DES MOINES – Miranda Tyler has had little kids come up to her saying they want to play in goal, just like she has.
These are memories as a result of Dike-New Hartford girls soccer’s incredible run to the State semifinals, the season ending at Cownie Park with a 1-0 loss to eventual Class 1A champion Nevada.
“It’s been us all working together,” Tyler said. “To be a part of this has truly been amazing. Having kids come up to me and say they want to play goalie is the greatest feeling ever.”
There have been plenty of highlight moments for the Wolverines this season. After starting the season 5-4, the Wolverines went 11-1 the remainder of their 2024 schedule, took down second-ranked Gilbert to qualify for their second State berth in their mere four years competing, and then topped it all off with a 1-0 win over top-ranked Davenport Assumption for their first-ever State tournament win in program history.
“Just being a part of this and getting this far means so much to us,” senior Ana Bering said. “My mom helped start this program and accomplishing this with her watching today is special for all of us who played for her.”
DNH didn’t come into Thursday’s semifinals easing off the gas against a Nevada team that walked away from them with a 1-0 win in the regular season. The Wolverines were healthier than last time going into this match and eager to continue their season.
“They have a similar style to us: break down the other team until they give up something,” Bering said. “We gave first this time.”
For more than 70 minutes, the Wolverines defense held off the Cub offense behind 19 saves from Tyler and DNH’s commitment defensively. A well-placed corner kick allowed Nevada junior Aubrey Thompson to score off a header. DNH did not have an answer for the remaining eight and have minutes and walked off the field one last time this season.
“Beautiful corner kick, beautiful header, and honestly one of the best goals I’ve seen this season,” DNH coach Emma Eden said. “But honestly our girls did an amazing job of locking them down and Silvey Fuller played lights out on [Thompson]. Her, Soph (Bennett), Mallory (Petersen) and Joy (Eilderts) are all very strong on that defensive line.”
Bering, Tyler and Drew Petersen made up a “tiny, but mighty” senior class that led the Wolverines back to State two years after Bering and Tyler played in DNH’s first tournament appearance in 2022. Petersen was not on the team at the time, going out for soccer the next year. She called it “the best decision ever.”
“We all became closer with each game we played together,” Petersen said. “Soccer just seemed like a fun sport to try, and it ended up being a heck of a run that I’ll never forget.”
Over 600 career saves and “In Ronda We Trust” burned into DNH soccer history. Tyler’s impact defensively will be honored for a long time, but she gave the credit for success to her teammates and to both her varsity coaches over the past four seasons.
“Coach (Eden) worked just as hard as anyone in practice and just always knew the right thing to say to get us pumped up,” Tyler said. “Kat (Bering) has been my coach since my club years back in sixth grade. She’s the reason why I am a goalie and like a second mom to this team. All our coaches knew how to make us smile.”
Bering and Tyler are the first Wolverines to go through the program all four years of high school, and Eden has been on staff for each season. She stated these two have “built a legacy” which hopefully will continue into the near future.
“I hope they can look back on this accomplishment five, 10 years from now and realize they started something special,” Eden said. “They got this program on notice and honestly we couldn’t have done all this without Ana, Drew and Miranda.”
Filling in those shoes will not be an easy task, but the Wolverines do return a strong junior class and will look to their younger players to set up and keep the momentum going for a program that has reached a Regional final in all four seasons.
