For only the second time in team history, the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks girls’ soccer team started their season 4-0.

The Golden Hawks defeated Cedar Valley Christian in a windy 2-0 matchup.

The wind made its presence known. Mid-Prairie started with the wind at their back. 

Goaltender, Kina Miller, blasted a punt from her net all the way to the other side of the field, out of bounds, completely flipping field position in favor of the Hawks. By the second half, the wind had greatly died down, only gifting Mid-Prairie with the advantage.

Senior, Sophia Baker, continued her impressive week with a penalty kick that trickled into the net, giving the Hawks a 1-0 lead.

A scary moment happened early in the second when Baker went down with an ankle injury. After taping it up and relaxing for a bit, she returned to the game and continued to play well.

With just under 20 minutes left in the second, freshman, Niva Helmuth, padded the lead with a breakaway goal. Despite being new to soccer, Helmuth had plenty of chances and head coach, Truman Shetler, believes she’ll grow into a dominant presence.

“[Helmuth’s] got very raw talent, but she’s an athlete and we’re happy to have her,” Shetler said. “She’s going to keep getting better every game and that’s going to help us get better too.”

Helmuth had a couple more breakaway attempts in the second half, only hindered by her dribbling. She lost possession, missing out on the potential scoring chances.

The pair of Helmuth and Baker converged toward the end of the game when Baker took a shot from a distance leaving a massive rebound for Helmuth to collect. Helmuth would’ve had her second goal if not for a great save by the Cedar Valley goalie.

Overall, it was a tough game for the Golden Hawks.

“It was a struggle with the win tonight. Missing a couple players, couple people dinged up so, it was good to get a win [not] at full strength and with [poor] conditions out here,” Shetler said.

All of these issues faced against Cedar Valley would only further hurt the team in their next matchup, coming the very next night.

  MID-PRAIRIE @ BECKMAN CATHOLIC 4/14

The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks, seeking their first ever 5-0 start, were spoiled Friday night against the Beckman Catholic Trailblazers, losing for the first time this season, 5-1.

Their 4-0 start is just the second one in team history, with the last coming in the 2011-12 season.

Despite the loss, Sophia Baker is still a bright spot for the Hawks, scoring the lone goal of the night. A free kick at the tail end of the first half. It was the only recorded shot on goal for the Golden Hawks.

After the first half, things were still competitive with a 2-1 Trailblazer lead. The second half is when the Hawks ran out of energy as Beckman scored three unanswered goals to close out the night.

Coming after the loss is a chance for the Hawks to breathe, briefly, with just two days off before their next matchup, six games in a span of ten days, a tough stretch for any team to weather.

MID-PRAIRIE VS WEST BRANCH 4/17

Baker, who re-aggravated her ankle injury against Beckman, sat against West Branch, preparing to come back in the Hawks next matchup against Solon.

Against the West Branch Bears, Mid-Prairie dominated play, winning 6-0. In the absence of Baker, they saw freshman, Elise Gingerich, step up, scoring two goals and nearly scoring a third.

Gingerich’s first goal came five minutes in, kicking the ball wide and watching the Bear goalie make a diving effort, to no avail. One minute later and senior, Amara Jones took a shot that found the net as well. The goals came in rapid succession.

Gingerich scored her second with eight minutes left. She consistently broke past the Bear defense to find great scoring chances. She had another right before the half ended.

Just 30 seconds after Gingerich’s second goal, senior Kina Miller, sparked another breakaway to find the back of the net.

When it rains, it pours.

Despite only facing two shots on net, most of the second half was played with West Branch on the offensive. 28 minutes in and the Hawks finally had their first chance, taking a few swings at the net before senior Paityn Jennings finally buried it.

The momentum shifted in Mid-Prairie’s favor. Five minutes later and the final goal was scored by junior, Zoey Curtiss.

Mid-Prairie moves to 5-1. Their next matchup is against the Solon Spartans on the road on Thursday, Apr. 20. They don’t get much rest, similar to last week, since they’re right back on the road for a Friday matchup against Anamosa.