ADM sidelines Panthers, 3-0

ADEL — Creston’s postseason shutout string ended in a 3-0 substate final loss to eighth-ranked ADM Saturday afternoon.

After blitzing Carroll 11-0 and edging Hawkeye 10 rival Glenwood 1-0 in the first two rounds, the Panthers were the victim twice in the first half of three-time all-stater Derek Gushiken.

The quick, stocky senior scored an unassisted goal in the 20th minute, and then benefited from a Matthew Oberreuter assist to slip in a second one with just 1:37 left in the first half. That gave Gushiken 30 of his team’s 57 goals this season.

In the second half, after Creston missed two golden opportunities to tie it on close-range shots, Gushiken touched a pass to his left to an open Oberreuter with 12:30 remaining, for the final 3-0 margin.

“I know the score was 3-0, but it was closer than that,” said Jesus Rodriguez, after his final match as Creston coach. “Their success is due to their individual play by number 57 (Gushiken). If you notice, all their goals came through him. He scored twice and he set another one up. He’s a good player. He’s probably the most skilled player that I’ve seen while coaching in Creston.”

Conner Pals, Creston’s all-time leading scorer and this year’s leader with 19 goals, broke free in the second half and carried it toward goalie Brett Buscher, who got a hand on it just before Pals could get the shot off. Two minutes later Pals had a sharp angled shot just go wide of the far post.

McClain Haines, tied for second on the team with Ben Irr with 12 goals this season, had a hard shot caught by Buscher with 21 minutes left.

“We had so many opportunities and couldn’t put it in,” Rodriguez said. “We had opportunities and we couldn’t put it in. They got their goals in and we didn’t.”

ADM (16-4) had 14 total shots to Creston’s 11, with an 11-4 edge in shots on goal. Creston’s outstanding senior goalkeeper finished his career with eight saves, while Buscher had six.

The Panthers were nearly back to full strength for this match, as Tayler Pettit was back in the starting defensive lineup after being ill with the flu during the Glenwood match Thursday. Chase Shiltz suffered a severely sprained ankle in the win over Carroll. He did not start Saturday, but played extensive minutes in the defensive center back with Pettit.

ADM coach Bill Shields said his team had good ball movement and kept it away from Creston’s strength.

“We knew they were strong up the middle,” Shields said. “We knew that Pals, Haines and Irr were really strong players down the middle. We tried to exploit the fact that if we played the ball on the outside, they were not as involved in the game. We had Bryce Godwin doing a great job of making sure we had pressure on number three (Haines) when he was out in the middle trying to direct things. Connor Luther did a great job on Pals, and Grant Gordon was always involved in the midfield action. No doubt Creston is a good team, and you could tell they were well-prepared.”

It was the last preparation for Rodriguez, who has been named head high school coach and head middle school coach at Van Horn High School in the Kansas City suburb of Independence. His wife, Magi, will be enrolled in law school at University of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC).

“Hey, it was a great team effort against a good team,” Rodriguez said. “We tried our best. I didn’t see anyone not trying. If we were going to lose, we were going to lose with our head held high, knowing that we fought to the very last minute. And we did.”

The Panthers finished the season at 10-8, with three 1-0 losses. One of the victories was over Class 1A state qualifier Council Bluffs St. Albert, which tied Glenwood for second in the conference at 5-2. Creston was fourth at 4-3 as Carroll Kuemper Catholic won the league this year. Kuemper was knocked out of contention Saturday by Gilbert, 3-0.

It was the last match for 12 seniors on this veteran Panther roster. They are Conner Kinkade, Luke Stilwell, Tyler Helm, Alex Tamerius, Garrett Geary, Jake Miller, Kaleb Cook, Brant Hudson, Kyle Jennett, Haines, Pals, Pettit and Nielsen.

ADM, meanwhile, gets the No. 7 seed in Class 2A in its second trip to state in the past three years, and sixth overall. The Tigers take on second-seeded Cedar Rapids Xavier (14-2) at 2:35 p.m. Thursday at Cownie Soccer Complex in Des Moines. No. 5 seed Perry (16-3), which beat ADM 1-0 to win the Raccoon Valley Conference title, meets No. 4 seeded Central Clinton of DeWitt (17-1) on Thursday.

ADM 3, Creston 0

Creston (0) — Shots (on goal) — 11 (4 on goal). Individual shots (on goal)— Ben Irr 4 (1), Conner Pals 3 (1), McClain Haines 2 (2), Brant Hudson 1, Kyle Jennett 1. Keeper saves — Alex Nielsen 8. Cards — Luke Stilwell (Y).

ADM (3) — Derek Gushiken 20:14 first half; Gushiken (Matthew Oberreuter assist), 1:37 first half; Oberreuter (Gushiken assist), 12:30 second half. Shots (on goal) — 14 (11). Saves — Brett Buscher 6.