After pulling off a remarkable upset of top-seeded Davenport Assumption, the #8-seed Dike-New Hartford girls soccer team will face #4-seed Nevada in a Class 1A state semifinal Thursday.
The 16-4 Wolverines are coming off a 1-0 win over Assumption, where the defense performed some of its best work of the season. Goalkeeper Miranda Tyler had 13 saves, and her teammates had several deflections to keep the Knights off the board. Head Coach Emma Eden hopes to see the offense take another step in the next round.
“Most teams we’ve been going up against, we’ve been defensive minded,” Eden says. “I think we may stay like that, but hopefully we’re gonna be able to translate that more into some more possession on our side and find those open runs and build it up and find those open spots there.”
Nevada is 15-5 and is coming off a 2-1 win over #5-seed Hudson in Tuesday’s quarterfinal. The third-highest scoring team in Iowa, they’re led by five double digit goal scorers, including 21 goals by Aubrey Thompson. However, their defense has only saved 77 percent of opposing shot attempts.
Nevada is 2-0 in the all-time series. The Cubs won 1-0 when the teams met earlier this season. The winner will advance to Saturday’s championship game against either Denver or Treynor. Coverage on 99 The Wave will begin at 9:45 a.m., followed by the start time of 10:00.
