Prep Girls’ Soccer- The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) released their seventh edition of the season’s top 15 rankings and for the first time this year one of our local teams has landed a spot on the exclusive list.
Class 1A
They are untied upon and undefeated, thus, Denver sits atop the rankings with a perfect 14-0-0 record. The only other team without a loss in the top 15 is #12 Maquoketa with a 9-0-1 record, but their strength of schedule hinders their resume. Bishop Heelan and Assumption round out the top three.
St. Albert was the one team to fall down the list from #9 to #14 as they lost three games in-a-row, including a 1-0 loss to #6 Treynor at their home field. The Saintes bounced back on Tuesday night with an 8-2 win over Logan-Magnolia, but they will be tested on Saturday, May 17th, against #2 Bishop Heelan.
Class 2A
Waverly-Shell Rock entered the season as the team to beat and the best anyone has been to do is force a 0-0 tie—shoutout to Class 1A’s #10 Center Point-Urbana. This highlights a bigger issue for opposing teams, no one has scored against the Go-Hawks this season, including the defending champions and #2 Dallas Center-Grimes.
North Polk is ranked 3rd in the class but moving down the list the records start to take a bit of a turn from #9 through #14. #9 ADM, #10 North Scott, #11 Bondurant-Farrar, and #14 Indianola all have the displeasure of playing in incredibly tough neighborhoods, resulting in records hovering around 0.500.
The most interesting choice to still rest in the top 15 is Pella. The Dutch deal with both Class 2A and Class 3A talents, which includes a recent 3-1 win over Indianola. However, Pella sports just a 4-6-1 record for the season.
An argument can be made that Fort Madison deserves to be on the list with a 12-1-2 record for the season, outscoring their opponents 74 to 5 in their wins. Especially since they hold an 0-1-1 record against the new #15 team:
Burlington finds their way onto the list for the first time this season, sporting an 11-2-2 record for the year. One of their losses was a shutout against Assumption last Friday 4-0. Beyond the loss, the Grayhounds secured their fourth straight season of at least sharing the Southeast Conference crown, third consecutive year sitting alone on the throne.
Senior Hunter Pender leads the squad in points (50), goals (19), and assists (12), while their goalie tandem of Traeh Pender and Kimberly Nelson sport a save percentage of 83.8%, allowing just 11 goals on the year.
Class 3A
The top five remained unchanged and only #10 Muscatine fell out of the top 8 as the Muskies lost to Davenport Central 4-2 this past Tuesday. Ames’ hiccup against Southeast Polk ejected the Cyclones out of the top 15. The Rams replaced them and hopped up two spots to #11 as they defeated #13 Dowling Catholic and currently ride a five-game win streak.
Despite Pleasant Valley having gone winless in their last five games and currently holding on to a 4-8-2 record, the Spartans cling on to the top 15 by rounding out the list.
More Information
Class 1A Regional soccer will be ready to commence their first round of action of Monday, May 19th.
For a full look at the rankings, follow the provided link: 7th Edition of Girls’ Soccer Rankings