Better ugly than good: penalty kick propels Rebels past Cadets in regional semis

Friday night’s girl’s Class 1A regional semifinal matchup between Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck and Iowa Falls-Alden could easily be characterized as a slobberknocker or a schoolyard brawl: yellow cards were everywhere, injury timeouts were aplenty and fans of the opposing teams even exchanged words with each other. In the end, however, it was a single penalty kick that made the difference as Rebel junior Maddie McMartin scored midway through the second half to lift her team to a 1-0 upset win and a berth in the regional finals against Nevada.
           
“We kept telling the girls over the last couple days (that) this team is going to play rough. They’re going to be very physical with us, so we have to stand our ground,” GC/G-R coach Aaron Mara said.
           
Early on, the Cadets (11-4) grabbed the momentum, staying on the offensive and lodging multiple unsuccessful shots on goal against GC/G-R keeper Carsen Hamann, but the Rebels (9-9) held firm and got their swagger back after the 30-minute mark. McMartin, who leads the team with 17 goals, attacked the IF-A defense throughout the opening half. The competing squads went to the locker room scoreless, however, and in a sign of things to come, IF-A senior Brittany Fopma received the first yellow card of the match with under a minute to go. 
 
Read the full story in this week's Grundy Register, or subscribe by calling (319) 824-6958 or clicking here.