The Norwalk boys soccer program must say goodbye to 13 valuable seniors following a second straight season that ended at the state tournament in Des Moines.

The Warriors lost a 2-1 decision against top-seeded Des Moines Hoover on Friday morning in the Class 3A state semifinals. They finished 12-9 overall. Last year, Norwalk made a similar late-season surge and finished as 3A state runner-up with a record of 13-8.

This year’s senior class was part of the program’s 14th and 15th state appearances. They combined to score 23 of the team’s 39 goals and had several key cogs in a defense that posted nine shutouts. Norwalk advanced to state with a 1-0 substate final win over Carlisle and beat Marion 2-0 in the state quarterfinals.

Norwalk head coach Dustin Kralik says that the senior class has helped restore the winning tradition of Warrior boys soccer. Kralik says that the seniors grew up playing a lot of soccer together, and he is glad to have been able to be around many of them since they were little kids.

“Love every one of those guys and just the passion they have for the game, for their team and their teammates,” Kralik said. “Just guys that really helped to rebuild the culture and get us back to that level where the expectation is to be (at state) all the time.”

This year’s full-time senior starters included Grant Fletcher, Drake Stageman, Caden Endres, Jace Davis, Keilor Rodman and Noah Buhrow. Additional contributors were Lukas Dingman, Caleb Gettler, Quinn Scallon, Holdyn Havick, Nile Roth, Easton Fuller and Denver Vongxay.