Boys soccer goes 2-0 in season openers
Brad Stiles and the Trojan soccer team hosted the Iowa City West Classic on April 3 where they defeated Urbandale 5-0 and Ankeny Centennial 2-0.
Miguel Cohen Suarez ’22 takes a shot after getting past his defender against Ankeny Centennial on April 3 during the Iowa City West Classic.
April 3, 2021
The weather couldn’t have been any better for the boys soccer team and their first game back in over a year on beloved Ed Barker Field. Sixty-five degrees and sunny was the perfect temperature for goals to open up the season for the Trojans. Brad Stiles’ squad faced off with Urbandale to open up their season and tournament today. West High and the boys soccer team hosted: Ankeny, Ankeny Centennial, City High, Johnston, Linn-Mar, Urbandale and Cedar Rapids Washington for the Iowa City West Classic on April 3. The Trojans finished the day 2-0 with a 5-0 win over Urbandale and a 0-0 win over Ankeny Centennial.
Only 5 minutes in Kolby Godbolt, in his first year being able to rep the green and gold, found the back of the net to put West up 1-0 early. Not to much later Godbolt added to West’s lead with a nice header off a free kick for a goal for his second goal of the day. The Trojans backline of Owen Smith ’21, Yulong Shao ’21, and goalkeeper Nick McDonnell ’22 kept things quiet all morning on the defensive end. Godbolt added one more goal of his own to give himself a hattrick and the Trojans a 3-0 lead going into the second half.
The boys soccer team wasn’t done yet, Miguel Cohen Suarez ’22 picked up his first goal of the season to start the second half when he made a man miss and shot it right through the hands of Urbandale’s keeper to extend West’s lead to 4-0. Stiles opened up the bench and put the Trojans depth on full display just in time for Cohen Suarez to strike again for his second goal of the day. The Trojans defeated Urbandale handily 5-0 to move to 1-0 on the year and in the tournament.
Only a couple of hours later, the boys soccer team was back on the pitch for their final game of the day against Ankeny Centennial. Michael Nelson ’23 put West up 1-0 early with his first goal as a Trojan to keep the trend of early goals alive on the day. One game deep the boys soccer team experienced some cramps throughout the afternoon but held strong on the defensive end. With some key saves from McDonnell, the Trojans headed into the second half up 1-0.
Cohen Suarez and the rest of West’s attack continued to push the ball ahead and have some shots on goal but Centennial’s keeper held his own. That was until the Trojans drew a handball in the box to set up a penalty kick for senior Andy Lu. Lu found the back of the net easily to seal the deal for the boys soccer team. The Trojans improved to 2-0 with their 2-0 win over Ankeny Centennial and will be back in action on April 6 at Cedar Rapids Prairie to kick off conference play.
