AMES — Dru Dorsey had to give Davenport Assumption girls soccer coach Elizabeth Maus a huge hug after the Class 1A girls state soccer championship game between the Knights and No. 1 Denver on June 7.

Assumption just won its record 12th state championship with a 2-0 victory over the Cyclones. But it was the Knights’ first title since 2021, when Dorsey and her classmates were in eighth grade.

“I always felt like we had let her down, even though we knew that we didn’t,” Dorsey said. “Coming in my freshman year and (we) started a losing streak instead of continuing the winning streak. I was just really happy we could win it back for her.”

Dorsey scored one goal and assisted on the other during the championship game.

It took the Knights just five minutes and 21 seconds to get on the board

Dorsey connected with freshman Ruby Stevens with a cross from near the right corner of the field. Stevens got the ball near the far post and connected with the ball, sending it into the net for a quick score.

“I thought Ruby did absolutely amazing,” Dorsey said. “You never know how freshmen are going to do with the pressure. It’s a big field, you know, you get to play at Iowa State, so it was huge. I think that’s what set the momentum for the game.”

But Denver was not phased by the early deficit.

The Cyclones outplayed the Knights for much of the first half. Addyson Shepard had two crosses in the first half, going just over Assumption keeper Alyssa O’Neal on the first attempt. On the second cross, she found midfielder Kenzie Snyder, who went a little high with her shot attempt.

Shepard had another chance with nine minutes left in the half, but O’Neal came out to knock the ball away and the Cyclones’ follow-up attempt went high once again.

In the second half, Denver struggled on offense. Assumption, led by 1A all-tournament captain Camryn Menke and defender Maddi Tolle, contained Shepard over the final 40 minutes.

“They kind of played us three back with their two sixes in the front and it was kind of to eliminate balls to Addy,” said Denver coach Derek Krebsbach. “She’s really dangerous when she’s on the ball, so they did a good job of taking her out.” 

With the Knight midfield and defense turning it up a couple of notches in the second half, Dorsey was able to put Denver away less than 10 minutes into the second half.

Dorsey got a ball near the 18-yard box and fired a shot that went into the far corner of the net to give her team an all-important two-goal cushion.

“I just kicked it, and it found the corner,” Dorsey said. “It started raining, so you never know what’s going to happen. It’ll slide through a few people, so I mean, you’ve just got to be ready.”

Assumption controlled the tempo of the game the rest of the way to end its three-year state championship drought.

“This moment is absolutely incredible,” Dorsey said. “I can’t even explain it. Doing this as a senior with all of them — it’s amazing.”

Assumption finished the season at 15-4-1.

Denver ended its campaign with a 21-1-1 record. It was the second year in a row the Cyclones suffered a 2-0 loss in the title game, falling to Nevada by the same score in 2024.

“It hurts,” Krebsbach said. “I’m still really proud of the girls. We could’ve, after last year, said ‘Well, we’re not going to be up for it again,’ and whatnot. Well, we were up for it. We made a run at it again and we played hard today.”

Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman

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Sixty-six seconds.

That’s how long it took for Valley to score against Ankeny in the Class 4A semifinal of the Iowa high school boys state soccer tournament on June 5.

The goal came off the foot of Eric Foust, who cut around his defender and sent a cross-box shot past the goaltender and into the left side of the net. Less than two minutes into the game, the Tigers were up 1-0.

And that one-goal lead stood until the final buzzer, marking the seventh-straight shutout for Valley’s defense and the fourth-straight for Tigers goaltender Alexander Poitan.

Top-seeded Valley defeated Ankeny, and the Tigers advanced to the June 6 state title game, where they will face reigning back-to-back champion Johnston.

“We needed that goal right away,” said head coach Aziz Haffar postgame. “And I’m so proud of Alex, and every defender that came in. We found a way to get it done. It’s amazing.”

More: Iowa high school soccer boys state tournament: Scores, bracket updates

The action leveled out after Foust’s opening goal, but Valley remained on the offensive for most of the first half. The Tigers’ best shot at another goal came on back-to-back corners late in the first half.

With just over 12 minutes before halftime, Pablo Mendez took a corner kick for the Tigers. One teammate headed the ball, then Britton Morrow directed another header toward the net. Ankeny goalie Jackson Dockendorff tapped the ball over the net to relieve the pressure.

Mendez lined up for the corner kick, again, and Dockendorff left the goal open during the resulting scrum. Colton Horn let off a shot for Valley, but Hawks’ defender Henry McMillan was in the right place at the right time and blocked the attempt.

More: Valley soccer coach Aziz Haffar came to U.S. with almost nothing and became a star coach

The deflection went out of bounds, and Valley was awarded another corner. Valley missed a header attempt – with the ball soaring over and past the player’s head – and Ankeny managed to clear the ball.

After the three consecutive corners, the excitement died down.

Both teams kept each other on their toes, but Valley held onto its 1-0 lead at halftime.

That single goal proved enough to win the game, although both teams had plenty of opportunities. But there was a moment in the second half that impacted the game.

Less than five minutes into the second half, Alex Mirsky went to collect the ball at the same time that an Ankeny defender went for a tackle. The Hawks’ player took down Mirsky on the play, and the Valley senior needed to be stretchered off the field.

Haffar believes Mirsky broke his leg, he told the Des Moines Register postgame.

“Obviously, that’s emotion to go through, to be honest with you,” Haffar said. “It was very emotional. I met with the guys and I said, ‘Listen, we’re not going to retaliate, we’re going to play soccer, and we’ve got to play the game like it should be. So, I was very proud of them.”

More: Iowa high school boys soccer state tournament: Who wins the championship in each class?

There was no retaliation, but there was tension building between the two Central Iowa Metropolitan League (CIML) opponents.

Two players – Austin Lundberg from Ankeny and Cristian Catalan from Valley – received red cards for separate calls in the final minute and seven seconds of the match.

Under Iowa high school rules, a player who receives a red card must sit out the next game, so the Tigers will be without Catalan – who started 19-of-21 games this season, according to GoBound – for the state title game.

“We were not going to practice tomorrow, but we’re going to go through some stuff that we need to do,” Haffar said. “I’m very proud of these guys. I know somebody will step up to the plate and play the game the way they know how to do it.”

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.