Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

 The opening day of the state soccer tournament is less than a week away.

You read that correctly, in just six days the state soccer tournament will be in full swing at Cownie Soccer Complex in Des Moines with the three-day tournament set for June 1, 3 and 5.

Before the action can get rolling and state titles can be earned first the field must be set and that will come on Wednesday night when substate finals are held for all three classes.

Four Your Prep Sports area teams will be in action on Wednesday with Regina hosting Solon in Class 1A, Bettendorf travelling to West High and City High heading to Pleasant Valley in Class 3A.

Here is quick breakdown of the three substate finals featuring Your Prep Sports area teams

Class 3A, Substate 6

No. 9 Bettendorf (14-3) at No. 3 West High (17-1)  

When: Wednesday at 6:30

Where: Barker Field at West High

Top players: West High – Kolby Godbolt, Sr., 16 goals 7 assists; Michael Nelson, Soph., 10 goals, 5 assists. Bettendorf – Chase Wakefield, Fr., 9 goals, 5 assists; Mohamed Monkari, Sr., 7 goals, 7 assists.

About the Bulldogs: Faced with one of the most difficult paths to the state tournament in the state Bettendorf has won consecutive games over conference rivals to move one win away from a fourth straight state tournament appearance.

Bettendorf defeated Davenport West 5-0 in its postseason opener and avenged a 1-0 regular season loss to No. 12 Muscatine with a penalty kick shootout victory over the Muskies in the substate semifinals on Monday.

The Bulldogs have won four straight since its loss to Muscatine on May 6, outscoring opponents 14-1 in those contests.

The other two regular season loss for Bettendorf were a 1-0 setback to fifth-ranked Pleasant Valley and an 2-0 loss to eighth-ranked City High.

Bettendorf doesn’t have a player with double digit goals but 10 Bulldogs have scored multiple goals this season and six players have at least six goals led by freshman Chase Wakefield with nine.

About the Trojans: West High enters the substate title game playing as well as any team in the state.

The Trojans have won 15 straight since their only loss of the season, a 2-1 setback at second-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie on April 6, with all but two of the wins during that stretch coming by more than one goal.

West High has been dominant all season scoring four or more goals 11 times while posting 10 shutouts and advanced to the Substate 6 title game with a 4-1 win over North Scott on Monday.

The Trojans have plenty of top-end talent namely senior standout Kolby Godbolt who leads the team with 16 goals and seven assists but what sets West High apart is its balance.

19 different players have scored a goal for West High this season and 10 different Trojans have multiple goals on the year led by Godbolt, sophomore Michael Nelson with 10 and senior Marko Migambi with six.

What to watch: Two of the most successful coaches in state history will match wits on Wednesday as both attempt to add to their already impressive career resumes.

Ben Pennington started the Bettendorf soccer program in 1982 and has amassed more than 600 career victories in 39 years leading the program.

Pennington has is tied for the most state tournament appearances in state history, leading the Bulldogs to state 20 times including each of the past three seasons.

Bettendorf has won 31 state tournament games under Pennington which ranks third in state history.

Though he can’t match the longevity of Pennington just yet West High head coach Brad Stiles is one of the few coaches in the state that can match his success.

Stiles is right behind Pennington with 18 state tournament appearances and has won eight titles, the most in state history.

West High is seeking its four consecutive state tournament appearance and 20^th in the last 21 seasons.

Class 3A, Substate 7

No. 8 City High (11-5) at No. 5 Pleasant Valley (16-3)

When: Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Where: Pleasant Valley High School

Top players: Pleasant Valley – Rhys Ward, Jr. 12 goals, 14 assists; Bryce Rubel, Jr. 9 goals.

About the Spartans: Pleasant Valley has enjoyed plenty of recent success but is still seeking its first ever trip to the state tournament.

The Spartans own an impressive 60-12 record over the past four seasons but have seen their season end with one-goal losses in the substate finals each of the past three seasons.

Since back-to-back losses to North Scott and sixth-ranked Ankeny Centennial the Spartans have been on a tear.

Pleasant Valley enters the substate final riding a six-match winning streak that started with a 2-1 win at City High on May 1 features wins over three ranked teams and includes a 2-0 semifinal win over Liberty High on Monday.

With team-highs of 12 goals and 14 assists junior Rhys Ward is the catalyst for Pleasant Valley but seven over players have scored at least four goals led by junior Bryce Rubel with nine and Alex Hunter and Joey Borbeck with six each.

About the Little Hawks: City High had a string of seven consecutive state tournament appearances come to an end in 2019 but the Little Hawks will look to start a new streak on Monday.

The Little Hawks were impressive in their postseason opener on Monday scoring a flurry of late goals to blow open a 2-0 match in a 5-0 win over Davenport Central.

Don’t be fooled by the five losses for City High the Little Hawks are as a dangerous as ever.

Two of those losses came in penalty kick shootouts, another in double overtime to second-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie and another to third ranked West High.

In all City High has three losses to top-five opponents and owns wins over four ranked teams including a pair of top-10 opponents.

What to watch: A regular season rematch City High gets a shot to avenge a 2-1 regular season loss to Pleasant Valley it owns own tournament on May 1.

Hunter and Rubel each had goals for Pleasant Valley in the 2-1 win over City High while Jeffery Rinker and Justin Ancelet had assists.

On the road against a top-five team playing for its first ever state tournament appearance a strong start will be important for City High which trailed 1-0 at the half in the regular season meeting.

Class 1A, Substate 4

No. 4 Solon (13-5) at No. 3 Regina (10-7)  

When: Wednesday 7 p.m.

Where: Regina

Top players: Regina – Alec Wick 27 goals, 6 assists. Kaleab Wendy, Fr., 16 goals, nine assists.

Solon – Gabe Yetley 24 goals, 13 assists; Dillon Bruck 20 goals, 5 assists.

About the Spartans: Solon returns to the substate regional final after edging upstart West Branch 3-2 on a late goal by Dillon Bruck in the semifinals on Monday.

The Spartans closed the regular season with consecutive losses to ranked 3A opponents Vinton-Shellsburg and Clear Creek Amana but have outscored two postseason opponents 13-3 while advancing to the regional title game.

Solon has won eight of its last 10 matches since a 7-1 setback at Regina on April 17 and is averaging better than three goals per match during that stretch.

Gabe Yetley and Dillon Bruck give Solon one of the better scoring duos in Class 1A.

Yeyley has a team-high 24 goals to go with 13 assists while Bruck has 20 goals and five assists after scoring twice in the substate semifinal win over West Branch.

William Wittich and Patrick Seaton have each added five goals for the Spartans.

About the Regals: Over the past several decades Regina coach Rick Larew has developed a formula for postseason success that few others in the state can match.

Once again the Regals appear set up to the follow that same system into another deep playoff run.

Regina loads up its schedule against some of the best teams in Eastern Iowa in any class and improves then hits the postseason running on all cylinders.

So far this season Regina has lost five matches to Class 3A competition and twice to top-ten Class 1A opponents in West Burlington Notre Dame and Waterloo Columbus.

Meanwhile the Regals have posted wins over 3A North Scott, 1A sixth-ranked Council Bluffs St. Albert, No. 7 Waterloo Columbus and No. 15 Mid-Prairie.

Senior Alec Wick gives Regina one of the most dynamic and dangerous offensive players in the state with 27 goals and six assists.

Freshman Kaleab Wendy has emerged as a solid complement to Wick with 16 goals and nine assists while Levin Quinlan has seven goals and three assists.

Those three players have accounted for 50 of 53 Regina goals this season.

What to watch: A couple of traditional 1A powers and familiar foes meet for the second time in about a month with a return trip to the state tournament on the line.

The 7-1 loss to Regina last month came roughly 15 hours after the Spartans dropped a hard-fought match against Dyersville Beckman on Friday night.

Never the less, Solon will need to find a way to control Wick who had a hat trick in the first meeting between the two teams and scored four goals in the first half of an 8-4 win over Prince of Peace in the substate semifinals on Monday.

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