The Lions have consecutive wins over No. 5 Waukee Northwest in 4A and No. 9 Cedar Rapids Xavier in 3A.
Bryce Lawsheen in Lin Mar
MARION — It's been a bit of a yo-yo season for the Linmar boys soccer team.
The Lions have yet to lose consecutive games entering 2024. The other side of the coin is that they hadn't won consecutive games until Thursday.
Linn-Mar (4-3) finally topped the .500 level with a 4-1 home win over Class 3A No. 9 Cedar Rapids Xavier (4-3) on Thursday. The win came just five days after defeating 4A No. 5 Waukee Northwest, 1-0.
“We haven't had an easy game yet, and this one wasn't easy either,” Linn-Mar coach Corey Brinkmeyer said. “Xavier really fought, and hats off to coach Sho (Takaoka) and their team. They put us in some dangerous situations.”
One of the Lions' struggles this season has been capitalizing on their good net. Lin-Mar has 11 goals in seven games this season.
“We just have to wrap our heads around it,” Linn-Mar senior Bryce Rosen said. “I mean, personally, when we miss something, we kind of hang our heads down a little bit. But if we just stay focused on the game, sooner or later they're going to go down.”
The Lions bucked that trend Thursday by scoring a season-high four goals against the Saints. Brinkmeyer hopes the team can build on its offensive momentum.
“Before, we were scoring more goals on goals, but now we're scoring more goals on goals,” Brinkmeier said. “I couldn't even get it in the frame, so it's baby steps. As long as I peak at the right time, that's all I care about.”
Rosine, Max Cassidy, Nathan Fish and Seth Comer all had goals against Xavier.
“It felt good. We needed that,” Rosen said. “We definitely controlled most of the first half, and then in the second half we finally started to make plays behind the net.”
Considering the opponents the Lions have played this season, it's somewhat understandable why goals have been slow to come.
Linn-Mar has played one of the toughest schedules in the state, according to Bound's power rankings.
Before playing Northwest and Xavier, the Lions played four other ranked teams, losing to No. 1 Johnston, No. 4 Bettendorf, No. 7 West Des Moines Valley and defeating No. 3 Ankeny.
“It was a really tough schedule,” Brinkmeyer said. “We did it on purpose. We want to know who we are now and who we will be afterwards. The players have fought in every game.”
Of the remaining seven games, three will be against ranked opponents (3A 7th place Cedar Rapids Washington, 4A 6th place Iowa City West, 4A 9th place Dubuque Hempstead).
“I think if we can get a little more points, I’ll probably sleep a little easier at night,” Brinkmeyer said. “I think we know we're good. We just haven't put all the pieces together on the same night yet. If we can do that, especially against a quality opponent, I think the sky is the limit.”
