Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

NORTH LIBERTY – Every team aims to be playing their best as the postseason approaches.

With its postseason opener just two weeks away Liberty High appears to be peaking at precisely the right time.

Class 3A Liberty High extended its winning streak to four with a 2-0 shutout of No. 13 West High on Tuesday in a crosstown Mississippi Valley Conference showdown on a cool and overcast evening in North Liberty.

“It’s a big win because this just helps us build momentum for the Xavier game and then going into our first regional game against (Dubuque) Hempstead,” Liberty High senior keeper Ava Tague said. “Playing well helps because we definitely want to keep building that momentum and it brings confidence for our team.”

Tague was exceptional on Tuesday coming up with several impressive saves as Liberty High (10-2-3) posted its eighth shutout of the season and second during its four-game winning streak.

“We wanted to shut them out for sure,” Tague said. “I know if we score a goal and I don’t let one in we win so I am doing my best to put a zero up there that’s my goal every game.”

Sophomore Kamiya Browning and senior Callie Stanley each scored goals as Liberty High defeated West High for the second consecutive season.

The Lightning have outscored opponents 21-2 during their current four-match winning streak that started with a 10-0 win over Western Dubuque and includes victories over Marion and 2A No. 15 Clear Creek Amana.

“We are just really proud because one of our goals at the beginning of the season was to beat all of our rivals, City, West and Clear Creek Amana so we did that so we were super pumped about that,” Stanley said. “They are a very consistently good team so just to prove to ourselves that we can beat good teams is a good thing for us and shows that we are improving.”

Browning snapped a scoreless tie when she slipped a shot past West High keeper Lila Eastvold on a breakaway with 8:40 remaining in the first half.

The fourth goal of the season for Browning gave the Lightning a 1-0 halftime advantage.

“I was so happy for Kamiya scoring that goal,” Stanley said. “I love when other people score so that was awesome.”

West High (8-5-1) pushed forward early in the second half and had several golden opportunities to pull even.

Tague came up with several key saves to preserve the lead.

She made a save on a Lauryn Hynek shot from inside five yards with 30:01 left in the second half and made a sliding save of a Sofia Fuentes shot from just inside the box with 6:20 remaining.

“I’m not going to say I wasn’t nervous a couple times in the second half when they got a clean look but Ava is just such a calming presence in the back,” Liberty High coach Frank Fiordellisi said. “She is just so fundamentally strong.”

Tague credited her teammates for the strong defensive effort.

“Everybody stepped up tonight, we were connecting passes and not just smashing the ball out,” Tague said. “We kept the ball and tried to build and possess and that was really good for us and we need to try to continue to do that.”

Stanley provided the insurance for Liberty High when she scored her team-leading 24^th goal of the season on a breakaway with 3:01 remaining.

“Getting that 2-0 lead just felt comfortable,” Stanley said. “That allowed me just to take a deep breath.”

Liberty High closes out the regular season on Friday at 2A No. 10 Cedar Rapids Xavier before hosting Dubuque Hempstead in a 3A Region 8 semifinal on June 2.

“They are a great team and if you look at their scores, they can score,” Fiordellisi said. “So to be able to play against a team like that and solidify our defense and play smart and organized it definitely feels great.”

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