The West Liberty boys’ soccer team dominated Bellevue before getting their revenge on Tipton last week to advance to their fifth straight state tournament.
After dominating Bellevue 6-1 in the substate semifinal round, the Comets matched up against Tipton for a rematch from an earlier season matchup that saw the Tigers best the Comets.
This time, the stakes were far higher.
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first half. West Liberty dominated possession and took the ball to the Tigers’ defense, but failed to convert on any opportunities.
The best chance of the first 40 minutes came off a rebound that the Tiger keeper corralled before any Comets could get a toe to it.
The second half saw much of the same with the Comets dominating on the ball and picking apart the Tiger defense and continuing to put shots on goal.
After collecting shots on goal, the Comets knew it was a matter of time before they got their breakthrough.
It appeared to have come in the 55th minute as a freekick rang the woodwork as the Tigers narrowly escaped giving up the first goal of the match.
It was a short-lived sigh of relief. In the 56th minute, the Comets converted.
Junior Mateo Simon tracked a rebound off the hands of the Tipton keeper to bury the lone goal of the match for the Comets.
After falling behind, the Tigers left their defensive shape and tried to bring the game back to the Comets.
The home side continued to dominate possession for the remainder of the match, and narrowly missed on a number of insurance goals as they saw out the remainder of the match.
State bracket preview
West Liberty played their opening round match on Wednesday as the No. 5seed by taking on the No. 4 seed Western Christian.
A win would mean a potential rematch against the top-seeded West Branch Bears or the No. 8 seed Van Meter.
In the bottom half of the bracket is a third River Valley Conference team — Iowa City Regina. They are the No. 2 seed facing the No. 7 seed Hudson.
Finally, the No. 3 seed North Fayette Valley squares off against the No. 6 seed West Sioux.
This year’s Class 1A state soccer tournament will be played across three locations in Des Moines.
The quarterfinals are at the James W. Cownie Soccer Park. The semifinals are at Drake Stadium while the neighboring Mediacom stadium is the host site of the championship.