The Knoxville Soccer Squads go their separate ways on Monday to start off a busy week of athletics for Panther sports. The girls will welcome Pella Christian to Randy Wilson Track. Both teams have had their respective season openers with Knoxville falling to Indianola last Tuesday 4-0 and Pella Christian pounding Ottumwa 6-1. The Eagles were led by Joselyn Terpstra with four goals and assisted on the other two. Knoxville has a lot of inexperience at various positions. Junior Captain Charlye Willis tells KNIA/KRLS Sports she has learned to be a more vocal leader for this season.

Willis: “I think for me being more talkative, and using my voice and being someone that the players can look up to knowledge-wise on the field.”

The match is set to begin at 5:30. As the girls are at home, the boys travel for the first time this season to Oskaloosa. The Panthers are coming off a thrilling win over Carlisle on Thursday winning the match on penalty kicks after neither team scored in regulation or overtime. Coach Dylan Mick is excited for the prospects this season with a lot of returning talent, and the fact that there are now four classes in boys soccer. While the Panthers will not have to deal with Pella, Norwalk, or Dallas Center-Grimes, some of the state powers locally, he still wants to play those types of teams to get his guys ready for a run to state later on.

Mick: “It gives us an opportunity to test ourselves, to get to the State Tournament. The intensity level we had was what I would expect a sub state level playoff game to be.”

Oskaloosa is one of the bigger schools in class 2A. Some of the 3A and 4A teams left on the Panthers’ schedule are Southeast Polk, Newton, and Pella.