Photo courtesy of Dustin Kralik

The Norwalk boys soccer team has played in 15 state tournaments since 2004, winning four championships and earning six runner-up trophies. But tonight will be a first for Coach Dustin Kralik’s program as the Warriors host Warren County rival Indianola in a Class 3A first round state tournament match at Mineart Field.

The state tourney setup has changed this year, with quarterfinal games played at host sites. The semifinals and finals will be held at Mediacom Stadium in Des Moines. Coach Kralik tells KNIA Sports that he is excited to host a state match, but will miss the atmosphere of multiple games being played at once at the previous home of the state tournament – Cownie Soccer Complex.

“It’s a unique opportunity to get to play at home, and I’d rather play it at home than on the road, but I’m also kind of sad that the players miss out on the experience of it feeling like an event where everybody was together,” Kralik said. “I’m sure it will be a great environment and the fans will fill the stands for us and we’ll have a lot of fun doing it. So we’re looking forward to that opportunity, but still a little bit missing what we know the state tournament has looked like in the past.”

The Warriors are ranked third in Class 3A and enter the match with a record of 11-7-2. Indianola is ranked sixth at 12-6-1. Norwalk defeated the Indians 4-3 on May 13 in an exciting Little Hawkeye Conference match that was also played in Norwalk. The rematch starts at 7:00 p.m. tonight and can be heard live on 94.3 KNIA. Pregame coverage will begin at 6:45.

The winner advances to the 3A semifinal round and will face Iowa City Liberty or Des Moines Hoover on Thursday afternoon.