Not the Cats’ game

Marshalltown eliminated by C.R. Washington, 3-0

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE - Marshalltown’s Alex Angel Fernandez, left, consoles fellow junior Jose Torres (7) after Torres hit the crossbar for the third time in Friday’s Class 3A state quarterfinal match at the boys state soccer tournament in Des Moines.

DES MOINES — The Marshalltown boys soccer team and its massive fan base were shown the door once again.

As the last game on the opening day of the Iowa High School Boys State Soccer Tournament, the Bobcats and their fans were asked to leave so the groundskeepers at James W. Cownie Soccer Park could ready the field for the semifinals.

Marshalltown, for the fourth time in as many state tournament appearances, will not be a part of them.

The third-seeded Bobcats saw their chances of advancement clang off the crossbar as sixth-seeded Cedar Rapids Washington scored a 3-0 victory over Marshalltown in Friday’s Class 3A state quarterfinals.

Fighting until the bitter end, the fifth-ranked Bobcats (16-3) were shut out for just the second time this season as the 11th-ranked Warriors (14-5) converted a pair of corner kicks in the first half and moved into Saturday’s semifinals by withstanding everything Marshalltown could throw at them in the second half.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE - Marshalltown’s starters react after being relegated to the bench for the final five minutes of Friday’s Class 3A state quarterfinal loss to Cedar Rapids Washington in Des Moines.

The Bobcats and their fans, friends and family members remained on Field 7 long after the match and season had ended in celebration of, and in remembrance of, the first state showing for Marshalltown since 2001.

“You know that 48 teams start at the beginning of the season and there’s eight left, and we’re one of them. That’s an incredible feat,” said MHS head coach Scott Johannes. “We’re soaking in the moment, it’s overwhelming. Look at the size of that crowd.”

Marshalltown’s fan base, which received state-wide media attention when it was removed from the bleachers by the referee during last Saturday’s substate final shootout victory over Southeast Polk, outnumbered Cedar Rapids Washington’s contingent tenfold at minimum.

They didn’t get the same amount to cheer about, but the Bobcat faithful was plenty proud of its hometown squad.

“Seeing everybody else is gone and Marshalltown’s still here and it’s white and black and Asian and Hispanic — and nobody cares,” smiled MHS assistant coach Bobby Shomo. “I think these kids showed the adult community of Marshalltown what community can look like.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE - The Marshalltown boys soccer team shares a group hug after falling 3-0 to Cedar Rapids Washington in Friday’s Class 3A state quarterfinals at Cownie Soccer Park in Des Moines.

“From what they were in the preseason to what they ended up, it’s just a really neat journey for these kids, and I expect them to do something great with their lives.”

The Bobcats set out to do something no team in program history before them had done — win a state tournament game — but Washington had too many weapons. Standout senior forward Keaton Woods, who had scored all of his 19 goals in the Warriors’ eight-straight wins to get to state, was held without a goal, but he assisted on both first-half tallies with well-placed corner kicks.

Washington senior sweeper Rami Scheetz got position on MHS goalkeeper Jesus Munoz and beat him to Woods’ inswinger from the corner, heading it in past a pair of last-gasp attempts by the Bobcat defensemen in the sixth minute of the match.

Marshalltown thought it had the answer in the 20th minute when junior Jose Torres, who shares the lead in goals in 3A, dribbled to his left before firing his patented rolling rocket from 30 yards out. The ball sailed just out of reach of Washington goalkeeper Will Bickel, but didn’t drop in under the crossbar and instead crashed off the scoreboard behind the net.

That was the first of three crossbars for Torres, each more excruciating than the last. Especially since the second and third times could have brought the Bobcats back within a goal.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

Munoz made a brilliant diving save to his left to resist Woods in the 28th minute, but the resultant corner kick yielded Washington’s second goal. Woods dropped one in on the back post, where Marshalltown senior defenseman and captain Caleb Summers said he had lost track of his man. Merci Ngiriweneza went unmarked to the ball and bounced it into the back of the net for a 2-0 Warrior advantage with 12:28 left to play in the first half.

“It’s not just [Woods], he’s got an entire team behind him,” said Summers. “We couldn’t just focus on him the whole time. He didn’t score at all, but that’s how it goes. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.”

The loss was only the third such outcome for the Bobcats this spring. Marshalltown fell to top-ranked Waukee on May 10, and 3-0 losses to Urbandale (April 8) and Cedar Rapids Washington bookended the season.

“It hurts a lot because I wanted to do this for the seniors that are leaving,” said Torres, “but fortunately we can do this next year. We’ve got years to go so hopefully next year, with the blessing of God, we’ll get it.”

The Bobcats tried to fire out of halftime and earned a direct kick from just beyond the box in the second minute, but Torres bounced a second shot attempt off the crossbar. Junior midfielder Rene Hernandez nearly cut the deficit in half moments later, but his one-timer off a throw-in from Kabba Pins sailed high.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

Torres took another direct kick for the ‘Cats in the 54th minute, and somehow managed to strike the crossbar once again without finding the back of the net. Seven minutes later, Gasongo Nsengiyumva stole a Bobcat clearing attempt and fired a laser to the upper 90 that Munoz barely saw, scoring a 3-0 lead for the Warriors with 21:59 left to play.

“I tried so much today on those restarts, but unfortunately the posts wouldn’t let me,” said Torres. “I can’t explain it. I tried my best to make them to help the team keep their heads up. I’m proud of my team for doing everything it’s done and I’m proud of my community.”

The Bobcats got one last golden opportunity to at least get a goal in the books when Washington’s Nico Font received a yellow card for his tackle in the box. With both teams playing primarily reserves, Marshalltown senior Jose Carrillo got the call for the penalty kick and backup goalkeeper Erik Lenzen came up with the diving save to preserve his team’s 11th shutout of the season.

“We lost to a really, really good team,” said Shomo. “We’ve got nothing to hang our heads about. This was a tremendously great season and we’re reloaded — we’re bringing back eight starters next year so I don’t think they’ll be satisfied with just making state next year.”

Cedar Rapids Washington moves into the semifinals, where the Warriors will face No. 2 Iowa City West (17-1) at 5:05 p.m. today in Des Moines. Top-ranked Waukee (20-0) and fourth-seeded Bettendorf (13-2) square off in the other semifinal.

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

Marshalltown, meanwhile, might still be buzzing from the fourth state tournament appearance in school history and “one community, one team” to be proud of, as the state tourney T-shirts suggested.

“We just didn’t want to be scared of the moment, we just wanted to play our game and no matter if we won or lost, we lost as a team with pride,” said Summers. “We worked hard to get here, it didn’t work out today but I’m so proud of this team and every single player on this team worked their butts off so we could get here.

“We’ve been a team this whole year and we’ve grown so much. We’re more than team, we’re a family.”

Iowa Boys High School State Soccer Tournament

At Cownie Soccer Park, Des Moines

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

CLASS 1A

Quarterfinals

Friday, May 31

West Liberty 4, North Polk 2

Iowa City Regina 2, Greene County 1, OT

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

Waterloo Columbus 6, Center Point-Urbana 2

Sioux Center 5, Iowa Mennonite 1

Semifinals

Saturday, June 1

West Liberty vs. Iowa City Regina, Noon (F9)

T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE

Sioux Center vs. Waterloo Columbus, 12:05 p.m. (F6)

Tuesday, June 4

Third Place

Semifinal losers, 11:10 a.m. (F6)

Championship

Semifinal winners, Noon (F9)

CLASS 2A

Quarterfinals

Friday, May 31

Cedar Rapids Xavier 5, Knoxville 0

Gilbert 2, Dallas Center-Grimes 0

Hudson United 3, Dubuque Wahlert 2

Lewis Central 3, Storm Lake 2 (4-2 PKs)

Semifinals

Saturday, June 1

Cedar Rapids Xavier vs. Gilbert, 2:30 p.m. (F9)

Hudson United vs. Lewis Central, 2:35 p.m. (F6)

Tuesday, June 4

Third Place

Semifinal losers, 1:40 p.m. (F6)

Championship

Semifinal winners, 2:30 p.m. (F9)

CLASS 3A

Quarterfinals

Friday, May 31

Waukee 3, Cedar Rapids Kennedy 0

Bettendorf 1, Urbandale 0

Cedar Rapids Washington 3, Marshalltown 0

Iowa City West 2, Ankeny 1

Semifinals

Saturday, June 1

Waukee vs. Bettendorf, 5 p.m. (F9)

Iowa City West vs. Cedar Rapids Washington, 5:05 p.m. (F6)

Tuesday, June 4

Third Place

Semifinal losers, 4:10 p.m. (F6)

Championship

Semifinal winners, 5 p.m. (F9)

——

Cedar Rapids Washington 3, Marshalltown 0

At Des Moines

CRW 2 1 — 3

MHS 0 0 — 0

First Half

CRW — Rami Scheetz (Keaton Woods), 15:04.

CRW — Merci Ngiriweneza (Woods), 27:32.

Second Half

CRW — Gasongo Nsengiyumva, 58:01.

Goalkeepers — CRW: Will Bickel (5 shots on goal-5 saves), Erik Lenzen (1-1); MHS: Jesus Munoz (20-17), Ernesto Tellez (0-0).

Shots — CRW 26, MHS 9.

Shots on Goal — CRW 20, MHS 6.

Fouls — CRW 14, MHS 3.

Corner Kicks — CRW 7, MHS 5.

Yellow Cards — Caleb Summers, MHS, 46:01; Nico Font, CRW, 61:51; Dieu Katende, CRW, 79:05.

: T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE – Marshalltown’s Alex Angel Fernandez, left, consoles fellow junior Jose Torres (7) after Torres hit the crossbar for the third time in Friday’s Class 3A state quarterfinal match at the boys state soccer tournament in Des Moines.

: T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE – Marshalltown’s starters react after being relegated to the bench for the final five minutes of Friday’s Class 3A state quarterfinal loss to Cedar Rapids Washington in Des Moines.

: T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE – The Marshalltown boys soccer team shares a group hug after falling 3-0 to Cedar Rapids Washington in Friday’s Class 3A state quarterfinals at Cownie Soccer Park in Des Moines.