Pella Girls Defense Dominant in Soccer Opener
Despite a howling wind and a lot of new faces and returners in new spots, the Pella girls soccer team opened the spring with a 2-0 victory Tuesday over Winterset. Picking up where she left off in her sensational freshman campaign, 2021 All-State striker Abby Warner scored twice, including a difficult free kick into the wind just before the end of the first half. From there, the Dutch defense, keyed by All-State Honorable Mention Goalkeeper Haley Van Houweling, kept the Huskies from finding the back of the net — she tallied seven saves.

Pella is 1-0 and heads to a girls soccer invitational in Centerville Saturday. Hear from Van Houweling and teammate Anneka Stoltzfus on this week’s KNIA/KRLS Radio Sports Page, which airs every Wednesday at 6 p.m. and Thursday at 10 a.m. on 92.1 KRLS.
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Pella Boys Tennis Team Dominates Opener
The two-time consecutive state runner up in class 1A had a strong start to the new season, as the #2 Pella boys tennis team knocked off North Polk 10-1 Tuesday. Pella’s closest match and only loss came in No. 1 singles as a pair of 2021 individual state qualifiers clashed, with Caleb Briggs of the Dutch falling to Ethan Moon 10-7 in a tiebreaker after each dominated one of the two first sets (Briggs 6-0, Moon 6-1). Pella’s boys tennis team is next in action at Ballard Monday.