substate soccer semifinal game against Cedar Rapids Kennedy on Monday, May 23, 2022, at Prairie High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

The Cedar Rapids-Iowa City boys’ state soccer powers, they’re all playing for another trip to Des Moines.

Iowa City West, Cedar Rapids Xavier, Iowa City Regina. Those Class 3A, 2A and 1A teams have qualified for state a combined 54 times and won 25 total state championships. They were all there last year, where Xavier won its eighth crown and West came within a goal of a 10th. They’re all playing Wednesday night to get there again — West, for what would be an outright record 22nd time.

No. 6 West hosts No. 16 Cedar Falls in one of 24 substate finals around the state Wednesday, with nine involving Gazette area teams. Winners advance to next week’s state tournament at Cownie Soccer Complex in Des Moines.

The Trojans cruised past Dubuque Senior, 7-1, in a semifinal Monday night. They’re tied with West Des Moines Valley now for most state-qualifying spring seasons, but the Tigers fell to Des Moines East in Monday’s substate semifinals.

If Regina and Xavier are to extend their longest-active state tournament streaks to 14 and 13, respectively, they’ll have to do so on the road as lower-ranked teams. Both advanced with 1-0 semifinal wins at home Monday — No. 14 Regina over No. 15 Waterloo Columbus and seventh-ranked Xavier against Hudson. The Regals visit No. 9 Dyersville Beckman (seven state berths and two recent titles itself) in a 1A substate final, while Xavier takes on sixth-ranked Gilbert in 2A.

Count Iowa City High among the frequent qualifiers, seeking an upset at No. 2 Johnston that would get them to state for the 13th time and first since 2018. The 12th-ranked Little Hawks avenged a regular-season loss to Linn-Mar, 2-0, in a semifinal Monday.

And then there are the emerging regulars

Teams like Cedar Rapids Prairie, Marion and West Liberty made their first trips west in the 2010s and are primed to continue contending with the regulars.

Ninth-ranked Prairie rallied from a halftime deficit with goals from Blake Halleran and Gavin Lewis to beat Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 2-1, on Monday. The Hawks now seek their fifth 3A state trip in the last seven seasons when they host 10th-ranked Iowa City Liberty on Wednesday.

» Photos: Cedar Rapids Prairie beats Cedar Rapids Kennedy in substate semifinals

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Marion made its state debut in 2017 and has been back twice since, including last season. The Wolves welcome Decorah in a 2A substate final after handling Maquoketa, 10-0, on Monday. The Vikings beat Center Point-Urbana, 4-0, to get here.

No. 13 West Liberty got past Mid-Prairie, 2-1, its second one-goal win over the Golden Hawks in less than a week, to advance to a 1A substate final at No. 6 GC-GR. The Comets have been to state five times, all since 2012, including semifinal appearances the last two seasons.

Solon, similarly, made its three appearances in the 2010s, the most-recent in 2017. The 13th-ranked Spartans beat Independence, 7-0, Monday and face No. 4 Bondurant-Farrar in a 2A substate final.

What about the newcomers?

Iowa City Liberty would like to add some purple to the typical Iowa City contingent at Cownie.

After scoring the game’s only goal against North Scott on Monday, the Lightning will look to overturn a 1-0 regular-season loss at Prairie and earn their first trip to state.

North Fayette Valley made its state debut in just its second varsity season last year. The TigerHawks are back in the substate finals, ranked second in Class 1A with only one loss.

NFV will look to start a streak Wednesday as it hosts a team that has a familiar story — No. 4 Garner GHV has never been to state.