Photo Courtesy of Nicole Miller (MP Sports Social Media)

The opening day of the playoffs has arrived for the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk boys soccer team, as they travel west to Oskaloosa for a match with Grinnell in the Class 2A substate six quarterfinals. The Hawks come in at 9-6 this year, the three seed in substate, after back-to-back wins over Bellevue and Cascade by a 9-3 margin to close the regular season. This year, Mid-Prairie has been outscored 47-46, with one defensive shut out. Individual leaders include Owen Trimpe with 18 goals, second most in school history for a career, and eighth in 2A in Iowa this season. Tucker Miller has eight assists, Joe Hall and Jacob Flynn have combined for 70 saves in goal.

Grinnell is the six seed in substate six with a 3-10 overall record. The Tigers were winless in the Little Hawkeye Conference this year and have dropped six straight entering the playoffs, by a combined 33-4 score. They have been outscored this year 58-13, with two defensive shut outs. Top individuals for the Tigers include Christopher McArtney with four goals, Jack Hoopes with four assists and Beaux Blanchard with 114 saves and a 69% save percentage. This week, Golden Hawk seniors Owen Trimpe, Noah Ford, Koby Karnes, Evan Phillips and Andrew Stultz joined KCII Sports to talk about their postseason keys. Stultz and Karnes said, “I like how we are playing physical, with very high intensity. We need to keep that up for substate.”

Trimpe gave credit to teammate Noah Ford, “He picked it up. He’s a dog. Best game of his life!”

Ford added, “I feel like I played one of the best games of my life and I need to carry that on.”

These two programs have never previously met. The winner advances to the substate semifinals next week against second seeded and No. 13 ranked in Class 2A Knoxville. Action between the Hawks and Tigers starts tonight at 7:30p.m. on the campus of William Penn University in Oskaloosa.