Victory over #4 Linn-Mar exhibits team depth, potential

Sara Gabriele/Staff Writer

The women’s soccer team took a surprising win last Tuesday, May 11, beating an undefeated Linn Mar 1-0. Linn Mar, who was 4th in the state, was expected to be very tough to get by, but the Tigers came out on top with a strong team effort.

“We knew that they would be really strong and hard hitting. I think our girls played tough and with a lot of heart to withstand their momentum,” head coach Beth Huber said.

The one goal of the night was scored by sophomore Allie Gearhart, who was moved up from junior varsity in the middle of April.

“It was exciting to get the win against Linn Mar,” Gearhart said. “It was a tough game, but we played well and our defense worked really hard.”

Gearhart, who only played for about 10 minutes during the match and rotates around in every spot except for goalie, serves as an all-purpose player on the team, but Huber said that Geathart’s utility role is not unique to the team this year.

“That’s the way the team is this year. We have a lot of all purpose players — everyone’s working together and plays their role and their best when they’re out there,” Huber said.

Huber continued to say that she feels this exceptional teamwork is the team’s greatest strength this far into the season.

“Regardless of what we’re trying to do, we have a lot of heart and want to work for each other. In some ways, we don’t have any true stars, which kinds of makes it better because everyone’s working for each other,” Huber said.

Although the team has an 11-3 record so far, the rest of their season is comprised of tough competition. The next five teams they will face are all ranked higher than Cedar Falls, but none are ranked higher than Linn Mar.

Senior Amelia McMurrin said she feels excited about the team’s success so far and optimistic about the remainder of the season.

“We know we can beat pretty much any team when we stay focused and we just have to go out with confidence and play our game,” McMurrin said. “I feel excited to be a part of this team.”

The team has five games left in their regular season, which will end with their game against Iowa City West on May 25.

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