MEDIAPOLIS app Speed kills.
And Lance Ludensapp goals killed Central Lee.
The Mediapolis High School boys soccer team is fast, too fast for the Central Lee Hawks Tuesday in a 5-0 Class 1A Substate 5 semifinal win at Mediapolis.
appPush, push, push, push, just run,app Mediapolis coach Jon Ludens said. appWeappve got the speed this year to do it.app
The two Super Conference teams had played previously at Mediapolis with the Bulldogs taking a 3-0 win in a game that was much closer than this 5-0 postseason victory.
Ludens netted four of Mediapolisapp five goals in a shutout win which gave him 24 for the season. That total is now the Bulldogs school record, surpassing Alessandro Markomichelakisapp total of 23 set last season. Markomichelakis plays for Burlington Notre Dame this year.
appHeapp had four goals in a game a couple times,app Coach Ludens said. appWe possessed the ball. We communicated. We moved the ball and we found the back of the net. Itapp not every night we find the back of the net. If we possess the ball, we are going to find the back of the net and then we are tough to beat.app
The halftime score was 1-0 in the first game, but 3-0 at Tuesdayapp halftime.
Ludens pulled the nine Bulldog seniors with 3 minutes, 28 seconds remaining so that the crowd could show their appreciation.
They are Maxx Ortiz, Ben Rice, Blake Willems, Christian Luna, Carl Hines, Lance Ludens, Alton Wonderlich, Connor Schultz and Jered Kerr.
appThey have won a lot of games for the program,app Coach Ludens said. appThis was their last game on this field. I wanted the clock stopped and I wanted them to get some recognition.app
Central Lee coach Justin Schau let his four seniors app Brayden McCarty, Reece Hayes, Drake Weber and Ayden Kent app talk to the team in the postgame huddle that was much more somber than the Bulldogs celebratory gathering.
appItapp something we do every year on the last game of the year,app Schau said. appIt just wasnappt our night. I donappt know what else to say. I thought we were prepared to come in here and play. The kids were excited to come in here.app
The Hawks had gone to Bracewell Stadium in Burlington to get some time in practicing on a turf field.
Mediapolis nearly scored in the first 2 minutes when Central Lee goalkeeper Max Jones got caught in the wrong spot but Corbin Wilson came across the goal mouth to kick it away.
appA couple things happened that got us back on our heels,app Schau said. appThey are quick. We struggle to defend speed. We have to maintain possession or they get their buildup and then their speed shines. They get behind us and itapp hard for us to recover.app
It took 10 minutes, 41 seconds for Mediapolis to score its first goal Blake Willems fed Quincy King for a 1-0 Bulldogs lead.
Twenty-one minutes later, Ludens scored the first of his goals after Jones used both hands to create a shield against a long kick from Carl Hines. The ball bounced off his hands shield and right to Ludens who had an easy shot toward the other side of the net for a 2-0 Mepo lead.
appIt was great,app Ludens said. appIt hit the goalieapp hands and I just had to put it in.app
With time winding down in the first half, Ludens launched a shot from far and wide. Ludensapp spectacular shot from near the right sideline made it to the left-side pole of the goal, where it ricocheted to the other pole and into the goal. Alton Wonderlich assisted. With 2:01 until halftime it was 3-0.
The fourth goal didnappt happen until 15 minutes elapsed in the second half.
appIt was all my teammates,app Ludens said. appThey did all the work. I just had the last touch on it.app
The last touch was a header that tied the school record for goals in a season.
With time dwindling down Ludens fourth goal was indicative of the way the Bulldogs like to play.
appWe are quick and we like to counter fast,app Coach Ludens said. appThat is kind of my M.O.app
Central Lee had a corner kick that no one controlled. Then a kick sent the ball to open space and Mediapolis had a breakaway with a race to the ball that Ludens won and shepherded it into the goal with 2:55 remaining on the scoreboard that showed a 5-0 Mediapolis win.
appItapp no shame to our boys because we have had a great year,app Schau said of the 12-5 season. appOur seniors showed great leadership because we werenappt expected to be this good. It is a testament to the athletes that we have the way they come in and work every day.
Since 2010, Central Lee has had two winning seasons (10-7 in 2018, 11-8 in 2019) before this year. The Hawks finish with the most wins and fewest losses a Central Lee team has ever had.
appThis team had the desire to put wins on the board,app Schau said. appNo one expected us to be this good, to have the kind of year we had.app
The Bulldogs (12-4) move on to face West Liberty (15-1) in a substate final at 7 p.m. Thursday at West Liberty. West Liberty advanced with a 10-0 win over Danville.The winner qualifies for the state tournament June 4-6 at Mediacom Stadium in Des Moines.
appTheyappre good and theyappre fast,app Coach Ludens said of West Liberty. appItapp going to be an uphill battle.app
This will be the third consecutive year the Bulldogs seniors have been to a substate championship. Mediapolis lost to West Branch 6-0 last year and West Liberty 5-0 the year before.
appWeappve got to get over the hump,app Coach Ludens said. Of the substate title games, appWeappve been embarrassed twice. This is the year. We have to do it.app
Central Lee ends the season 12-5.