Iowa high school boys’ soccer substate finals: Wednesday’s schedule, Gazette area games to watch

Spots in the Iowa high school boys’ state soccer tournament are on the line Wednesday night. Here are the matchups for the the 32 substate finals, plus a closer look at 11 games featuring Gazette area teams.

All games start at 7 p.m., unless otherwise noted.

Wednesday’s Class 4A substate finals

No. 9 Pleasant Valley (13-2) at No. 5 Cedar Rapids Prairie (14-2)

How they got here: Prairie got past Dubuque Hempstead, 1-0, in a substate semifinal at home Monday. PV outlasted Muscatine in a penalty shootout at Bettendorf.

State tournament history: PV made its first two state tournament appearances in 2021 and 2022 and brought home state championships in both. That includes a win over Prairie in the Hawks’ first state semifinal appearance last spring. Prairie is seeking its third straight trip to state and sixth overall.

Notable: Prairie won the MVC Mississippi Division and its only two losses were 1-0 results against 4A’s top two ranked teams. The Spartans haven’t lost in regulation this spring and shared the Mississippi Athletic Conference crown.

No. 16 Dubuque Senior (11-4) at No. 6 Iowa City West (14-2)

How they got here: West cruised past Davenport North, 6-0, Coach Brad Stiles’ 400th career win. Senior pulled off a 3-2 overtime win at No. 12 Bettendorf in somewhat improbable fashion. The Rams’ comeback included a goalkeeper goal, then an equalizer with 10 seconds left before Owen Hull’s free kick winner, according to the Quad-City Times.

State tournament history: West made its record 22nd state tournament appearance last year and has claimed a record nine state titles. Senior has never been to state.

Notable: These MVC teams did not meet in the regular season. West won the Valley Division title. Iowa City Regina transfer Kaleab Wendy has scored an MVC-high 15 goals.

No. 15 Iowa City High (8-6) at No. 10 Cedar Rapids Kennedy (11-2) (at Kingston Stadium)

How they got here: Kennedy shut out Davenport Central, 2-0. City High avenged a regular-season loss with a 1-0 victory at 13th-ranked Linn-Mar.

State tournament history: Kennedy is searching for its 10th trip to state; its most recent appearance was in 2019. City High has advanced 12 times, but has been left heartbroken in three straight substate finals.

Notable: Kennedy was ranked No. 1 early this season until a 2-1 overtime setback at City High. Lwings Kabula, an MVC athlete of the year in 2022, leads the team with 12 goals. All six of the Little Hawks’ losses are to ranked 4A teams, five by one goal.

Other games

Sioux City North (10-5) at No. 1 West Des Moines Valley (16-2)

No. 11 Ankeny Centennial (8-5) at No. 4 Waukee Northwest (14-3)

No. 8 Des Moines East (15-2) at No. 7 Ames (12-4)

No. 14 Southeast Polk (9-9) at No. 2 West Des Moines Dowling (14-2)

Des Moines North (6-6) at No. 3 Johnston (14-3)

Wednesday’s Class 3A substate finals

North Scott (7-8) at No. 3 Marion (17-0)

How they got here: Marion cruised past Western Dubuque, 9-0. North Scott mercy-ruled Waterloo East, 10-0.

State tournament history: Marion made its state debut in 2017 and has reached four of the last five tourneys. North Scott is looking for its state breakthrough.

Notable: The stats are improbable. There’s Drake commit Jackson Kirsch, who has a state record 68 goals this season — 29 more than second place on the 2023 leaderboard. Then there’s the team solidity. The Wolves haven’t allowed a goal this season. That’s right: 17 games, 17 shutouts. Class 3A’s last unbeaten isn’t ranked first because the (formula-based) rankings aren’t quite as impressed with their strength of schedule.

No. 15 Fort Madison (15-3) at No. 9 Iowa City Liberty (8-8), 5 p.m.

How they got here: Liberty eased past Clear Creek Amana, 7-0. Fort Madison beat Burlington, 4-2.

State tournament history: Liberty, in its sixth season, has not yet reached state. Fort Madison has been five times, but not since 2007.

Notable: Ranked No. 1 in 3A at one point last season and coming within a goal of the state tournament, Liberty is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the addition of a Class 4A. All eight of the Lightning’s losses are to ranked 4A teams. Southeast Conference champion Fort Madison started 12-0 but lost both games it played against teams currently ranked in 3A. Xander Wellman is second in 3A with 30 goals.

Cedar Rapids Xavier (5-10) at No. 11 Carlisle (12-4)

How they got here: Xavier beat Waverly-Shell Rock, 2-0, in a quarterfinal, then upset No. 4 Adel ADM in a penalty shootout. Carlisle shut out Washington (Iowa), 2-0.

State tournament history: Xavier’s streak of 12 consecutive state tournament appearances was snapped last year. The Saints have been to state 19 times, eight of which resulted in state titles. Carlisle has never been there.

Notable: Xavier dropped five of its last six entering the postseason, but its rigorous MVC schedule has paid off again. The Wildcats have already won a school-record 12 games.

Other games

Storm Lake (8-8) at Denison-Schleswig (9-4)

No. 10 Newton (11-6) at No. 5 Humboldt (15-1)

No. 12 Pella (9-7) at No. 2 Des Moines Hoover (15-1)

No. 6 Norwalk (10-7) at No. 8 Urbandale (6-10)

No. 13 Council Bluffs Lewis Central (12-5) at No. 1 Dallas Center-Grimes (12-3)

Wednesday’s Class 2A substate finals

No. 11 Center Point-Urbana (11-3) at No. 9 Decorah (14-2)

How they got here: Decorah beat Dubuque Wahlert, 3-1. CPU edged Independence, 1-0.

State tournament history: Decorah has qualified three times, most recently in 2010. The Stormin’ Pointers have made two appearances, in 2009 and 2019.

Notable: Decorah was a substate finalist in a bigger 2A last year. CPU tied for the Wamac West title and has its first winning record since the 2019 state tourney team.

No. 10 Williamsburg (13-3) at No. 1 Gilbert (17-2)

How they got here: Gilbert had no trouble with a Wamac West team in the semifinals, advancing with a 7-0 win over Vinton-Shellsburg. The Raiders beat Benton Community for the second time this season, 3-1.

State tournament history: Gilbert was a state semifinalist in 2A last year, its sixth trip to state. The Tigers have won substate finals in five of the last seven seasons. Williamsburg’s lone state appearance was in 2018.

Notable: The Raiders tied for the Wamac West title and haven’t lost to a 2A team this year. Braeden Brown and Mason Eggleston are tied for fifth in 2A with 22 goals. Gilbert hasn’t allowed more than one goal in a game and has produced 14 shutouts.

Other games

No. 15 Sioux Center (9-4) at No. 3 Sioux City Heelan (12-2)

No. 14 Hampton-Dumont-CAL (11-5) at No. 4 Webster City (13-1)

Burlington Notre Dame/West Burlington (13-6) at No. 2 Davenport Assumption (14-1)

No. 13 Knoxville (9-6) at No. 5 Nevada (14-4)

No. 12 Chariton (12-2) at No. 7 Greene County (12-4)

No. 8 Glenwood (11-3) at No. 6 Perry (10-7)

Wednesday’s Class 1A substate finals

Dyersville Beckman (11-6) at No. 2 Iowa City Regina (16-4), 5 p.m.

How they got here: Regina blanked Tipton, 5-0. Beckman avenged a regular-season loss against Clinton Prince of Peace, 3-1.

State tournament history: Two Cownie regulars here. Regina’s run of 13 straight state tournament bids ended last year. The Regals have won eight state titles in their 14 tourney appearances. Beckman made its eighth trip last spring and won a pair of championships during a six-year tournament streak from 2012-17.

Notable: Regina beat Beckman, 2-1, on its way to the River Valley Conference’s first awarded championship. The Regals also scored a 1-0 win over the Trailblazers in a Saturday tournament.

No. 15 Mediapolis (12-2) at No. 5 West Liberty (14-2)

How they got here: West Liberty picked up its 10th mercy-rule win of the season, 10-0 over Danville/New London. Mediapolis won a PK shootout over Columbus/WMU after 100 minutes of scoreless soccer.

State tournament history: West Liberty has been to the semifinals each of the last three years and six state tournaments overall. Mediapolis seeks its first state berth.

Notable: Juan Mateo leads Class 1A with 36 goals for a West Liberty team that leads all classes with 113. Mediapolis avenged one of its regular-season losses with a 1-0 victory over Notre Dame/West Burlington in the SEISC championship game.

West Branch (13-3) at No. 14 Pella Christian (7-8)

How they got here: Both teams earned 6-0 wins in the semifinals: West Branch over Sigourney-Keota, Pella Christian over Central Lee.

State tournament history: In four seasons as a program, West Branch has finished with a winning record four times and now chases its first state bid. Pella Christian’s lone appearance in the modern era was in 2016; it played in seven fall state tournaments from 1994-2000 and won the 1995 title.

Notable: The Bears started 11-0 before running into the RVC powerhouses. Pella Christian was 2-5 in the 3A-heavy Little Hawkeye Conference and is 5-1 against 1A opposition.

Other games

No. 7 Unity Christian (11-5) at No. 4 Western Christian (11-2), 5 p.m.

Denver (9-9) at No. 1 Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck (17-0)

No. 11 Hudson (9-7) at No. 9 Waterloo Columbus (8-8)

No. 10 Van Meter (8-9) at No. 3 Des Moines Christian (10-4)

No. 12 Underwood (12-4) at No. 6 Treynor (12-5)

Comments: nathan.ford@thegazette.com