But a second half with the wind at the Bobcats’ backs did not fill their sails as Newton drifted out of reach, 5-2 winners to spoil the MHS boys’ debut on the newly-renovated Leonard Cole Field.

Both of Marshalltown’s goals came as quick answers to Newton tallies — Ari Herrera powered in a top-shelf score in the ninth minute and an Aaron Ordaz Zambrano pass was redirected in by Rafael Ortiz with 12 minutes left in the first half.

“I felt great because we had two shots on goal and two goals,” MHS head coach Scott Johannes said. “That was incredible. I know [Newton] chose to go with the wind to start but I felt good about our chances going with the wind in the second half.”

The start to the second half was similar to the first half in terms of back-and-forth action, including a header for Andres Chavarria Garcia that just missed high.

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER - Marshalltown sophomore Aaron Ordaz Zambrano (10) tries to flick a pass around Newton’s Jesus Murillo during Monday’s season-opening boys soccer match at Leonard Cole Field.

But Newton’s Nate Lampe rocketed in a shot from 20 yards out to strike first for the Cardinals with 23 minutes remaining in the second half and Caleb Mattes finessed a shot in for Newton less than 10 minutes later.

Outside of a rocket from Fabian Segovia that missed just left in the following moments, Marshalltown couldn’t find the scoring chances necessary to close the gaps.

“We don’t really play Newton’s style,” Johannes said. “They like to boom the ball and get a runout and that’s what they got and that took us out of our game. … We want a possession game where we build from the back, and when we did that we did well, but we just tried to get into their style too much. We’ve got to be patient, stick with the game plan.”

A Marshalltown own goal was the final mark for Newton on the night. The Cardinals, substate finalists last year in 3A, have won back-to-back games in the series with the Bobcats for the first time since 2016-2017.

“Our guys play a tough, physical style that’s tough to replicate in practice,” Johannes said. “And we had a lot of guys out there with their first varsity match but I know they love to play and I think we’ll bounce back.”

Johannes hopes to see quicker feet in the backfield going forward.

“We need to be sure to play it outside to push it out, and make sure to get it off your foot faster, rather than kinda make that extra step,” Johannes said. “But our guys stepped up several times tonight, we just had a couple of those little mistakes.”

Marshalltown will take on a triangular at Cedar Rapids Prairie with the Hawks and Iowa City High on Saturday.