Entering the match with a 5–1 record, the West High girls soccer team looked to secure a win against cross-town rival City High, who came in at 1–4. After a dominant 9–0 victory over Wahlert Catholic the previous week, West aimed to build on its momentum and capitalize on every scoring opportunity.

The Trojans opened the game with strong passing sequences, working the ball up to the 18-yard line. However, after freshman starter Wad Haroun ’29 gained possession, the ball went out of bounds, resulting in a goal kick for City High. West quickly regained control, and Sofia Fuentes ’28 fired a shot from outside the box, but it was saved by City’s goalkeeper.

With eight minutes remaining in the first half and several shots already taken, the Trojans recognized the need for more creativity against City’s strong keeper. Shortly after a City goal kick, West regained possession. Anna Goska ’26 received a pass from Alex Held ’26, both consistently strong players throughout their four-year careers, and dribbled into the box. Drawing the goalkeeper forward, Goska was able to place the ball into the open net to give West a 1–0 lead.

West maintained its intensity as the half finished up. Just a minute later, Brileigh Thorn ’28 advanced up the sideline and passed to Goska, whose shot was blocked by the City goalkeeper. Haroun, positioned well, followed up the rebound and scored, extending the lead to 2–0 heading into halftime.

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Maddux Neukirch

Anna Goska '26, Alexandria Held '26 and Brileigh Thorn '28 high-five after Goska's second goal against City high on April 23 at the University of Iowa soccer complex

West entered the second half energized and determined to continue its aggressive play. Early on, Haroun drove the ball into the corner and delivered a drop pass to Held. Held took a shot, and Haroun again followed the play, but this time City’s goalkeeper made the save.

The remainder of the half was dominated by West. The team consistently connected passes, created scoring opportunities and applied offensive pressure. Finishing with over 25 shots on goal and 40 total shots, the Trojans controlled the pace of play. Strong performances from Lauryn Hynek ’26, Amaia Martinez ’27 and Ellie Mozena ’28 helped both the defense and midfield, preventing City from scoring and maintaining West’s offensive pressure. The match concluded with a 2–0 victory for the Trojans.

West will face the Xavier Saints at Trojan Field on April 28. After tying Xavier last season, the Trojans will look to continue their strong form and secure another win.

The boys’ game was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. directly after the girls’ match, but during transition time match officials took note of several lightning strikes near the field and by protocol the game had to be postponed to the following Friday, April 24, at the same time.

On the day of the rescheduled game, the weather could not have been any more different. The day before, the sky had been overcast and it had rained off and on though the day, but Friday the weather was a perfect 76 degrees and sunny, without a single cloud in sight all day.

Prior to taking the pitch, the West boys were tense with anticipation. The postponement of the game only served to amplify the stress as well. However, after West Head Coach Brad Stiles said a few words of encouragement and the teams took time to listen to the national anthem, both teams were ready to play.

With the blow of the starting whistle the game was underway.

The match was tense from the get-go. Neither team was willing to give up an easy possession to the other team, much less any goals. However, during the 17th minute of the game, West High fouled a City player outside of West’s penalty box and a free kick was called. The goal was obscured from the angle of the ball, made even more so by the wall of West players lined up to block the shot. Despite this, City High junior Taylor Salinas lined up to take the shot and hit the ball into the upper right corner of West’s goal, making the score 1-0.

Possession of the ball remained with City High for the majority of the first half, and when the halftime whistle rang out, the match was still 1-0 and the outcome was looking dire for West.

During halftime, Stiles took time to address all the ways in which West could step up their game for the second half. The team was distraught at the score, but it served as motivation to turn the game around. After listening to Stiles’s words, the team once again took the pitch.

The second half was immediately different. On the starting play, striker Tiago Gonzalez ’26 broke away from defenders and sent a cross into City High’s box, barely missing the head of Elias Ortiz. Finally, on the 57th minute of the game, fresh substitute Caleb Hynek ’27 broke away from the City High center back and took a shot at the goal, slamming the ball into the back right corner, thus tying the game 1-1.

The benches and crowed erupted into cheers and West’s student section rushed to the corner flag to celebrate the goal with the players.

The game wasn’t over, however.

With the score tied and the clock winding down, each team began to get more and more aggressive, trying to push through each others defenses to just score a single goal more and put them on top.

The advantage went back and forth between the teams for the last 20 minutes. West had a near game-ending goal in the 76th minute when Ortiz got ahold of the ball outside of the box. Ortiz took his shot, and the ball bounced off the crossbar and over the goal. The crowds’ reaction was mixed between the sighs of relief and the sounds of anguish of a barely missed opportunity to put West ahead.

As the final whistle was blown, both teams walked off the field and applauded each other as they looked up at the scoreboard that had ended in a 1-1 draw for the intercity rivals.

Gallery • 9 Photos

Maddux Neukirch

Tiago Gonzalez '26 takes a shot at City High's goal April 24 a the University of Iowa soccer complex.