In search of the program’s tenth state championship, Brad Stiles’ number one-seeded boys soccer team faced off with the state tournament’s very own Cinderella story, six seed Pleasant Valley. The Trojans fell to the Spartans 1-0 in the state championship on June 5 at Cownie Soccer Park in Des Moines.

Coming into the night red hot with an eighteen-game win streak the Trojans were confident with their game plan and just needed to execute at the right time and place.

Goalie Nick McDonnell ’22 got right to work in the first ten minutes with three saves off of Pleasant Valley’s first couple goal opportunities of the night. Trojan striker Michael Nelson ’23 looking to score his 15th goal of the year sailed his shot at the top of the box right over the goal with 20 minutes left in the first half to keep it 0-0.

As temperatures reached the upper eighties to low nineties hydration became key for both squads as more and more players started to cramp on one of the hottest game days West has seen yet.

Leading scorer Kolby Godbolt ’21 had one of the best chances of the night for the Trojans after he rebounded a shot in front of an empty goal but his acrobatic shot sailed a couple of feet over the crossbar with 12 minutes remaining in the first half.

Going into the second half scoreless on both sides the Trojans struggled to punch in one of their many opportunities of the first half.

The Spartans lined up for a corner kick with 20 minutes left in the second half and dropped a nice ball into the box where both teams scrambled for the ball until McDonnell popped out of the scrum with the ball and the Trojans got right back to work advancing the ball upfield in search of a tiebreaking goal.

Pleasant Valley’s very own leading scorer Rhys Ward ’22 had other ideas when he took a chance from about 35 yards out and found the back of the net to put the Spartans up 1-0 only ten minutes away from their first-ever state championship.

Yulong Shao ’21 sent multiple balls into the box for Godbolt to head in but both chances sailed over the goal once again for the Trojans as time continued to expire.

The boys soccer team fell to Pleasant Valley 1-0 in the state championship to finish their season with a 20-2 record.

Godbolt, Shao and Marko Migambi ’21 were named to the 2021 all-tournament team for their performances over the past week in Des Moines.

Gallery • 15 Photos

Owen Aanestad

The boys soccer team stands while starters are announced before playing Pleasant Valley in the state championship game on June 5 in Des Moines.