The next game-changer for Marion soccer: A brand-new stadium

MARION — It’s been a long wait, but Marion can finally call its new stadium home.

“I definitely think this stadium’s going to be a game-changer for Marion athletics,” Marion boys’ soccer coach Korey Boebel said.

The Wolves opened play March 28 against Cedar Rapids Xavier, marking the first official home game at brand-new Marion Stadium.

Players, particularly senior standout Jackson Kirsch, have taken a warm liking to the stadium and its amenities, including a turf playing surface, lights and bleachers.

“This new field is awesome,” Kirsch said. “Since the first day of practice, it’s just a different feeling to be able to come out on this great field and you actually get a good practice in.

“The ball’s not bouncing. You can get much better at the little things. Then the game rolls around and you’re playing on the same surface you’ve been practicing on. It just makes a world of difference.”

Kirsch and crew welcomed the new stadium in grand fashion as the Wolves downed Xavier, 6-0. Kirsch had all six goals for Marion.

“I think it was a little bit of the turf, a little bit of the adrenaline, the home crowd, nice weather,” Kirsch said. “It kind of just seemed like the perfect mixing pot to have a good game.

“Our old field didn’t have bleachers. To have a crowd cheer you on from the bleachers is so much different. It was a really good atmosphere. To be able to represent our school in the first real game in the stadium, it was awesome.”

The hot start for last year’s Class 2A state quarterfinalists may be partially attributable to a different approach to early-season preparations, thanks to the new stadium.

“I’d say this is the season we’ve been outside the most,” Boebel said. “Beforehand we always fought with the wet fields, snow on the ground … turf pretty much eliminates that.

“We started inside the first two practices, and then we had a little warmer day where we were able to take advantage of being on the turf, where normally in the six, seven years I’ve been here we’ve been stuck inside the gym for the first two weeks of the season.”

Another big difference between this season’s preparations and last are the stadium’s lights.

“It’s nice not having to worry about the sunset affecting how late we can be out here,” Boebel said.

Boebel, now in his fifth season as head coach following two years as an assistant, was an ideal candidate to lead the Wolves through the transition in playing surface. He’s been through this before.

A 2013 Cedar Rapids Prairie graduate, Boebel was a player the year the Hawks switched to turf in 2011.

“I got to be on their first turf field as a junior,” Boebel said. “As a coach, I’ve enjoyed it (the transition from grass to turf) even more. The biggest thing is, the ball rolls fast. They’re still trying to adjust to that.”

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Marion’s second game at the new stadium will be Tuesday against South Tama, a girl-boy doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m. The girls played their first home game Thursday, a 9-0 win over Cedar Rapids Washington.

“We have a lot of home games this year,” Kirsch said. “I’m looking forward to playing well as a team again in this stadium.”