Coming off victory over Washington, men’s soccer focusing on final push to Substate

sophomore Logan Huffman at an earlier home game with Dubuque Senior

The men’s soccer team defeated Cedar Rapids Washington on Monday night, May 10 to improve to 10-3 on the year. 

Senior Truman Unruh added to his goal total of 31, which currently sits second in the state and first in 3A. Senior Jake Witham scored his fifth and sixth goals of the year while senior Matthew Iehl nailed a 35-yard free kick for his fifth goal of the year in the Tigers 4-0 victory over the now 2-12 Warriors who also held their senior night on Monday. 

The Tigers have now won eight of their last nine games, with the only loss coming to a 12-2 Liberty team. Unruh missed that game due to a pair of yellow cards the game before. 

Cedar Falls has just two games before Substate begins on May 19. Dubuque Wahlert Catholic will travel to Cedar Falls on May 13 before the Tigers final game against Cedar Rapids Prairie on May 17. Prairie has taken six out of the last eight games from the Tigers, but Cedar Falls defeated the Prairie Hawks last year in the season finale 3-2. These two teams will battle it out in the last regular season game of the year again this season when 11-3 Prairie heads to the Cedar Valley Soccer Complex to take on the red hot Tigers. 

Prairie is led by senior Tyler Fear’s 14 goals and five assists for a team high 33 points. Senior Will Vileta has been the Hawks’ leader in assists with 13 on the year. 

For the Tigers, Unruh has been one of the state’s top players this season. Unruh has 31 goals and nine assists for a team high 71 points. 

“My teammates are the reason that I’m able to perform to the best of my ability. Without them I wouldn’t have all the opportunities to put the ball in the net,” Unruh said. 

Sophomore Ian O’Loughlin is leading the team in assists with 14 on the year, which currently sits at third in class 3A. The Tigers will face multiple challenges in Substate, including seventh ranked Iowa City West and 7-5 Waterloo West, a team that Cedar Falls lost to 1-0 early in the season. 

“The intensity is going to be very high playing West again, but I think we come out with the win this time around,” Iehl said. 

The road to State begins May 19, and the state tournament will take place June 1, 3 and 4 in Des Moines at Cownie Soccer Complex.