Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The 2023 girls state soccer tournament will get underway May 31 at Cownie Soccer Complex in Des Moines.

Before the state tournament gets rolling there are 24 state tournament spots up for grabs on Thursday.

Regional final matchups are set for all three classes across Iowa with 24 teams earning spots at next week’s state tournament with wins on Thursday.

Three Your Prep Sports area teams will be in action Thursday.

Here is a quick look at all five substate final matches featuring area teams.

Class 3A, Region 1  

City High (10-4) at No. 1 Waukee Northwest (15-1)

When: Thursday, 7 p.m.

Where: Waukee Northwest High School

Top players: Waukee Northwest – Natalie Gallagher, Sr., 24 goals, 6 assists; Zoey Mahoney, Sr., 19 goals, 16 assists. City High – Claire Brown, Sr., 14 goals, 7 assists; Kelsey Dilanni, Jr., 6 goals, 13 assists.

About the Wolves: Waukee Northwest is seeking to go two-for-two in reaching the state tournament after falling in the 3A quarterfinals in its debut season a year ago.

The Wolves have been among the most impressive teams in the state this spring, going unbeaten against ins-state competition with its only loss coming to Whitefish Bay 2-1 at the Tournament of Champions.

Waukee Northwest has won six in a row since its lone loss of the season including a 10-0 win over Cedar Rapids Jefferson in the regional semifinals.

The Wolves have wins over 10 of the other 11 teams ranked in the top 12 in Class 3A. The only top-12 teams Waukee has not played and defeated this season is ninth-ranked Bettendorf.

About the Little Hawks: After a 1-3 start to the season City High has been impressive, winning nine of its last 10 matches with the lone loss coming to sixth-ranked Linn-Mar.

The Little Hawks will have their biggest challenge to date on Thursday against top-ranked Waukee Northwest.

During its recent strong stretch the key for City High has been its defense, which has posted three consecutive shutouts and has held teams scoreless eight times in its last 10 game.

What to watch: Plenty of things in sports are easier said than done, among them is slowing down the Waukee Northwest duo of Natalie Gallagher and Zoey Mahoney.

Mahoney and Gallagher have combined for 43 of the Wolves 68 goals this season and have also combined for 22 assists.

Keeping Gallagher and Mahoney under wraps is the top priority for City High which has been stingy defensively over the past month.

For City High to pull an upset on Thursday it needs to keep Gallagher and Mahoney from dictating play for the Wolves.

Class 2A, Region 4  

Liberty High (9-8) at No. 9 Marion (11-2)

When: Thursday, 7 p.m.

Where: Marion High School

Top players: Marion – Maggie Utsinger, Fr., 17 goals, 4 assists; Selah Hill-Dale, Jr., 10 goals, 5 assists. Liberty High – Callie Stanley, Fr., 16 goals, 8 assists; Rilyn Breinholt, 10 goals, 10 assists.

About the Wolves: Marion outscored opponents 44-3 during a 9-0 start to the season before being outscored 5-0 in back-to-back losses to Center Point-Urbana and Independence.

The Wolvees rebounded with a 4-3 win to close the regular season and a 4-0 win over Clear Creek Amana in the regional semifinals on Tuesday.

Freshman Maggie Utsinger (17 goals) and junior Selah Hill-Dale (10 goals) have combined to score more than half of the Marion goals this season.

Freshman Halyley Potter has 10 assists to lead the Wolves.

About the Lightning: Liberty High enters the regional title game playing its best soccer of the season having won four of its last five matches with the lone loss during that stretch coming at No. 12 Cedar Rapids Xavier.

The Lightning pulled the upset of the postseason with a 1-0 win at fifth-ranked Independence on Tuesday and will need another road win over a top-10 team to reach the state tournament for the first time in program history.

Don’t pay much attention to the eight losses for Liberty High, seven of those came to Class 3A competition.

Freshman Callie Stanley leads Liberty High with 16 goals this season and had the game-winner in the win over Independence on Tuesday.

Sophomore Rilyn Breinholt has 10 goals and a team-leading 10 assists.

What to watch: Liberty High enters the regional final riding high, coming off perhaps the biggest win in program history on Tuesday.

Look for the Lightning to attempt to carry that momentum into Thursday in the form of a strong start.

An early goal for either team would be huge on Thursday but look for the Lightning to be aggressive from the outset as it attempts to set the tone in a high-stakes match.

Class 1A, Region 1  

Regina (14-5) at No. 1 Des Moines Christian (13-2)

When: Thursday, 7 p.m.

Where: Lions Field at Des Moines Christian High School

Top players: Des Moines Christian – Jenna Roberts, Jr., 19 goals, 2 assists; Sami Webster, Sr., 15 goals, 15 assists. Regina – Grace Gaarde, Sr., 45 goals, 6 assists; Natalie Gahan 10 goals, 1 assist.

About the Lions: Des Moines Christian opened the season with nine consecutive wins before back-to-back one-goal losses to 3A seventh-ranked West Des Moines Dowling and 2A No. 11 North Polk.

Since the two losses the Lions have won four straight including regional wins over Williamsburg and West Central Valley in which they outscored opponents 9-0.

Des Moines Christian has used a balanced attack to score 84 goals in 15 matches this season with five players scoring at least eight goals.

Four players have double digit goals led by Roberts and Webster while junior Gianna Bennett has 12 goals and senior Isabel Garcia has 10 goals.

About the Regals: Regina returned to the regional title game after falling to Center Point-Urbana in the regional semifinals a year ago.

The Regals enter riding a five-match winning streak and playing perhaps their best soccer of the season, outscoring opponents 27-3 during their current winning streak.

Regina defeated Grand View Christian 7-1 in its postseason opener and avenged a regular season loss to Anamosa with a 2-0 win over the Raiders in the regional semifinals.

Senior forward Grace Gaarde has seven goals in two postseason wins and has 17 goals in the Regals current five-match winning streak.

What to watch: Defending 1A state champion Des Moines Christian hasn’t loss to a 1A opponent since falling to Davenport Assumption 1-0 in the 2021 state title match.

The Lions are the state title favorite again this season so Regina will need to be at its best to pull a road upset on Thursday.

That likely means a strong effort from senior Grace Gaarde who ranks second in the state and tops in Class 1A with 45 goals.

If Gaarde can get loose and make plays in the final third Regina could have a chance to pull an upset.

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