The Tulip City boys soccer teams clashed to open the Little Hawkeye Conference season Tuesday, with Pella winning against Pella Christian 3-0.

Despite inconsistent play for both teams, Pella was able to find the goals they needed. Dutch Head Coach Mark Solomon says while they were able to find a bit more of a groove in the second half, there is a lot of work that remains to improve.

“We started off and the game wasn’t going well for us and we were getting frustrated ourselves, and we kind of had a lot of adjusting to do,” he says. “Thankfully, we had some really great play from our keeper–Sam Warner saved a penalty kick when we gave up kind of a sloppy foul inside the box, and from that point on we started to rally a little bit.”

The Eagles, despite some chances, were shut out and fell to 0-3. Eagles Head Coach Jake Fancher believes they are playing quality soccer, but haven’t quite found the consistency on offense they’ve needed to get in the net.

“We had some chances–we just couldn’t convert, and I feel like we played well and it will benefit us down the road when we play other teams that are tough,” Fancher says.

Jackson Goodyk, Jared Bruxvoort, and Ike Held all scored for Pella. The No. 2 ranked Little Dutch are next in action Thursday when they host Fairfield, and the Eagles return home Thursday in part two of a girls-boys varsity soccer doubleheader vs. Centerville.