Iowa Mennonite overwhelmed by Sioux Center in 1A boys' soccer state opener

DES MOINES — The only two state tournament appearances for Iowa Mennonite boys' soccer have been in the last two seasons.

IMS will have to wait for its first win at the tournament.

'They are fast, they have got good speed up top and they are very skilled on the ball,' IMS Coach Marcus Miller said after his team was ousted by Sioux Center, 5-1, in a Class 1A boys' state quarterfinal Friday at Cownie Soccer Park. 'Those are things we worked on. … Not only do they possess the ball well, but they are fast. I am not sure in the first five, 10 minutes we were quite ready for that and they came out hard.'

Sioux Center (14-4) jumped on IMS with first-half goals from juniors Isa Granillo and Jose Martin. IMS got within 2-1 with a goal by junior forward Drew Blauvelt less than seven minutes into the second half, his third goal this season.

A Sioux Center penalty-kick conversion in the 55th minute started a string of three unanswered goals to end the match.

'After we got the handball in the box and the PK, more fouls just kept on adding up against us,' Blauvelt said. 'We just really didn't know what to do with it. We couldn't handle it. Maybe next year we'll be more prepared for things like that.'

IMS ends its season at 12-5. For the second offseason in a row, it is expected to take a significant roster hit with graduation.

'I think we have had a good foundation,' Miller said. 'We made it here. We haven't done well two years in a row. This group, I don't think anybody expected them to have this kind of season. In many ways, we overachieved. They worked hard and we have gotten better. Hopefully some young guys keep improving and by the end of next year, we can make it back and do a better job.'

Boys' soccer

CLASS 1A STATE QUARTERFINAL

No. 3 Sioux Center 5, No. 6 Iowa Mennonite 1

Goals — IMS: Drew Blauvelt (3); SC:

Isa Granillo 2 (12), Jose Martin (2), Alan Cruz (2), Roberto Cruz (1).

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com