The Pella Christian boys soccer team hung tough with the defending State Champions from West Sioux on Monday, but ultimately fell 6-0 in the Class 1A State Tournament Quarterfinals heard live on 92.1 KRLS.
Making their first appearance at State since 2016, the Eagles were the aggressors early in the contest, but were unable to convert on some early chances to score. The Falcons grabbed the advantage in the 11th minute, scoring their first goal from the top of the box, before adding two more goals to take a 3-0 lead into the halftime break. Pella Christian continued to battle, but couldn’t find the back of the net, while West Sioux added three more goals to secure the win. Eagles head coach Mike Vander Molen said that he was pleased with how the boys handled the moment, but that they just weren’t able to convert in some key moments that could have potentially altered the course of the match.
“I told the boys before the game, I said, ‘this moment’s not bigger than us, and we played six or seven state tournament teams’, and we kind of knew what we’re getting into. But to really have success when you have a moment or you have an opportunity to put in the back of that, you’ve got to make it. We had a couple opportunities in the first half, we had the best opportunity really in the first 10 minutes, and we just couldn’t quite get it in on a long throw. If we do and if that does go in, then maybe everything’s different after that. So we did have some opportunities in that first half, and if we would capitalize on them, it’s probably a different type of game, but we just got a little worn out in the second half.”
Pella Christian ends the season with a 11-7-2 overall record and have five seniors departing the program in Ben Van Wyngarden, Keegan Juffer, Grant Vander Wilt, Paxton Bouma, and Sawyer Meinders.
