Photo by Jeff Yoder | photo gallery

Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

DES MOINES – Gada Ambo possesses all the physical attributes required to be a top-notch goal scorer.

Speed, agility, skill and anticipation and intellect are all options in the West High senior’s goal scoring arsenal.

On Friday Ambo put it all on display while sending West High back to the Class 3A state semifinals.

Ambo scored both West High goals, including one on a nifty takeaway deep in front of the opposing goal, in a 2-1 win over No. 10 Ankeny in a 3A quarterfinal at Cownie Soccer Complex in Des Moines.

The two goals on Friday gave Ambo five in three postseason matches this season and send West High into the 3A semifinals for the third straight season.

“Honestly I’m working a little harder in the postseason,” Ambo said. “I’m not trying to get out yet, I don’t want it to end.”

Ambo scored twice in drastically different fashions on Friday as second-ranked West High (17-1) stretched its winning streak to 17.

West High will face No. 11 Cedar Rapids Washington (14-5) and its dynamic senior forward Keaton Woods in a 3A semifinal on Saturday at 5:05 p.m.

The Trojans won a regular season match over the Warriors 4-0 on April 16 with Woods sidelined with an injury.

“Keaton wasn’t there,” West High coach Brad Stiles when asked what he remembered about the first matchup with Washington. “We will do our prep, we will get our team ready and we will be good to go tomorrow.”

West High needed overtime to escape in the quarterfinals each of the past two seasons but Ambo made sure no extra time was needed on Friday.

The senior forward swiped a pass inside the Ankeny box and snuck a shot into an open net to give West High a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute.

“He literally stole one there,” Stiles said of the opening goal. “We talked about the first 12 minutes and I’m not quite sure if it hit the 12-minute mark but it was close to that.”

As Ankeny defender attempted to slip a pass back to keeper Zach Young Ambo acted as if he was going to press up to the ball.

At the last moment he anticipated the pass, dropped off, intercepted the back pass and scored perhaps the easiest of his 13 goals this season.

“He was looking down and I knew he was trying to play it back to the keeper and I acted like I was going to step to him but he passed back to the keeper and I saw it coming,” Ambo said. “Brad told us to get ready and try to anticipate when they were going to go to the keeper.”

After using his intellect to give West High a lead Ambo showed his physical skills while providing some cushion.

Ambo got loose in the open field, beat two defenders with the ball and rifled a shot from outside the box past Young to put West High up 2-0 less than five minutes into the second half.

“Our team kept finding me and I was trying to find open space,” Ambo said. “They found me and I got lucky and scored.”

Ankeny (12-6) made it interesting late when all-state senior Kolby Raineri scored on a penalty kick with 2:21 left following a foul call in the box.

West High didn’t allow the Hawks a solid scoring opportunity the rest of the way while moving into the semifinals.

“I would have liked the shutout,” Stiles said. “I’m not quite sure what happened there at the end but when you get two teams fighting for the ball like that that is the way it’s going to turn out, closer than it should be.”

West High now takes it shot at slowing down Woods and Washington.

The Warriors have won nine straight following a 3-1 quarterfinal win over Marshalltown on Friday.

Woods has scored 19 goals during the nine-match winning streak and had a pair of assists on Friday.

“We need to keep working hard and try to stop Keaton,” Ambo said. “We’ll be ready to go.”

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