Photos Courtesy of MP Sports Social Media (Nicole Miller)

The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk girls and boys soccer teams hosted the state-ranked Maquoketa Cardinals in a pair of River Valley Conference soccer matches at the Wellman Rotary Soccer Fields Friday. The girls contest featured a gutsy effort from the Golden Hawk defense to earn a 0-0 tie with No. 15 Maquoketa. Mid-Prairie shut out a Cardinal team that had been averaging four and a half goals per game, led by Maelyn Kluever’s 20 total goals, sixth most in Class 1A. The Hawks had five total shots on goal and two corner kicks. Two shots a piece from Avery Helmuth and Meadow Flynn. Golden Hawk keeper Niva Helmuth had seven saves to secure the shut out. Following the game, members of the Mid-Prairie defense, Niva Helmuth, Kyla Karnes, Adelyn Huston, Lydia Beachy, and Samantha Wunderlich, spoke with KCII Sports about the night, “Stepping to the ball right away and being aggressive on our defensive line goes hand in hand with talking. Shifting is important, making sure that everyone is moving at the same time and that we’re all moving in a fluid motion. As a goalie, I just have to let everyone know where everyone else is. If there’s someone left unmarked, I have to let everyone know about that. Also encouraging things. If we encourage each other, we’re great. Keeping your head on a swivel. Checking the back side for open people, and just talking and covering everyone. Making sure there is no open space for them to attempt to score. We were man-marking, No. 15. Making sure she wasn’t going to be able to score and putting pressure on her.”

The Hawks are now 3-6-3 on the year, while Maquoketa moves to 6-0-1.

The night cap also featured a great defensive effort from the Golden Hawks, but they came up short against the No. 10 in Class 2A Cardinals 3-0. Maquoketa put up a pair of goals in the first half and added one for insurance after the break. The Cardinals won shots on goal 16-2 and corner kicks 3-2. Luc Schumacher moved his state-leading goal total to 30 with two tallies. Mid-Prairie got a shot on goal each from Joe Kelchen and Luis Garcia. Mac Yoder made 13 saves in goal for Mid-Prairie. The Hawks are now 1-9-1 after the loss as the Cardinals move to 8-1-2. Mid-Prairie will next be in action Monday with matches against Iowa City Regina.