Bettendorf vs Pleasant Valley games are always filled with excitement, fans and fun. The boys and girls doubleheader on Tuesday was no exception. The night started off with the lady spartans competing against #4 ranked Bulldogs in an exhilarating match. The game began with senior Grace Necker scoring her first goal of the night in the first minutes of the game. However, the Bulldogs came away with a goal in the 13th minute off of a free kick.
The score remained tied until the 12th minute of the second half when Necker scored her second goal of the night to give the Spartans the edge over the Bulldogs. From there the spartans dominated the field- and with two more goals from Rory Donahue- came out on top. The final score was 4-1, the biggest win the Spartans have had in the past 4 years over Bettendorf.
Senior Gretchen Strobbe commented on the win saying, “We really look forward to playing Bettendorf each year not only because of the rivalry but because of the atmosphere and competition. I’m really proud of how hard everyone played this year and of the performance we put together as a team.” Strobbe also said last year’s devastating loss in the substate finals motivated the spartans to come back harder. “It felt amazing to have such a dominant outcome; I know that the results of last season are still on our minds so that definitely motivated us going into this game.” she said.
The boys game got off to a spectacular start when Anthony Pena scored in the 4th minute to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. The game then stayed scoreless until the middle of the second half when Tomas Elias scored a phenomenal goal to extend the lead to 2. Bettendorf refused to go down without a fight as the game became more tense.
Four yellow cards were assessed that night, 2 for the Bulldogs and 2 for the Spartans, but despite a goal scored in the middle of the second half by Bettendorf, the Spartans remained the stronger team. A stellar performance by the Spartan keeper Grant Aller and the rest of the team resulted in a 2-1 win. Elias said the win was long overdue as well as one of the best feelings he has felt, “Ever since I became apart of the PV soccer program we have never beat Bettendorf. And for the first time after we won I feel that this team has potential for so much more. And it has been a dream of mine to score the winning goal against Bettendorf. I guess dreams do come true.”
