We hit the road for the last game of the 2019 regular season…and their first to Dubuque, this year. Just like the night before at LM Stadium, Dubuque Hempstead honored their Seniors, but not before the Lions shut out the Mustangs, 1-0. Linn-Mar benefitted from a penalty kick called in the 30th minute, and converted by Brandon Raus (JR). The Lions kept the lead through the second half, but was unable to add to their lead (despite double-digit chances). Man of the Match was Blake Walker.
The win moved the team record to 5-12 on the season. While not what we had hoped for back in March, please put the losses in perspective. Linn-Mar (likely) played, not only the toughest half of the MVC, but also the toughest non-conference schedule in Iowa. 9 of the 12 losses came at the hands of teams currently (Week 7) ranked in Classes 1A or 2A. 2 losses were against teams who received votes this week (Week 7); the Lions only lost 1 game to a non-ranked opponent. The opponents that we have lost to have a combined winning percentage of nearly 74%, during the regular season. By playing such a challenging schedule, the coaching staff believes that it has discovered where our strengths (and weaknesses) are, and this can help us as we move forward during the Substate Tournament.
The JV1 team finished their season with a win, as well. The Lions outperformed the Mustangs from the opening whistle, scoring once in the first half and twice in the second half, and shutting out their opponent, 3-0. The team ended with 4 wins, 4 losses, and 5 ties.
