The soccer teams from Dike-New Hartford and Aplington-Parkersburg will host a doubleheader Thursday, which’ll air on 99 The Wave and RadioOnTheGo’s YouTube channel. The United will take on New Hampton in their annual game in New Hartford. The #12 (1A) Wolverines will take on the #15 (1A) Falcons in a ranked matchup in the finale.
The United (2-1) have won two straight after a season-opening loss. They bounced back from a slow first half with two goals in the second half in Monday’s win at Hudson. New Hampton (0-1) began its season Tuesday with a 10-0 loss to Garner Hayfield Ventura.
The Falcons (0-1) will play their second straight ranked opponent to begin the season after falling 3-1 at home to #3 (1A) Hudson. Goalkeeper Emma Haan says it’s a major opportunity for a strong start to the year.
“I feel like it’s a high risk, high reward sort of thing,” Haan says. “If we come in guns blazing and play great those first three games, that’ll just set up the rest of the season and we’ll really know our skill. So honestly, I’m excited we get to start with those difficult games because I’m really excited to see what our team can bring to the field.”
The Wolverines (0-1-1) fell 3-0 to #4 (1A) Denver Tuesday in the second of back-to-back games. Head Coach Emma Eden says the offense will need to supplement a proven strong defense.
“I think defensively is going to be where we’re going to be strongest,” Eden says. “Starting defensively and then working to get our offense going. We have really crucial pieces that we have in the midfield that’s able to go from translating it from defense to offensive minded. So I think we’re just going to see a lot of progress from defensively transitioning to that offense.”
It’ll be the first meeting since last year’s regional semifinal, won in overtime by the Falcons.
Pregame coverage will start at 4:55 p.m., followed by the boys game at 5:00. The girls game is scheduled to start at 7:00.
