For the 15th time in school history, Norwalk is heading back to the Boys State Soccer Tournament in Des Moines. The Warriors advanced to state with a 1-0 win over Carlisle last week, and will now face Marion in a Class 3A state quarterfinal on Wednesday morning at the Cownie Soccer Park. The match is scheduled to begin at 10:10 a.m.
Last year’s 3A runner-up, Norwalk is sixth in the 3A state rankings with an 11-8 record and is the No. 4 seed in the bracket. The Warriors have won four state titles and brought home six runner-up trophies in their rich history. This year’s team has relied on a tough defense, outscoring the opposition 37-23 and holding eight teams scoreless.
Head coach Dustin Kralik says that sophomore Jacoby Robbins has grown into his position as a full time goalie this year and improved along the way. Robbins is protected by the experienced back line of Caden Endres, Jonah Sandhoff and Jace Davis, as well as Keilor Rodman and Grant Fletcher on the wings, among others.
“They’ve really been the backbone for us all year,” Kralik said of the defense. “We’ve got a lot of experience and a lot of high-level players back there, so they’ve really just held everything together for us.”
Sophomore Eli Scavo leads Norwalk with nine goals on the season. Rodman and Teegan Kralik both have seven assists.
Marion, meanwhile, has outscored their opponents 65-6 on the year with 12 shutouts. The 14-4 Wolves are making their fourth straight trip to state and sixth overall, but have yet to reach the championship round. Ranked eighth in 3A and seeded fifth, Marion is led in scoring by a pair of sophomores. Cole Angell has 16 goals and five assists and Patrick Flanagan has 14 goals and six assists.
Wednesday’s winner will move on to face top-seeded Des Moines Hoover or Indianola in Friday’s semifinal round at Drake Stadium. This year’s 3A championship game is set for Saturday at Mediacom Stadium. Coach Kralik says that the 3A field is wide open again this year with many battle-tested teams. He believes that mental toughness will be the key to making another run to the state title game.
“When we were rolling last year we were really good, but we didn’t always handle adversity well,” he said. “Mental toughness and recognizing that there are going to be shifts in momentum, there are going to be some challenges that we face when we’re playing against good teams in pressure moments, but the team that is able to maintain focus through all those challenges and adversities is going to be the team that has the best chance to hold that trophy up on Saturday.”
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