Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The Matchups

No. 10 North Polk (14-3) vs. No. 11 West Liberty (11-7)

Top-seeded North Polk is making its first appearance at the state tournament after a 2-1 win over No. 13 Nevada in the substate finals.

North Polk opened the season with back-to-back 1-0 losses but has won 14 of its last 15 matches with the lone loss during that stretch coming to Class 2A state qualifier Gilbert.

The Comets have allowed just seven goals this season, the fewest among 1A qualifiers, and have posted shutouts in better than half of their 17 matches.

West Liberty doesn’t have a sparkling record at 11-7 but the Comets are not the typical eight seed.

Six of the seven losses for West Liberty have come to teams from larger classes and three of those losses came by a single goal. The lone loss to a Class 1A opponent was a 3-2 setback to two-time defending champion Regina.

West Liberty showed it could play with the top teams in 1A with a 2-1 overtime win over third-ranked Burlington Notre Dame in the substate final. 

No. 2 Regina (15-6) vs. No. 9 Greene County (14-5)

Two-time defending champion Regina returns to the state tournament for the 12th consecutive season seeking an eighth title in the past 11 seasons.

The Regals are battle tested after facing their annual gauntlet of a schedule that featured seven matches against Class 3A competition.

Five of the is losses for Regina came against 3A opponents with the lone setback to a 1A team a 4-0 loss to top-ranked Waterloo Columbus.

Regina has won five consecutive matches via shutout entering the state tournament, outscoring postseason opponents 15-0.

Greene County gets another shot at Regina after falling to the Regals 4-3 at the Marshalltown Tournament back on May 4.

The Rams bring a six-match winning streak into their first ever state tournament appearance after an impressive 5-2 substate final win over fourth-ranked AHSTW.

Greene County boasts the top scoring duo in 1A with Junior Gutierrez (55) and Luis Velazco (27) combining for 82 goals this season.

No. 1 Waterloo Columbus (18-2) vs. Center Point-Urbana (12-8)

The last team other than Regina or Dyersville Beckman to win a Class 1A state title, Waterloo Columbus is back at the state tournament for the first time since 2013.

Waterloo Columbus snapped a string of three straight titles for Regina with its only championship in 2012 and enters as one of the top contenders to stop another Regina three-peat.

The Sailors bring a 10-match winning streak into the state tournament and have outscored opponents 52-3 during that stretch.

Waterloo Columbus ranks third in 1A with 103 goals and has one of the most dangerous attacking duos in the state in Sawwin Lin and Nga Reh.

Lin and Reh had combined for 57 goals and 38 assists on the season.

Center Point-Urbana is seeking its first state tournament win in its second ever appearance at the state tournament.

The Stormin’ Pointers lost three consecutive matches to close the regular season but won three straight substate matches including one-goal wins over Bellevue Marquette and Dyersville Beckman to reach the state tournament for the first time since 2009.

Sioux Center (13-4) vs. No.16 Iowa Mennonite (12-4)

One team will get its first trip to the state semifinals in a spring state tourney as Sioux Center and Iowa Mennonite meet both seeking their first spring tournament win.

Both teams have recent state tournament experience.

Iowa Mennonite is making its second straight state appearance after falling to last year’s runner-up Des Moines Christian 4-0 in the quarterfinals.

Sioux Center is making its second ever state tournament appearance and first since 2017 when lost to Dyersville Beckman 5-1 in its opener.

Iowa Mennonite has won four straight, the final three via shutout and returned to state with a 1-0 win over seventh-ranked Solon.

Sioux Center avenged a 3-0 regular season loss to fifth-ranked Western Christian with a 2-1 win in the substate final to return to state.

The Faces

Regina: Alec Wick burst onto the scene with an impressive state tournament last season as a freshman and has followed it up with a stellar sophomore season. Wick ranks fifth in 1A with 29 goals and has added 10 assists.

Greene County: Junior Gutierrez has scored a state-leading 55 goals this season and added a team-high 13 assists.

North Polk: The Comets haven’t put up huge goal numbers this season but when North Polk needs a score senior Luke McCoy has usually come through. McCoy leads the team with 13 goals including four in the postseason.

West Liberty: Junior Gabe Seele leads the Comets with 11 goals and ranks second on the team with six assists.

Waterloo Columbus: Sawwin Lin is one of the top scorers in the state with 28 goals but is just as valuable setting up teammates. Lin ranks second in the state and leads 1A with 22 assists.

Center Point-Urbana: Senior Brandon Dreier ranks 11th in 1A with 28 goals which accounts for more than half of the Stormin’ Pointers goal output this season.

Sioux Center: Junior Jesus Granillo leads the Warriors win both goals (10) and assists (9) and had a goal in Sioux Center’s substate final upset of Western Christian.

Iowa Mennonite: Senior Louis Etienne has been the premier offensive threat for Iowa Mennonite this season accounting for better than 52 percent of the team’s scoring with 25 goals.

The Forecast

Regina and Waterloo Columbus split a pair of regular season matchups and the top two ranked teams in 1A appear headed for a winner-take-all rubber match in the 1A championship.

Waterloo Columbus won the most recent meeting 4-0 on April 27 in a 60-minute match at a tournament in April.

Regina won the first meeting 2-1 via penalty kicks on April 16 at Regina.

In order to secure a third meeting both teams must navigate a bracket filled with contenders.

Regina gets a rematch with Greene County in the opening round after wining the regular season meeting 4-3 and will face top-seeded North Polk or another regular season rematch with West Liberty in the semifinal.

The Focus

Can Regina add to it’s title county?

Over the last decade Regina has made a habit of peaking during the three days at Cownie Soccer Complex.

Regina has won seven of 10 1A titles since the state went to three classes in 2009 and hasn’t lost a match at state since the 2016 consolation match.

The Regals are battle tested as always after a regular season filled with challenging matches and enter riding a five match winning streak.

Five Fast Facts

* – Regina is 11-1 all-tie in state quarterfinal matches with the lone loss a 1-0 setback to Gilbert in 2015.

* – Five of the eight teams in the 1A field have never won a match at a spring state tournament.

* – Greene County’s Junior Gutierrez and Luis Velazco have combined for 82 goals this season which is more than the team total for all but one 1A qualifier.

* – Waterloo Columbus junior Sawwin Lin is one of only two players in the state with more than 20 goals (28) and 20 assists (22).

* – Since the state went to three classes in 2009 Regina has won seven state titles and posted a 24-4 record in state tournament matches. 

The Schedule

Friday’s Quarterfinals

North Polk (14-3) vs. West Liberty (10-7), Noon

Regina (15-6) vs. Greene County (14-5), 12:05 p.m.

Waterloo Columbus (18-2) vs. Center Point-Urbana (12-8), 12:15 p.m.

Sioux Center (13-4) vs. Iowa Mennonite (12-4), 12:10 p.m.

Saturday’s Semifinals

North Polk/West Liberty winner vs. Regina/Greene County winner, Noon 

Waterloo Columbus/Center Point-Urbana winner vs. Sioux Center/Iowa Mennonite winner, 12:05 p.m.

Tuesday’s Championship

Semifinal winners, Noon

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