Spencer, Ia (Northwest Iowa Now) – The 2024-2025 Sports Season wrapped up in mid-July, and we continue our series on the KICD 9-County Area Teams of the year with a feature on the Spencer Girls Soccer team.
The goal was a bounce back season for the Tigers after missing the State Tournament in 2024. Spencer piled up a strong non-conference slate to pair with an improved Northwest Iowa Soccer League schedule.
After a 3-0 start where the Tigers outscored MOC-Floyd Valley, Storm Lake, and West Sioux by a combined 31-1, Spencer ran in to one of those first challenges on the Non-Conference lineup. Bishop Heelan of Sioux City came to town ranked #2 in Class 1A. The Crusaders were able to pull away from Spencer and win by a convincing 5-0.
Spencer came back with 4 consecutive wins, beating Spirit Lake/Park/Okoboji Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley by a combined 18-0. Sioux Center visited, ranked in Class 1A for a much anticipated NWISL meeting. Spencer was able to beat Sioux Center 3-1, picking up their first key win of the season. They would follow that up with a 4-0 shoutout of West of Sioux City.
Spencer made it 5 in a row when they went to the Thomas Jefferson Showcase Iowa/Nebraska Border Battle and beat a ranked 1A team in St. Albert of Council Bluffs. Later that day, Spencer fell to an eventual Nebraska State Champion, Skutt Catholic of Omaha, 6-0.
After a romp of Sheldon/Sibley-Ocheyedan/South O’Brien on April 29th led in to a big weekend for Spencer. The Tigers traveled to Grimes to play Dallas-Center Grimes and North Scott in the DCG/Urbandale Invite. Spencer dropped to top ranked Dallas Center-Grimes 6-0, but bounced back with a much needed ranked victory in Class 2A over North Scott.
Spencer swept through the remainder of the season, shutting out their final 4 opponents.
The Tigers were given a #1 seed in Class 2A Region 8, and came away with a 9-2 win in the Regional Semifinal against Spirit Lake/Park/Okoboji. Next up was Adel-DeSoto-Minburn for the Regional Championship in Spencer. This Regional final featured the #8 and #9 teams in the State, and Spencer was unable to find the back of the net despite many opportunities, and ADM advanced with a comfortable 3-0 win, bringing the Tigers season to an end.
Addison Hoben was incredible again for her Senior year, leading the team in Goals with 47 and Assists with 18. Avery McEntee, Ana Olson, and Avery Metcalf all contributed double digit goals on the year for the Tigers. In 18 games, Freshman Goalkeeper Hannah Moser and a back line led by Senior Lilly Gross and Junior Maddy McWhirter only allowed 15 goals.
Losing Hoben, Gross, Ana Olson and Lauren Horst will be tough on the Tigers in the 2026 season, but they do get was a mostly younger supporting cast coming back on all 3 levels of the field.
This has been another KICD Team of the Year feature from Northwest Iowa Now.
