The #10 (1A) Dike-New Hartford girls soccer team will begin what it hopes is a long postseason journey Wednesday by hosting Webster City for a 1A Region 8 quarterfinal. It’ll air on 99 The Wave.
The Wolverines (10-5-1) earned the top seed in the region with a strong regular season, but ended the regular season with a 1-0 loss at #9 (1A) Center Point-Urbana. With only 15 goals against throughout the season, the Wolverines have had one of the most stifling defenses in the NICL, along with an effective goal-scoring tandem of Gentry Swarts and Lucy Varney. Head Coach Emma Eden says despite having a clear advantage on paper, they won’t look ahead to a possible regional semifinal against Aplington-Parkersburg.
“Our postseason bracket is going to be a very tough battle,” Eden says. “I mean, you go into any bracket, it’s always going to be a tough one, but always playing a team three times, there’s only so much you can do to switch up to make something new, and just making sure that we have to be bringing our top game because AP, they’re going to want it and they’re going to want to beat us. And we have to make sure that we come ready for Wednesday first before we even start thinking about that because we have to make sure that we’re ready to rise to that occasion first.”
Webster City (6-8-1) began their postseason with Monday’s 5-0 home win over Hampton-Dumont-CAL, snapping a three-game losing streak.
Coverage will start at 6:50 p.m., followed by the kickoff at 7:00. The winner will advance to a regional semifinal against either Aplington-Parkersburg or Clear Lake.
