Comets cancel Mid-Prairie boys soccer season

WEST LIBERTY — There were a lot of guys with a lot of nerves before Mid-Prairie played West Liberty Wednesday for the right to play soccer in the Class 1A state tournament.

Nerves are going to happen in games where the stakes are high, and West Liberty went all in for a 3-0 win against the fellow River Valley foe. Playing a familiar opponent did not help the nervousness. That may have been because West Liberty had won at Wellman 5-0 on May 11.

“We needed guys to settle down because this was a big game,” Mid-Prairie coach Pat Cady said.

The Golden Hawks didn’t settle down soon enough as the home team beat the defense of the Golden Hawks down the field and put a ball in the net before 3 minutes had elapsed.

The next 52 minutes were scoreless, but a halftime change in formations led to two goals within two minutes for the Comets.

In the 55th minute, Mid-Prairie goal keeper Justice Jones redirected a shot so that it hit the post but it ricocheted back across the goal mouth. The Hawks lost the location of the ball and the rebound was kicked into the net. A minute and a half later, West Liberty’s Angel Mata flew through the air to get his head on a ball and directed into the net for a 3-0 Comet lead with 24 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the match.

“We made a good adjustment going, and we had them rattled,” Cady told his team at halftime. He consulted with his coaches and players to go to a 4-4-2 formation to generate more offense.

“It was something we hadn’t done this year, and when we did it, that’s when they knocked in the two goals,” Cady said. “We had a diamond and four to try to release somebody. We talked about it, and the team agreed it would be our chance to score. Unfortunately it didn’t pay off.”

The senior class made a huge difference to Cady and spent a lot of time helping develop the talent in the underclassmen.

“As long as we left everything on the field, I’m OK with getting beat by a better team,” Cady said. “This is the best club we have had since 2014.“

Cady did object to the groupings of teams to play for a state berth, lamenting the fact the a team from the western part of the state makes it to the tournament just because they are located in the west.

“Eastern Iowa has such strong Class 1A soccer. I don’t understand how (IHSAA) spins the wheel. It shouldn’t be on just geography.”