Cardinals top Mason City in boys soccer match

The Garner-Hayfield/Ventura boys soccer team had a week of ups and downs, falling to Gladbrook-Reinbeck, but turning around and beating Mason City.

G-R 8, G-H/V 0

Despite it being a beautiful day, it wasn’t a great day for the Garner-Hayfield/Ventura boys soccer team when they traveled to play Gladbrook-Reinbeck on Saturday, April 27.

G-R took advantage of a sluggish Cardinal team and outscored them 7-0 by halftime.  The second half was better for 

the Cards, as they allowed only one goal and a couple of shots on goal, but missed some shots of their own. The Rebels blanked the Cardinals, 8-0.

“We didn’t play very well at all,” said Coach Eric Williams.  “It was a long drive and we didn’t have our legs underneath us for the first half of the game.”

Starters for the game included Brad Nedved, Alex VanGerpen, Heath Hutchison, Jack Bertilson, Teddy Zrostlik, Jimmy Ermer, Jerod Wellik, Mark Wellik, Aaron Boehnke and Blake Johnson.

“We are still down four starters and we’re trying to find a good combination of players,” said Williams.

Hrubes had seven goals scored against him and he had 11 saves.  Caleb Ploeger also saw some time as goalie.  He had one goal scored against him and he had four saves.

Jimmy Ermer had two shots, while Hrubes and Zrostlik had one apiece.

Zrostlik had two shots on goal and Patrick Terhark had one.

G-H/V 4, Mason City 2

The G-H/V boys picked up a much-needed and well-deserved victory against Mason City on Monday, April 29.  With the starting line-up healthy and in place, the Cardinals were ready to play.

The Cards started strong and scored four goals by the half for a score of 4-0.  G-H/V played around with the line-up in the second half to see what combination of players worked best.  The Mohawks scored two goals in the second half, but the Cardinals held on for the final 4-2 victory.

“Going into the second half we decided as a team to changes things up,” said coach Eric Williams.  “Continuing with the theme of having fun and trying new things, we even put all the seniors on the field at one time.”

Another big change was moving Jeremiah Loschen to the goalie position in place of Nathan Hrubes.

“Pulling Nathan for Jeremiah was the biggest call we made, because Jeremiah only practiced goalkeeper one time and never played it before.  He really shined and stopped seven shots on goal to show us another option we have.”

Hrubes had seven saves.  While Loschen had six stops, he also had two goals scored on him.

Alex Van Gerpen led the team with two goals.  Brad Nedved and Teddy Zrostlik contributed a goal apiece.

Jimmy Ermer and Jared Wellik had two shots on goals, while Leonard Heurtebize had one.