It was a banner night for Norwalk High School athletics on Wednesday. The Warrior boys soccer team clinched a return trip to the state tournament, the girls soccer team advanced to the regional finals and the softball team improved to 2-0.
Boys Soccer: On To State
Teegan Kralik’s rebound goal with 5:28 remaining proved to be the game winner as Norwalk outlasted Carlisle 1-0 in a thrilling Class 3A, Substate 6 boys soccer final at Warrior Stadium. The match came down to the waning seconds as Carlisle narrowly missed a potential game-tying shot with time running out.
The sixth-ranked Warriors had several narrow misses of their own throughout the match, but finally converted in the 75th minute. Keilor Rodman’s right-to-left cross was first touched by Norwalk’s Eli Scavo, then deflected off a Wildcat player before Kralik’s one-timer found the back of the net.
Norwalk, last year’s 3A runner-up, is headed back to state for the 15th time in school history. Rodman, a senior, says it’s definitely a great feeling to make it back to Des Moines. “This is kind of the benchmark we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year,” he said. “We knew this is where we wanted to be and we knew this is where we could be… Maybe not our best game tonight, but we put it together and we got out of here with a win, which is the only thing that matters.”
The Warriors, now 11-8 overall, are seeded fourth in the 3A state bracket. They will face fifth-seeded Marion (12-4) in a quarterfinal match on Wednesday, May 29, at 10:10 a.m. at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
Girls Soccer wins 6-1
The Norwalk girls soccer team cruised into the regional final round on Wednesday, defeating Winterset 6-1 in a Class 2A, Region 3 semifinal. The 2nd-ranked Warriors led 6-0 at halftime and won their ninth straight match to improve to 14-4. Addy Wood led Norwalk with two goals. Reese Trebilcock, Braelyn Clark, Addison Burch and Anna Larson each scored once. Clark and Olivia Welch both had a pair of assists.
A state tournament berth is on the line tonight when the Warrior girls host No. 13 Lewis Central (10-8) at 7:00 p.m.
Softball wins 5-1
The Class 4A 2nd-ranked Norwalk softball team improved to 2-0, scoring five runs in the first two frames and winning 5-1 at Class 5A No. 10 Southeast Polk. Lauren Black and Nyah Hulbert hit solo home runs for the Warriors, Carly Brewer had a pair of doubles and Grace Dehmer had two RBI. Olivia Dougherty pitched six innings for the win, allowing just two hits and no earned runs. She walked three and struck out seven.
The Warriors travel to Ankeny Centennial tonight to take on the top-ranked team in Class 5A.
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