Lion soccer team ready for State competition

It’s on to State for the Clear Lake boys soccer team! The road to State tested the Lions and they emerged victorious and confident in their quest to bring Clear Lake its first soccer title. Clear Lake last qualified for the State Tournament in 2010.

 State tournament play begins Thursday, June 5, at 12:15 p.m. against MOC Floyd Valley (11-5) on field #7 at Cownie Soccer complex in Des Moines. The Lions are seeded number three in Class 1A.

CL 4, Gladbrook-Reinbeck 1
 The Lions earned their berth in the State Tournament with a 4-1 victory over number three-ranked Gladbrook-Reinbeck Saturday.
“This was our second trip to Gladbrook-Reinbeck in the last two days, so it felt like Lions Field, especially with the amount of fans who made the trip,” said Coach Matt Anderson.
The coach noted Jack Finn knew coming into the match he would have some great opportunities attacking the right side of the G-R defense.  In the 14th minute Jack Abbas moved the ball back to Jarod Anderson, who made a short attack then moved the ball up to Finn.  Finn made good on his opportunity, recording the first goal of the match. 
In the 31st minute Finn added an assist to his check list by finding Antonio DiMarco for the second goal.  
The Lions took a 2-0 lead into the half. 
The Lions converted the third goal of the contest in the 60th minute when MJ Mixdorf made an assist to Finn for the goal. 
In the 65th minute G-R got their best shot on goal off an accidental hand ball in the penalty box.   G-R converted the penalty kick for their lone goal. 
DiMarco responded five minutes later with an attack up the left side of the field.  When he was done maneuvering his way past several G-R defenders, DiMarco placed the ball in the net for the final score of the contest. 
“We spent Friday working on G-R’s soccer style.  They are athletic kids who are extremely dangerous from the corner kicks and play a long ball style of game. I was confident we could stop their attacks up the field but corners and crosses are difficult to defend when executed properly,” explained Coach Anderson. “Carter Hand, Chase Lester, Garrett Kunzman, Joe Schiller, Justin Sholly, Mixdorf, and Anderson were up for the challenge.”
  Jacob Hogan didn’t field a shot inside the 18 until the penalty kick. Hogan finished the contest with eight saves.
  The Lions’ road to state was stacked.  Nevada and Waterloo Columbus both played in the state tournament last year.  G-R had a single season loss and carried a number three rating in class 1A. 
“This year’s Lions team welcomes challenges and defeats them together,” said Coach Anderson.

CL 7, Waterloo Columbus 0
The fifth ranked Clear Lake boys soccer team advanced to the Substate final round after beating Waterloo Columbus 7-0 in Reinbeck Friday. Ernie Miszewski had three goals, while Antonio DiMarco scored twice in the contest.
The sun was shinning with a slight breeze and the day couldn’t