Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Following a slow start to the season City High revved up its offense scoring 15 goals during a five-match winning streak.

The win streak and offensive production stalled for City High on Wednesday in a 4-1 loss at 2A eighth-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier.

City High shifted its goal scoring back in to high gear on Friday while getting back on track with a 10-0 win over Cedar Rapids Washington (4-8) in a Mississippi Valley Conference match on a sunny afternoon at City High.

“I think this was a good game for us after Xavier just to get our confidence back up,” City High senior Stella Foster said. “We have a good match to start substate and I think this gives us some confidence which was much needed after our loss to Xavier.”

Five different Little Hawks scored on Friday and four had multi-goal games as Class 3A No. 15 City High improved to 7-4 on the season with its sixth win in its last seven matches.

The 10 goals were a season-high for City High and doubled the Little Hawks’ previous season-best scoring output which came in an April 20 win over Dubuque Hempstead.

“It’s definitely a good way to end the week especially after Xavier,” sophomore Claire Brown said. “It shows us what we can do on offense when we are clicking.”

City High was shutout in three of its first four matches during a 1-3 start to the season.

The slow offensive start eventually gave way to a goal-scoring outburst as City High scored at least two goals in every match during its five-match winning streak.

On Friday the Little Hawks to their offensive efficiency to another gear.

“Getting into the season we have gotten closer as a team and that helps,” Brown said. “Getting in games and playing with more people has been helpful.”

Foster scored three goals while Brown, Callie Menzel and Cecilia Sileo each scored twice for City High during the offensive explosion.

The hat trick for Foster eclipsed her season scoring total while Brown pushed her team-leading goal total to 10 with her two goals on Friday.

“I think this shows us what we are capable of,” Foster said. “Hopefully see what we can do will help us out in the postseason.

City High needed more than 20 minutes to get its offensive out of neutral on Friday.

Brown got the Little Hawks on the board with her first goal of the game from inside the box with 19:42 left in the opening half.

Foster followed with a pair of goals in a span of less than 90 seconds to give City High a 3-0 halftime cushion.

“That normally an issue for us, it takes a little while to get started,” Foster said. “But once we score that first goal our heads are in the game and we are ready to go hard.”

City High wasted little time adding to the lead in the second half.

Menzel scored the first of her two goals less than three minutes into the second half and Foster completed the hat trick less than two minutes later to make it 5-0.

Sileo scored twice in the final 28 minutes while Menzel and Brown each tacked on goals before Ava Bell ended the match with a goal with 1:52 left.

“We always struggle in the first half a lot more than we should,” Brown said. “Hopefully this will help us going into substate knowing that we can get going and score goals.”

City High will close out the regular season next week hosting Liberty High on Tuesday and travelling to Mount Vernon on Friday.

The Little Hawks open postseason play the following week hosting Cedar Rapids Kennedy in a 3A, Region 5 semifinal on June 2.

“I told the girls that we have to treat this match like it’s Kennedy, which is our first substate game,” City High coach Corbin Scholz said. “There are so many things to work on in soccer, we have the possession down now and we are just continuing to build on it and I think we are in a good spot.”

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