This past weekend, the always dominant Trojan boys’ soccer team hosted their annual tournament at West High. One other Iowa City team, the defending 3A State Champions Liberty Lightning, was also in attendance. Along with the two Iowa City teams, Davenport West, Cedar Rapids Washington, West Des Moines Valley and Ankeny Centennial all came down to Iowa City to participate.
Games were played at both Barker Field and Trojan Field on Friday night into Saturday afternoon.
After a 1-0 win against Mount Vernon in the Jamboree scrimmage last week, the Trojans, who lost to Johnston in the state finals last June, were looking to make a strong impression in the first actual game of the season.
On Friday night, they faced off against West Des Moines Valley, which they lost to last year in the same tournament. It was an intense match, with the Trojans dominating much of their attacking half, but neither team was able to score. Early in the second half, junior Daniel Fuentes put it in the back of the net and put the first points on the board for the boys. That goal gave the team the momentum to finish off the game. Shortly after Fuentes’s goal, Liam Teghament ’25 drove through the box to score the second goal for the Trojans. They were able to protect the goal and won against Valley 2-0.
On Saturday, the boys faced off against another Des Moines area team, Ankeny Centennial. Carrying off their momentum from the night before, Fuentes was able to get a shot off early and scored in the first half. Shortly after, Fuentes hit a free-kick, and the boys were able to get the ball in the net for the second time in the first half. After halftime, Ankeney came out strong and scored a goal. The intense match continued, and the Jaguars were able to tie up the game with just over a minute left. The Trojans were unable to get it back, and the tournament rules had the game going straight to penalty kicks without any overtime play. The boys were unable to make and save all of the shots and fell to the Jaguars.
Shortly after the tough loss, they faced off against Davenport West for the last game of their tournament. The boys dominated the game and ended their tournament with an 8-0 win. The boys will face off against Liberty at Liberty next Tuesday.
