The Adel-DeSoto-Minburn/Van Meter girl’s soccer team has been setting school records, defeating longtime rivals, and has a shot at returning to – and perhaps even winning – the 2016 State Tournament in Des Moines. They are currently ranked fourth in Class 2A, the highest final season ranking in school history.

The 2016 season has been replete with several record-setting achievements. The varsity team is now 18-1, the most wins ever in one season, with an opportunity to win even more. In 13 of those victories they have held their opponents scoreless, another school record. The varsity squad has dominated the Raccoon River Conference, winning the championship three years in a row starting in 2014. Their last conference loss was in 2013 to Dallas Center-Grimes.

These many successes can be credited to head coach Kelsey Gaffney and assistant coaches Jeff Abbas (7th season) and Kim Hall (1st season). Gaffney has now compiled a 46-9 overall record, an astonishing feat. In her three year tenure she is 21-0 in conference action. A former Iowa City-West standout who played midfield at UNI, Gaffney was also named the 2016 Des Moines Register All-Iowa Girls’ Soccer Coach of the Year.

“They girls are very motivated and are driven by one common goal,” says Gaffney. “We want to get back to the State tournament. We’ve been talking about this since before the season began. We’ve had a lot of success during the past two years, but we’ve missed the State tournament by 40 minutes each year.”

Prior to Gaffney’s arrival the Tigers appeared in three consecutive State tournaments, in 2011, 2012 and 2013. In 2014 ADM/VM lost to DC-G in the regional final, and the follow year to eventual state champion Ankeny in the 2015 regional final. In both games the Tigers battled their opponents to a 0-0 draw at halftime, only to fall short in the second half of each contest.

“These girls have worked so hard, they are so focused on our goal,” says Gaffney. “We haven’t played our best game yet, there are always things we can work on and improve. But I’m excited to see just how far this team can go.”

The Tigers’ next game is Monday, June 6 at 6:00 PM at Island Park. ADM/VM will host Norwalk, a team they defeated earlier this season. The winner of Monday night’s game advances to the 2016 State Tournament in Des Moines.