Hawks can't handle Mediapolis' speed in substate loss

MEDIAPOLIS - Central Lee’s boys soccer season ended with a 5-0 loss at Mediapolis in Tuesday’s Class 1A substate semifinal.
But what the Hawks accomplished this season will help build toward next season, coach Justin Schau said.
“We lose four really good seniors (Brayden McCarty, Reece Hayes, Drake Weber and Ayden Kent), but we’ve got a pretty good group coming back,” Schau said. “We’re still a young team, and that’s a positive for the future.”
The Hawks, who finished 12-5, opened the season with eight consecutive wins. Among their losses were two to No. 6 (Class 2A) Notre Dame-West Burlington and two to the Bulldogs (12-4), who advanced to Thursday’s substate final at No. 2 West Liberty (15-1).
“I think a lot of people didn’t expect us to be this good,” Schau said. “But these kids work hard. As a coach, you look at some things and wish we could have done them better, but I’m proud of what we were able to accomplish and the work we put in.”

Mediapolis scored three first-half goals, then put the match away in the second half.
“They got on us early,” Schau said. “We made some mistakes, and they took advantage of them. We just broke down. We don’t handle speed very well and Mediapolis is a very fast team.”
The Hawks will bring back sophomore Zach Estrada, who led them with 12 goals and was one of four players with eight assists. Junior Peter Seyb, with 10 goals and three assists, and sophomore Mason Sanders, with eight goals and eight assists, also return, as does junior Colton Taft, with five goals and eight assists.
“We’ve got some sophomores and juniors who played well, and some freshmen who got their feet wet this season and needed time to get used to the speed of playing at the varsity level,” Schau said.
“We’ve got a pretty good foundation, and some good building blocks. I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do next season.”