Featuring the same rock-solid defense that guided them to a conference championship, the No. 12 ADM/Van Meter girls soccer team beat Des Moines-Hoover, 3-0, in the Class 2A Region 3 playoffs Tuesday night in Adel, setting up a showdown with top-ranked Ankeny in the regional finals on Monday.

The offense came in a flurry for ADM, as the Tigers scored all three of their goals in a five minute span early in the first half. Defensively, ADM shut down the Hoover (11-8) and enjoyed a big advantage in shots.

Allie Cook opened the game’s scoring in eighth minute, working a nice combination with Sydney Bertman, who picked up the assist. Just three minutes later, Silvia Angel scored unassisted, and in an even shorter time after that in the 15th minute, Bertman also scored unassisted.

A demoralized Hoover squad never recovered, as keeper Jessica Craigmile needed to make just one save and the Tigers (13-4) picked up their 12th shutout of the season.

Head coach Kelsey Dolder credited senior defender Jenny Wicks with handling Hoover’s through balls and lobs and clearing them out of ADM’s third, and Craigmile for doing a good job of communicating with the back line.

Dolder also praised her team for executing the game plan against a Hoover team that presents a physical challenge. The Tigers knew what to expect after beating the Huskies 3-0 at home back on April 25.

“We play them almost every season, and we knew they were going to be very physical and just great athletes all around going into this game,” Dolder said. “So we talked about that and we talked about how we would have to move around the ball very quickly, and the girls just did a nice job.”

The Tigers’ reward? A trip to Ankeny for a regional final against the No. 1 ranked Hawkettes at 6 p.m. Monday. Ankeny beat Norwalk 4-0 Tuesday night to set up the showdown with ADM, the winner earning a trip to the state tournament in Des Moines.