Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Rivalry games can get stressful.

Playing in a rivalry for the first time on a big stage can bring on even more nerves.

West High freshman Sofia Fuentes found the perfect cure to any rivalry game jitters on Thursday.

Fuentes scored just 61 seconds into the match as Class 3A No. 15 West High rolled to a 4-0 win over City High (1-5-2) in the annual cross-town showdown at the University of Iowa Soccer Complex.

“I was very nervous but I was mostly excited and (the goal) calmed me down,” Fuentes said. “There was so much adrenaline but I was so happy.”

Four different West High players scored on Thursday as the Trojans avenged a 2-1 loss to City High last season.

Amaia Martinez, Paz Martinez and Taleen Rahhal all added goals for West High (5-2-1) as the Trojans won their fourth consecutive match.

“It feels amazing, it feels amazing,” Martinez said. “I am so happy and proud of this team.”

West High was held scoreless in back-to-back losses to open the season.

The Trojans have scored at least two goals in each of its last six matches and has four or more goals in four of those matches.

“We had 33 shots today and it definitely helped seeing a few go in the back of the net,” Serovy said. “It helps build the confidence and helps take that next shot. Seeing the ball in the back of the net as much as we have recently has really helped us in the attack.”

It was Fuentes that calmed the nerves and got the scoring started for West High.

The freshman took a pass from Anna Goska and slipped in a shot just more than a minute into the game to give West High an early advantage.

“I saw Anna (Goska) beat everyone down the line and I saw that she was looking to cut in and I knew I was in a ton of space so I started screaming for it,” Fuentes said. “I got it and shot as soon as I could.”

The goal was the team-leading 11^th of the season for Fuentes and was the first of three first-half goals for the Trojans.

“We played really calmly in the first 60 seconds to be able to build up and get that first goal,” Serovy said. “We got some jitters after that but we calmed down again and we were where we needed to be.”

Amaia Martinez scored off a free kick with 12:22 remaining in the first half and Paz Martinez added a goal with 2:54 to play in the opening half to give West High a 3-0 halftime cushion.

“It helped a lot, it cooled everyone down,” Paz Martinez said of the early goals. “Everyone was relaxed at that point and we were ready to go once again.”

Taleen Rahhal capped the scoring with a goal with 18:42.

Since playing Urbandale to a 2-2 draw on April 11 West High has scored 23 goals in four consecutive wins.

“I think got together in our practices and our practices have gotten way better,” Martinez said. “We are working as a team much better.”

Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating.