Notre Dame-West Burlington dominates on way to winning conference tournament
Matt LevinsThe Hawk Eye
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If there were any doubts about which team is king of the pitch in the SEI Superconference, the Notre Dame-West Burlington high school boyssoccer team put those doubts to rest over the weekend.
Class 1A's fifth-ranked Nikes, the defending state champions, outscored their three opponents by a combined 28-0 margin to win the SEI Superconference Tournament championship for the fourth straight time. The Nikes also won in 2018, 2019 and 2021. There was no season in 2020 because of COVID.
On Saturday, the Nikes disposed of Hillcrest Academy, 8-0, in the quarterfinals, then posted a 10-0 win over Mediapolis in the championship match at Notre Dame's Tackleson Field.
Even without head coach John Wagner, who missed Saturday's matches to attend his daughter Lauryn Wagner's graduation at the University of Northern Iowa, the Nikes didn't miss a beat.
“In the big picture it shows how we can dominate in the state qualifiers and how we might handle ourselves in the state tournament this year," said ND-WB senior Gabe Zurita, who single-handedly outscored every other team in the tournament with a whopping 13 goals.
“We didn’t let up a single goal, which is always great," said ND-WB senior midfielder Parker Davis, who assisted on 11 goals in the three matches. "No goals today — that is very impressive. Considering these are one of the tougher teams in our substate, that is a great look going into it. They were tired, though, since they just played. But overall it was very exciting.”
“It was really good," said ND-WB senior midfielder Carson Wagner. "We played really well. We were moving the ball well, talking well. We just worked really well as a team. All the stuff we’ve been working on paid off.”
ND-WB senior goalkeeper Arya Nowroozi had a clean sheet in the three games, including three saves against Mediapolis.
“It’s what we expected," Nowroozi said. "If I let in one against either team I would have been pretty disappointed. Honestly these are the games that shape our game for substate, so we didn’t want to let any other team have any hope against us. We wanted to show what we’ve got.”
Mediapolis, which advanced with a 5-1 win over Columbus/Winfield-Mount Union in the semifinals, had to play back-to-back matches in the heat with just a 20-minute break in between. The heat took its toll on the Bulldogs, who were forced to chase the Nikes and simply lost their legs.
“The first game we came out and played well," Mediapolis coach Jon Ludens said. "It was a dogfight. It was very physical. Eighty minutes of soccer. Had a couple cards. Had some kids get thrown around. You get 20 minutes off and then come and play the defending state champion.”
“We knew they were going to be tired, so we had to come out with intensity and see what we could do early," Wagner said. "It worked out well. We got a goal pretty quick. Then we started piling them on.”
Zurita scored off a corner kick from Wagner in the 10th minute to get the Nikes on the scoreboard against Mediapolis. Zurita would score the next two goals and had four before halftime.
“We were just moving the ball around great. Parker is really good about distributing the ball and he finds feet every time," Zurita said. “Everything was coming together because Parker was giving me a bunch of opportunities. That’s what really made the magic happen. I was just having fun out there.”
With the outcome firmly in hand, assistant coaches David Giese, Michael Carper and Aron West made sure everyone who dressed got playing time for the Nikes.
Sophomore Bobby Willdrick ended the match with his first goal of the season.
“We went up early. Everybody on the other team was pretty tired. We were just trying to get everybody involved and get goals fort a bunch of different guys," Davis said. “It makes it more fun. It’s not always fun when it’s a close game and not everybody get to play. It makes everybody happier.” 
The match could have been much worse, but Mediapolis goalkeeper Randy Hine made several spectacular saves. He finished with 18 saves in the match.
“He’s an animal when he wants to be," Ludens said of Hine. "He had a terrific game. Even though the scoreboard says 10-0, he had a terrific game. He was all over the place. When he wants to be, he is probably one of the best in the state.”
ND-WB, after traveling to play Mount Pleasant on Monday, will host crosstown rival Burlington on Tuesday.
The substate begins Thursday when the Nikes host Wapello.
The Nikes and Bulldogs could meet again in the substate tournament.
“That’s twice now that we’ve beaten them. It shuts down their hopes of having a chance against us. If we play them a third time, they will have their heads down," Nowroozi said.
“The one that matters is the last one of the year. We have to get there, but we hope to see them again," Ludens said.
Matt Levins is a sports reporter for the USA TODAY Network in Burlington, Iowa, who has covered local sports for 31 years. Reach him at mlevins@thehawkeye.com.