Boys win two, lose two over past week

The Creston boys soccer team has had a successful week, winning two of their four games. Their losses came to undefeated Hawkeye 10 leader Lewis Central and 6-2 Treynor.

The 3-7 Panthers have found ways to win. Though they are down five or six starters from a year ago, the team is only one win away from their win total last season.

Kuemper Catholic

A defensive standoff Thursday, April 18 at home against Kuemper Catholic came down to one major mistake. Neither team could find momentum, the score remaining 0-0 for much of the game. Then a stroke of luck came for Creston. One of the Knights kicked the ball in an attempt to clear it from the goal, but the shot didn’t go as planned, and senior goalie Michael Kasperbauer couldn’t get to it in time to stop the score.

The game ended 1-0 with the only score being an own goal from the Knights. The Panthers took six shots on goal throughout the game, but Kasperbauer was able to save all six.

Riverside

The next day, the Panthers traveled to Oakland to face Riverside. The game resulted in a 5-0 shut out of the Bulldogs, four boys with goals for Creston.

Senior Dillon Starlin led the charge, scoring two of the team’s five goals. The Panthers connected on offense quickly, scoring four of their goals in the first half.

Also scoring for Creston were freshman Joaquin Flores and seniors Denton Lane and Brennan Hayes. The five goals puts their season total at 13, one more than their regular-season total of 12 goals from last year.

Treynor

With only two losses on the season, the Cardinals have outscored opponents 49-13. Their success ranks them seventh in the state in Class 1A.

Creston faced Treynor Monday on the road. The 8-0 game was lopsided in Treynor’s favor from the beginning, six of the goals being scored in the first half. The Panthers were only able to take one shot on goal.

Despite giving up eight goals, the Panthers had 19 saves to try to stay in the game. Senior Brock Poland led the Cardinals with four goals.

Lewis Central

The undefeated Titans lead not only the Hawkeye 10, but also hold the No. 1 ranking in the state in Class 3A.

They wasted no time Tuesday against the Panthers, keeping the ball firmly on Creston’s side of the field before winning 10-0. The Titans took 48 shots resulting in 10 goals, 23 saves and 15 misses.

Once again, up against a tough opponent, the Panthers only had one shot on goal, but senior Lewis Central goalie Carlos Andrade made the save.

This season, the Titans have only given up six goals.

The Panthers return to action Friday at Boone. Their next time playing at home is the Creston Invitational May 4 against Clarke, West Central Valley and Panorama.