Linn-Mar makes Ankeny work for victory (photo gallery)

MUSCATINE - They gave Goliath their best shot."I think we gave them more of a game than they expected," Linn-Mar's Christina Swenson said after her Lions lost to Ankeny, 2-0, Thursday night in a Class 3A state soccer tournament quarterfinal. "I think they were a little surprised there. We made them work harder, we didn't just give it up."If you haven't heard about this Ankeny team, here's a little snippet. It is the defending 3A champion, on a 30-game win streak, including 19-0 this season.The Hawkettes have seven players who will play college soccer next year, including four Division I recruits. ESPN HS has had them ranked as high as fourth nationally this spring.And it was still anyone's game with 15 minutes to go, just 1-0, with Linn-Mar pressuring offensively."I think the girls played as hard, with as much heart and soul as they could," Linn-Mar Coach Steve Dickinson said. "These kids just won't quit on us. They just kept going after it."Ankeny had so much of the ball possession, time after time passing it long down field to its forwards and letting them try and maneuver. An undersized Linn-Mar defense corps held the Hawkettes at bay, with one exception.Ankeny's Mary Brandt stole a mishit defense-to-defense pass, dribbled in alone and beat freshman goalkeeper Rylie Frese in the 22nd minute for a 1-0 halftime lead. Linn-Mar switched formations late, putting three forwards up top, which produced momentum and a couple of dangerous free kicks.But an Amber Nieland goal off an Aubree Larson cross with 3:48 left officially ended Linn-Mar's upset hopes."I think we played a very defensive game," Swenson said. "I would have liked to have gotten up the field a little bit more. But we held them for awhile, so I'm very proud of that and proud of my team.""That team is a very fine team," Dickinson said. "Every one of them has tremendous ball skills. They've got speed, they've got size, they've got power, and they understand the game."Considering there are just three seniors on this roster (Swenson, Erica Noyes and Sarah Fathallah), this was a great learning experience for Linn-Mar (13-7)."No one even thought we would get here, so just being here is an honor," said sophomore midfielder Malory Garman. "We've all been here now, so we know what we need to work on. We've got a lot of people coming back. If we can get back next year, we'll know how to take them."

Linn Mar's Malory Garman (12) battles for the ball with Ankeny's Amber Nieland (5) during their class 3A quarterfinal game at the 2012 Iowa Girls High School State Soccer Championships Thursday, June 7, 2012 at the Muscatine Soccer Complex in Muscatine. Ankeny won the game 2-0 to advance. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)