The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk girls and boys soccer teams started the conference season Monday with a doubleheader against West Liberty in Wellman. The girls opened the night with a 1-1 draw. The Golden Hawks got on the board first when Lydia Beachy cashed in a penalty kick to make it 1-0 Mid-Prairie at 32 minutes. It was the first tally for the Hawks this season. West Liberty continued to put pressure on the Golden Hawks and eventually found the equalizer. Defenses remained in control the rest of the way as the match ended tied. Mid-Prairie head coach Truman Shetler spoke with KCII Sports after the game about what he saw, “We were a lot more dangerous tonight, playing against a team that’s as evenly skilled as we are. It’s good to see our girls find some passes up to the top girls to make some runs, and put some pressure on them. Had a good run that led to the first goal off of a foul in the box and we were able to put home the penalty kick to get the lead. Defensively we played really well. There was a two-minute stretch where we had a couple of lapses and that’s where they gave up the goal. We’re still getting there, we’re still young in the season. Niva (Helmuth) did great in goal again as always. Our three defenders did great back there too, Madison (Reinier), Kyla (Karnes) and Addie. Having Zoey (Curtiss) back up top to give us some offensive ability really changed the game. She’s a great player for us.”
West Liberty won shots on goal 17-10. Niva Helmuth had 16 saves in goal for Mid-Prairie. The Golden Hawks are now 0-2-1 this year, West Liberty is 0-2-2. Mid-Prairie travels to Central Lee tonight.
The Golden Hawk boys were on the wrong end of a 10-0 score. The Hawks trailed 5-0 at half, and West Liberty ended the game early, scoring their 10th goal in the 72nd minute. Jacob Flynn had three saves in goal for the Hawks who are now 0-3 this year as West Liberty stays unbeaten at 3-0. Mid-Prairie is next on the pitch Thursday in Muscatine against Columbus.