Newton boys score first, fall to Pella Christian

The Newton boys soccer team took another step forward on Tuesday during a home match against Pella Christian.

The next steps for the 2025 Cardinals is finding a way to preserve a lead and learning how to close out victories.

Troy Ramsey scored in the 54th minute to break a scoreless tie, but the Cardinals fell 2-1 to the Eagles after allowing a pair of goals in the final 26 minutes during Little Hawkeye Conference action at H.A. Lynn Stadium.

“We’re still trending in the right direction,” Newton head boys soccer coach Zach Jensen said. “But we need to learn how to preserve a lead. You are most vulnerable five minutes after scoring a goal, and we lost our focus during that time.”

Pella Christian scored the equalizer in the 56th minute before putting the game winner past Javin Doland in the 75th minute.

Doland finished with 15 saves in 80 minutes and now has 60 saves this spring, which leads Class 3A and ranks second in the state.

The win for the Eagles (3-0, 1-0 in the conference) snapped Newton’s seven-match win streak in the series. The Cardinals are 11-3 against Pella Christian since 2011.

“This is the best team they’ve had in a while,” Jensen said about the Eagles. “They have a bunch of experience and will have a legitimate chance to make the state tournament in 1A.”

Ramsey’s goal was the second in his career. It was assisted by Landon Bozarth, who now leads the Cardinals with two on the season.

But Newton (0-3-2, 0-2) could only put seven of its 22 shots on goal in the loss.

“We did enough to win but didn’t take advantage of our opportunities,” Jensen said. “We have to give it a chance. We need to put more shots on frame. We were either high or wide mostly tonight.”