The first half in Alburnett saw all of the action. Going into halftime, the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks had a commanding 5-1 lead, not looking back, winning 5-1, their third victory in a row to break .500 with a 3-2 record.

Just two minutes in and junior, Dylan Henry, crashed the net, scoring off his own rebound.

Cedar Valley’s goalie, senior, Cody Rammelsberg, played an extremely aggressive first half, to his own detriment. This contributed to some of the goals. Once settled in the second, things became much more consistent for the Huskies. 

Junior, Tucker Miller, continued the scoring when he took a high shot that the Cedar Valley goalie couldn’t quite reach, hitting the back of the net and giving the Hawks a 2-0 lead.

This is when the Cedar Valley Huskies had their best push of the night, crashing down field and scoring a goal, their only one of the night.

For a time, the game was close at 2-1. Eventually, the Hawks broke this close race with a goal by senior Owen Trimpe, who yet again took advantage of Rammelsberg’s aggressive play when he left the net to track down the ball, but hesitated, allowing Trimpe to sneak the ball into the open net.

With five minutes left in the first half, junior defensemen, Jackson Miller, got a golden opportunity to score a goal with a penalty kick. He did not disappoint, kicking it wide and watching it bounce off the post and into the back of the net, with all of his team cheering in support and excitement.

And once more, with almost two minutes left, senior Evan Phillips, took advantage of aggressive Cedar Valley play by rushing the goaltender and sneaking the ball into the net, slamming his fists on the ground in celebration of his goal, the final one of the night for either side.

In the first half, sophomore, Andrew Kaufman, played goalie for Mid-Prairie. In the second, he assumed his second position as midfielder. In this role, he gave Mid-Prairie their best three chances at scoring with a brilliant pass from the sidelines to the front of the net and also two breakaways that led to a rush of adrenaline for the team.

“I remember watching [Kaufman] in middle school, he was a forward for the team, he was a dominant player,” head coach Wyatt Cady said. “Goalie is just where he wants to be.”

Everyone playing for the Golden Hawks has more than one position they can play on any given night.

“I think kids have a little bit more fun when they get to play like seven different positions in a game versus, [the same thing] every time,” Cady said.

MID-PRAIRIE @ BECKMAN CATHOLIC 4/14

For just the second time this season, the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks were held goalless, losing to Beckman Catholic 4-0, dropping to 3-3 on the year. This game was part of a brutal back-to-back stretch for the Hawks. First, Alburnett, an hour drive on Thursday and then Dyersville, a nearly two-hour bus drive for the athletes.

To prepare for this back-to-back, the Hawks subbed heavily against Cedar Valley, using depth on their bench to prepare for the game against Beckman. The field in Alburnett would be the smallest the Hawks see all season, further helping them rest up for the Beckman matchup.

The Hawks managed five shots on goal, nine total. Goaltender, Jacob Flynn, played the full night, tallying seven saves on 11 shots.

In tighter games, Mid-Prairie likes to roll with just one goalie. In looser games, they like to see  “friendly-competition” with a goalie rotation. With the nature of this game, they stuck to one.

MID-PRAIRIE V. WEST BRANCH 4/17

The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks did not get much rest during their back-to-back against Cedar Valley and Beckman. They got the weekend off and then were thrown right back into action against the West Branch Bears, losing 4-1. West Branch is still undefeated.

West Branch drew first blood 14 minutes in and kept consistent pressure. Despite a good effort by sophomore Andrew Kaufman at goalie, he couldn’t possibly stop the Bear onslaught that continually chipped away at the tiring Hawk defense.

The only goal scored for Mid-Prairie on the night was a fluke. An accident. West Branch senior, Jaxson Kaalberg, while under pressure, went to kick the ball out of bounds. Instead, the ball found the back of the net when the Bear goalie was least expecting a shot. A shot of shame, he eventually bounced back and played a good game, helping in the next offensive push for the Bears.

Going into halftime, the score was 3-1. The Hawks best chance at offense was a breakaway by senior Owen Trimpe. Trimpe had more breakaways in the second, but never had help to bury a shot.

Still 3-1, Mid-Prairie saw three consecutive shots denied by the Bear goaltender, with cheers from the visiting fanbase. Ten minutes later and West Branch applied the nail to the coffin with their fourth goal of the night.

Mid-Prairie drops to 3-4 on the year. Their next matchup is on the road against Anamosa on Friday, Apr. 21.