Glenwood boys soccer rebounds from slow start

    The Glenwood boys soccer team rebounded from a lethargic early morning loss to Spirit Lake to win its final two games at the Waverly-Shell Rock Invitational on Saturday.
    The Rams (10-3) came out slow against the state No. 13 ranked Tornadoes in the opening round match. They trailed 1-0 at halftime but seemed to lose focus once they got down 2-0 in the 4-0 loss, said Glenwood coach Mike Artist.
    “They showed up, we didn’t,” said Glenwood coach Mike Artist. “It was probably the worst game we played all season. They aren’t 4-0 better than us; we just didn’t play very well.”
    Glenwood played much better in their following two games, out-scoring state ranked No. 5 Hudson and South Tama by a combined score of 9-1 in a pair of wins.
    “We were out of synch against Spirit Lake but against Hudson we were a completely different team,” said Artist. “We played really well. We stuck to our game plan, we were aggressive and got the win.”
    Steve Gutschenritter scored a goal and Trenton McNeel added a header for the Rams’ two scores against Hudson. But Gutschenritter later left the game following an unintentional elbow to the face late in the first half. The Rams’ senior co-captain and all-state midfielder did not return and his status for the rest of the season is in question.
    “He’s a big loss for us,” said Artist. “It wasn’t a dirty play or anything. It was just an aggressive play but losing him hurts. He’s big for us back there.”
    The Rams soldiered on in the tournament night-cap, knocking off unranked South Tama 7-1.
    Glenwood dominated from the opening kick, allowed just three shows on goal and had five players score at least one goal, led by Trenton McNeel’s hat trick. Josh Keim, Billy Lucy, Hunter McNeel and Zac Sorensen also added goals.
    “It was our last game after a long day so both teams were pretty beat by that point but we played aggressive and we played well,” said Artist.
    The Rams have a few days off before a non-conference match with Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln on Friday and a Monday battle with Denison that will decide the Hawkeye 10 Conference crown.
    “We have a little time here to get some practice in, get healed up and get focused,” said Artist.

Sioux City North 1,
Glenwood 0
    Jesse Rodriguez’s goal in overtime lifted Sioux City North to a 1-0 overtime win over Glenwood last Tuesday.
    “It always like this with them,” said Glenwood coach Mike Artist, referring to his team’s historically close battles with their Sioux City foe. “It’s not a rivalry game but we always seem to play pretty close - we got them 1-0 in overtime last year - and it comes down to best capitalizes on their opportnities. They did that.”
    Glenwood won at Sioux City North last season 1-0 in overtime.
    Rodriguez’s goal came six minutes into the overtime frame when he split the Rams’ defense and swatted in the goal past goalkeeper Matt Schulz.
    “He got past us,” said Artist. “It was basically one-on-one and he got it in.”