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North Fayette Valley wins first boys’ state soccer championship with 2-0 victory over Van Meter
No. 3-ranked TigerHawks got their first state tournament win earlier this week, now have their first state title
DES MOINES — It was Cinderella vs. Cinderella for the Class 1A boys’ state soccer title.
On one side, Van Meter had shrugged off its No. 8 seed and charged through the bracket in the state tournament debut for the fourth-year program.
Similarly, North Fayette Valley — in its fifth season as a program — had not won a match in two state trips prior to this season.
In the rugged race for a first state championship between the two burgeoning programs, the glass slipper fit the TigerHawks.
Third-ranked NFV blanked Van Meter, 2-0, in Saturday’s 1A state championship match at Mediacom Stadium.
“It’s been only five (seasons), but more than that, 10 years in the making,” fourth-year NFV Coach Ignacio Fuentes said. “I have been coaching these guys since they were U8s and they grew up with me and they know me and they know each other like brothers. We are really a family.”
Since suffering back-to-back defeats to 2A state qualifier Decorah and 4A Muscatine over a month ago, North Fayette Valley outscored its remaining nine opponents 25-2 — all wins — and grabbed that coveted first state title for the young program.
“I’m speechless, to be honest,” said NFV senior Andre Fuentes, Ignacio’s son and the captain of the 1A all-tournament team. “There is no other way to end this, to be honest. Yeah, it just feels great.”
NFV (18-3) started the scoring in the 22nd minute when Fuentes’ corner kick was headed in by junior defender Decklyn Heins.
The goal was just the third this season for Heins, while Fuentes’ robust assist total ballooned to 34 this season, good for second in the state regardless of class.
“I was up there and the guy wasn’t really up into me a whole lot, so I could kind of get in front of him,” Heins said. “Got a head on it. … Got enough on that one for it to go into the back of the net. That was a good opportunity to have. Don’t get very many of them in the season, so it was nice to have this game.”
NFV tacked on a valuable insurance goal 10 minutes later when senior Micah Zurbriggen’s towering strike sailed over the reach of the Van Meter goalkeeper.
It was the fourth goal this season for Zurbriggen.
“To be honest, I don’t really take too many shots.” Zurbriggen said. “But it was my teammates. My teammates, they built me up the whole game. They told me to take some shots, so that is what I did.”
Van Meter ends its first state-qualifying season at 16-6, but the confidence gleaned from state wins over No. 1 West Branch and No. 5 West Liberty promises more state appearances in the coming seasons.
It was just the third time the Bulldogs had been shut out this season, which had not happened in nearly two full months.
“Just what we always do,” Heins said. “We have had a really good defensive year. … Just stay solid, make sure we are with the runners and covering the gaps in the midfield. The midfield is a huge part of the defensive team. It helped a lot with that, too.”
NFV graduates just five starters, so there is a good chance the TigerHawks are here to stay.
“It’s the ultimate culmination, it’s the ultimate dream,” Zurbriggen said. “But I think the coolest part is just seeing how much we have grown along the way. Getting to this championship game, it’s something special. But to win it with these guys, it’s awesome.”
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