What to Watch as the Boys Soccer Postseason Gets Underway
Your Prep Sports
Postseason soccer is here.
Substate play begins for boys teams across the state on Thursday with opening round matchups in all three classes.
Four Your Prep Sports area teams will open postseason play on Thursday all seeking a spot at the state soccer tournament that begins June 1 at Cownie Soccer Complex in Des Moines.
As the substate action gets underway here are a few things to watch as area teams chase state tournament berths.
Regina Chasing Another Crown
It simply wouldn’t seem like the postseason without Regina ready for a title run and the Regals will once again be in the 1A mix.
Regina is seeking a 13th consecutive state tournament appearance and fourth straight 1A title under long-time coach Rick Larew.
The Regals have followed a familiar formula in 2021 testing themselves against a loaded schedule and have relied on a familiar face in senior all-stater Alec Wick who has a team-high 23 goals.
Third-ranked Regina (9-7) has five losses to Class 3A opponents and two losses to top-seven 1A teams Burlington Notre Dame and Waterloo Columbus.
Regina has home field advantage throughout substate and awaits the winner of Prince of Peace (7-6) and Williamsburg (6-8) in the semifinals before a potential final against rivals West Branch or Solon.
Bears Coming Alive
Speaking of West Branch the Bears have been among the best stories in the state this season.
Led by the dynamic goal-scoring of junior Peyton Miller who ranks second in the state with 38 goals West Branch is 10-1 and has risen to No. 14 in the rankings in just its second season as a varsity program.
The question is just how far can the Bears go?
West Branch closed the regular season with a 2-1 win over No. 15 Mid-Prairie and its lone lost came in overtime against fifth-ranked West Liberty.
The Bears host Tipton (3-9) in the Substate 4 opener Thursday at Solon a team it beat 10-0 earlier this month.
A win would likely set up a semifinal showdown at fourth-ranked Solon (11-5) with top-seeded Regina likely awaiting in the final.
The Wild Class 3A, Substate 7
When postseason assignments were released a few weeks ago this looked like a clear-cut contest between top two seeds Pleasant Valley (15-3) and City High (10-5).
That may turn out to be the finals matchup but the rest of the Substate 7 field has made things a lot more interesting over the past few weeks.
Late-season charges by Liberty High (8-7) and Davenport Central (8-7) have turned Substate 7 into the most intriguing in Class 3A.
Liberty High has won five of its last six matches and four straight including wins over No. 10 Cedar Falls and a penalty kick victory over eighth-ranked City High in the regular season finale.
The Lightning won’t have an easy opener hosting Davenport North (7-8) on Thursday and travel to top-seeded and fifth-ranked Pleasant Valley with a win.
Davenport Central has won five of six including wins over No. 12 Muscatine and North Scott and with a win over Burlington on Friday would travel to City High (10-5) for a semifinal on Monday.
City High is a perennial power that always seems to play well in the biggest matches and may well be the favorite but will need to be at its best or close to it to return to the state tournament for the eighth time in nine seasons.
The Loaded Class 3A, Substate 8
If Substate 7 is the most interesting in 3A then Substate 8 may very well be the best or at least the most balanced in the Class.
Third-ranked West High (16-1) is the favorite and is seeking a fifth consecutive state tournament appearance but won’t have an easy time returning to state.
The top four seeds all have double digit wins with ninth-ranked Bettendorf (12-3) earning the third seed.
West High will likely host North Scott (10-5) in the semifinals if the Lancers can get past Clinton (6-11) in the opening round.
No. 12 Muscatine and Bettendorf appear headed for a rematch in the semifinal after the Muskies won 1-0 in the regular season.
West High defeated Muscatine 4-2 in Muscatine on April 16.
Clippers Clicking at the Right Time
At 11-4 No. 13 Clear Creek Amana has put together another solid regular season.
The next step for the Clippers is to put it all together in the postseason.
Clear Creek Amana hosts Mount Pleasant (2-12) in a 2A, Substate 5 semifinal on Thursday but the level of difficult climbs significantly going forward.
The Clippers would likely travel to ninth-ranked Fort Madison (14-1) in the semifinals and fourth-ranked Pella (13-4) is the likely finals opponent.
Fort Madison won 17 matches combined form 2017 to 2019 but has flourished this season behind dynamic junior Mitchell Pothitakis who ranks fith in the state with 31 goals and leads the state with 33 assists while Jacob Pothitakis has scored 27 goals and Xander Wellman 23.
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