At long last, the ADM/Van Meter girls soccer team has its first regional playoff game.
The No. 12 Tigers (12-4), champions of the Raccoon River Conference, last played a week ago, when they finished the regular season with a 4-1 win over Indianola. Following a first-round bye in the Class 2A regional playoffs, ADM plays host Des-Moines Hoover at 6 p.m. Tuesday night at ADM stadium. The Huskies earned their trip to Adel by beating Perry, 3-1, in the first round on Friday.
The Tigers are no stranger to playoff success, having made it state three two of the past three seasons. The exception was last year, when ADM lost to Dallas-Center Grimes in a regional final. That’s given seniors such as Jenny Wicks plenty of motivation to take the Tigers back to the state tournament.
“It would mean a lot to me. I would be so excited,” Wicks said. “For some of us, it would be our third time making it, and that would just make my senior year. I’ve been thinking about this for weeks, and it would mean a ton for me to go back there. It’s just so much fun, and I just love the atmosphere and everything.”
The first step is taking care of Des Moines Hoover, who head coach Kelsey Dolder said is a physical, well-coached team that will force ADM to stay patient on defense and not gamble on defense. And with ADM in front of the Adel faithful following a long layoff, the players are sure to be amped up.
That’s where Wicks and her fellow seniors come in. Dolder said the experience those seniors have playing in big games will be instrumental in helping to keep a relatively young ADM roster from getting over-hyped.
“It’s key. I mean we’re a very, very young team, quite a few freshmen, sophomores on the team,” Dolder said. “And [the upperclassmen have] been back to state, our sophomores missed it by the last game, and so they’re really anxious and want to make it back to state. That’s a big goal of our this year. So there leadership is key, in just keeping [the younger players] focused and knowing the pressure that comes with it, but just playing our game.”
Dolder said the past week of practice has been focused on polishing her team’s offensive attack. On the other side of the ball, meanwhile, ADM has been rock solid, ranking fourth in the class with a .409 goals against average, surrendering just six goals in 16 games.
Wicks has helped anchor that defense, which includes fellow veteran Carmen Angel, a junior, and a pair of underclassmen in freshman Carli Hansen and sophomore Chelsea Bright. The four hadn’t had significant time playing together before, so time was needed for them to gel.
Given a full season to grow together, Wicks and Dodler agreed the back line has become a cohesive unit, and it playing as well as it has all year.
“I feel great. I feel really confident about it,” said Wicks of the back line. “At the beginning of the season, we have a couple of young girls back there and a couple of us haven’t played together at all, and I think we’ve come together great. We’ve gotten stronger each game, so I’m super excited about it.”