​In a showcase of playoff-esque soccer, the Mid-Prairie boys’ soccer team faced off against the Prince of Peace Irish club out of Goose Lake, Iowa. The Hawks lost 8-3 after a tight knit first half. The Golden Hawks drop to 7-6 after this matchup whereas the Irish climb to 9-6.

The Hawks had a daunting task ahead of this game. They were playing a good team, on the road, two hours away from home after the field was tore up due to rain and the girls’ game that preceded it. And to cap it off, they were missing juniors, Tucker Miller, and Joe Hall, a big blow to the team.

“I [thought] the first half, we were doing a really good job of playing without [Miller and Hall]. But I think in the second half, just their leadership wasn’t there,” head coach, Wyatt Cady, said. “We started to lose our midfield talkers. I do think we didn’t handle it as well as we could.”

Just ten minutes in and the Irish struck gold. The Irish player was allowed to be all alone in front of sophomore goalie, Jacob Flynn, burying the shot after settling down a pass. It was a tough shot for Flynn to stop as it was essentially a penalty kick with how much space the Irish player was allowed.

19 minutes passed before the next Irish goal.

It seemed like the Irish might run away with it. But, in a moment, senior, Noah Ford, hit a line drive that squeaked into the net past a diving senior, Eric Berry, who otherwise had an excellent showing for the Irish at goalie.

Ford’s goal was a breath of fresh air. As the team celebrated, feeding off of Ford’s energy, they pushed hard, wanting to tie it before half. With 1:30 left, junior, Hugo Banuelos, scored his first of the year off of a similar shot to Ford’s, a line drive sneaking in far-side. There was a tied game in Goose Lake.

The Hawks were swarming after this goal. But just 36 seconds passed before the Irish struck again to take a 3-2 halftime lead.

“I don’t think that goal at the end of the half meant anything to the kids. Seeing those two go in just let them know that the goalie could be scored on and that the center of the field was there,” Cady said.

Flynn did not see too much action, only playing the first half and facing seven shots on goal. The three goals he allowed were due to collapses in front of the net, hard to blame any goal on Flynn.

After a quiet first half, senior Owen Trimpe, really picked up the pace for the Hawks in the second. He opened the frame with a swift breakaway scoring opportunity, his first since the start of the game.

The Hawks started sophomore, Andrew Kaufman, in net to start the second. This was his first game back after injury. He allowed five goals on ten shots. He shined when he saved a penalty kick, a great play by Kaufman. Kaufman is a utility player, getting time in net and on the field, excelling at both. He didn’t get much help in this game.

After intense offensive pressure by the Hawks, they lost possession and played poorly in front of their own net to allow a goal. Then, junior Beau Flynn, attempted a header in front of his own net, watching it go in with Kaufman unable to protect it. Flynn otherwise has had a good season on defense. Ten minutes later came Trimpe’s lone goal, but by that point, the Hawks seemed down on themselves. It did not help that the rain came back, the opposite of what it’s supposed to do.

The Hawks have dominant spurts but eventually lose their step in tight games.

“The second half, I don’t know why we went away from [using mid-field], it was the whole halftime adjustment,” Cady said. “The intensity drops. I don’t really think anything leads to it. I try to get subs in to bring it back up but sometimes it actually makes it even worse. Soccer is a game of momentum. If I had an answer, I think we would have been a little better tonight.”

The Irish scored three more goals in the final 20 minutes, one a penalty kick, to finalize the 8-3 win at home. This was just the second time these teams faced off, splitting their appearances 1-1 after the Hawks won the first bout 3-0 in 2021.

MID-PRAIRIE SCORING: Owen Trimpe 1, Noah Ford 1, Hugo Banuelos 1.

MID-PRAIRIE ASSISTS: Luke Traetow 1, Daniel Rodgers 1, Grady Miller 1.

MID-PRAIRIE SAVES: Jacob Flynn SV 4, GA 3; Andrew Kaufman SV 5, GA 5.

PRINCE OF PEACE SCORING: Marcus Blount 4, Carson DeBo 2, Kelvin Machande 1, Lukas Mussamann 1.

PRINCE OF PEACE ASSISTS: Blount 2, Jaxon Dehner 1, Brody Dehner 1.

PRINCE OF PEACE SAVES: Eric Berry SV 15, GA 3.

MP 3, Cascade 2 (5/8)

The Mid-Prairie boys’ soccer team diverged from the girls’ team for a rare 5 P.M. matchup against the Cascade Cougars on the road. The Golden Hawks have played five such games this year, possessing a 2-3 record. The game against the Cougars can be chalked in the win column, a 3-2 Hawk victory.

Down 1-0 at half, the Hawks woke up to take control of the game, scoring three goals in the second half to beat the struggling 1-11 Cougars.

Trimpe scored all three Hawk goals, another hat trick for the senior. He had five shots on goal, ten total, as he took control of the second. This is the second time this year that Trimpe scored each goal in a winning effort, doing so against the Tipton Tigers on April 24.

With Tucker Miller back in the lineup, the Hawks fared much better, seeing the junior yield two assists. Miller is second in team scoring, with seven assists and seven goals, a perfect blend of offense. His seven assists are the most on the team.

The Golden Hawks have yet to lose to the Cascade Cougars, with a 3-0 record since 2021. This game cements an above .500 record for the Hawks, sitting at 8-6 with one game remaining.

The Golden Hawks final game of the regular season comes Friday, May 12, against the Bellevue Comets. This will be senior night for the Hawks. There are six seniors on the team, most notably Trimpe and Noah Ford. Trimpe’s production and Ford’s leadership will be key pieces for the Hawks to replace in the coming season.

Bellevue is another struggling soccer team, sitting at 4-7, but that doesn’t mean the Hawks can take the game lightly. They need a win to help better their chances of an easier first round of the playoffs. Coach Cady believes his team can compete with any other that comes their way, he just hopes for a matchup closer to home.

“I’m not really worried about who we play, it’s if we show up that day,” Cady said. “It’s not if the other team was better than us.”   

MID-PRAIRIE SCORING: Owen Trimpe 3.

MID-PRAIRIE ASSISTS: Tucker Miller 2.

MID-PRAIRIE SAVES: Jacob Flynn SV 7, GA 2.