Valley shuts out Linn-Mar in girls’ state soccer tournament

DES MOINES — It certainly wasn’t due to a lack of effort.

In the end, the fourth-ranked Linn-Mar girls’ soccer team couldn’t muster enough offense to beat No. 5 West Des Moines Valley.

For the second time this season, the Tigers (16-3) bested the Lions (16-4), this time 2-0 in the quarterfinal round of the Iowa high school girls’ state soccer tournament Tuesday at Cownie Soccer Park.

This was Linn-Mar’s ninth trip to the state tournament, Valley’s 21st.

“We fought hard,” Linn-Mar Coach Hannah Clark said. “I think we had a couple chances that we could have taken advantage of, but hey, whoever scores the most wins.”

Elan Litt drilled a corner kick in the 37th minute to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead going into intermission.

“It was a great kick,” Clark said. “Props to them for that one.”

With 23:12 left, Valley’s Ella Anliker was awarded a penalty kick and found the net.

“I mean, the call is the call,” Clark said. “We can’t change what happened, but at the end of the day, we had plenty of opportunities so we can’t blame calls.”

In the first meeting between the teams on March 29, Valley beat Linn-Mar in a tightly-contested 1-0 match.

“We watched film on them, they watched film on us,” Clark said. “They played us a lot more direct than they previously did.”

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Photos: Linn-Mar vs. Valley in Class 3A girls’ state soccer quarterfinals

Overall, the 2024 season was an “awesome” experience for the first-year Linn-Mar coach.

“It’s been awesome — really nice to be with these girls again because I coached a lot of them when they were younger,” Clark said. “Just to see how they’ve grown as people throughout the years, not just players. It’s been a lot of fun.”

The Lions entered the state tournament as one of the hottest teams in Iowa, riding a 10-game win streak.

Fortunately for Linn-Mar, great experience is coming back with leading scorer Abi Roberts and key contributors Aubrey Luck and Dreya Kern set to return in 2025.

“I’m super excited with the group we have going forward,” Clark said. “They have gone through this process so they know what it’s about. They know how it feels.

“I think they’re going to do well, so I’m looking forward to that.”