Hawks get back to work with win over Highland

DONNELLSON — Central Lee’s boys soccer team got back to work after suffering its first loss of the season.

The Hawks’ 3-0 win over Highland on Monday night was a good bounce-back, but coach Justin Schau thought his team missed some opportunities for a bigger response.

Central Lee (9-1 overall, 5-1 Southeast Iowa Super Conference) lost to Notre Dame-West Burlington 5-0 on Friday, the first nick in what had been a strong start to the season.

“The recovery back to the win column is a big deal for us, because we could have went the other way, but we left so much on the table tonight, and we're so much better than we played tonight,” Schau said. “Maybe it was a little bit of a hangover from the loss, and we are missing a few key pieces. But I thought we missed some chances, especially in the first half.”

All of the Hawks’ goals came in the first 40 minutes as they played with a strong wind at their backs. That was when Schau thought his team could have capitalized more.

“We wanted the wind at our back, and we did enough to get some balls in the back of the net,” Schau said. “But our intensity level wasn’t very high in the first half. And when you’ve got the wind like we did, your intensity level has got to be high.”

Central Lee had five shots in the first 20 minutes, but couldn’t score. The Hawks, though, finally got their first goal with 15:48 left in the half when Brayden McCarty scored off a Mason Sanders assist.

Sanders put the Hawks up 2-0 with a goal with 6:16 left, then Zach Estrada scored a minute later.

“We created a lot of opportunities, but our final touch wasn't there,” Schau said. “We weren't hustling to that spot. That goes with some of the pieces that we're trying to blend in. Guys were just not on the same page.”

The strong wind from the south limited Central Lee’s offense in the second half, although the Hawks did have a couple of scoring chances. Peter Seyb had a shot over the net 2 ½ minutes into the half, then had his shot stopped by Highland goalkeeper Ayden Havel with 13:20 left.

Central Lee’s defense kept the Huskies (6-3, 2-3) from getting much offense in either half. Highland’s best scoring chance came with 26 minutes left in the match, but a shot went off the left post.

The Hawks, though, were back on a winning track.

“Pretty much what has worked for us is our boys' mentality — we just show up every day with our work boots on, and that's been their mentality since day one,” Schau said. “It’s just a work-boot mentality. That’s why I wear my work boots here every day. It’s a mentality, a motto, they’ve come up with, and it works for us.”