ADM boys soccer made it to this point a year ago, only to have its season ended by the eventual state champion Norwalk Warriors.
This time around, the Tigers are as focused as ever heading into Saturday’s Class 2A Substate final against Creston at noon in Adel.
ADM put together a convincing win in the second round on Thursday, beating Atlantic 5-2. In comes the Panthers, who needed two wins to get to get here. Creston walloped Carroll, 11-0, in the opening round on Tuesday before scratching out a 1-0 win over Glenwood on Thursday.
“It will probably be a little more physical,” said Tigers head coach Bill Shields of playing Creston. “The style is probably going to be not too much unlike what we had to deal with [Thursday night], but we have to come out and do the business.”
ADM may be able to counter some of that physicality with a dose of speed. Senior mid Derek Gushiken has blown by defenders all season, his hat trick in Thursday’s win giving him a team-high 28 goals, along with six assists.
The Tigers also have a speedster ready to come off the bench in senior Johnny Reel, who has come on late in the season after missing the first 14 games of the regular season due to a herniated disc in his back. Shields said Reel provides ADM with a different look that puts pressure on the defense.
“He’s looking good, and I look what we’re doing in terms of we’re not starting him,” Shields said. “And so when he comes off the bench, he brings something different that, I don’t want to say immediately upsets their defense, but it gives their defense a complete different dimension in terms of, ‘This kid’s quick and skillful and he wore out the outside, and we weren’t anticipating something like that.’ I think that’s worked really well for us.”
Shields added his players appear as hungry as ever to earn a state berth. He cited several recent examples of 15-plus players showing up 30 minutes or more before practice to drill, including on Memorial Day, when ADM’s players could have easily allowed the holiday to lull them into a state of relaxation.
On Saturday, they’ll find out if that extra work will pay off.