AMES — For 68 minutes Des Moines Christian looked destined to advance to the Class 1A semifinals during the 2026 IGHSAU girls state soccer tournament held at the Lied Recreation Fields.
The No. 5 Lions were in firm control heading down the final stretch against No. 4 St. Albert, having just taken a 2-0 lead on a PK from Addy Oetker at the 68:14 mark.
But the next six minutes were a nightmare for DMC.
St. Albert scored four goals in a span of just six minutes to hand the Lions a heartbreaking 4-2 setback.
“St. Albert is a good team; we knew going in that they were never going to quit, that they were going to play for the full 80 minutes, and we let down,” said DMC coach Jaime Price. “We got too comfortable and you can’t ever get comfortable on the soccer field until the 80th minute is done. We got a little too relaxed, we gave them a little too much space, we didn’t play as tight as we should and we let them get some fire.”
Ellie Larmie got St. Albert on the board with a shot from 15 yards out just 58 seconds after Oetker’s PK. The Saintes tied the score just 1:41 later.
St. Albert got the ball down near the Lion goal and during scrum DMC keeper Ava Jerkins was pulled out of position, giving Stella Simms an open net and she tapped the ball in to even the score.
Another 2 1/2 minutes went by and then Larmie drilled her second goal of the game for the go-ahead score. Two minutes later, the Saintes struck yet again when Simms crossed it into the net from the left side into the far corner.
The Lions were suddenly down two scores with less than five minutes remaining. They simply had no answer down the stretch as St. Albert held on to head into the 1A semifinals to face No. 1 Denver, an 8-1 winner over Iowa Falls-Alden in the first 1A quarterfinal.
“We let one slip and then we let that first goal turn into a lot more,” said Oetker. “It happens; it just sucks that that’s the way we end our season.”
Addison Price got DMC on the board just over eight minutes into the game. She got the ball in the middle of the field, reared back and drilled a shot from 25 yards out that made it into the back of the net for a 1-0 Lion advantage.
DMC continued to maintain the possession advantage for most of the first half. They were still in good shape all the way through Otker’s PK.
But then the flood gates opened, and DMC was sent home after the quarterfinals for the second year in a row. Despite the loss, the Lions finished another successful season with an impressive 15-4-1 record.
“I just love these girls,” Oetker said. “We just have such good chemistry. We’re all best friends and it’s so fun to play with them every day. I feel like that’s what led us to two state appearances back-to-back.”
St. Albert will take an 18-2 record into the 1A semifinals against No. 1 Denver (18-0-3) on June 11 at noon on Field 1 at the Lied Recreation Fields.
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Wild St. Albert comeback downs DMC in Iowa girls soccer quarterfinal
