The Ballard men's soccer team faced a tough three-game stretch last week, picking up an important conference win before dropping a pair of close matches.

On Monday, the Bombers traveled to Winterset for a Raccoon River Conference (RRC) matchup and came away with a strong 2-0 victory.  Rylan Martin provided all the offense Ballard needed, scoring both goals — one in each half — to secure the win.  The Bombers' defense and goalkeeping were equally sharp, shutting out the Huskies to earn a critical conference result.

The team quickly turned around for a non-conference clash on Tuesday at Newton.  Ballard struck first, taking a 1-0 lead into halftime.  However, Newton responded with two goals before the break and held off the Bombers in the second half to hand Ballard a narrow 2-1 defeat.

Back on their home field Friday night, Ballard hosted RRC opponent Carlisle.  The Bombers again jumped out to a first-half lead, but Carlisle rallied with two second-half goals to steal a 2-1 win.

After a week of tightly contested matches, Ballard holds a record of 4-5-1 overall and 2-3 in RRC play.

Up next, the Bombers will travel to Bondurant-Farrar on Monday,  April 28. Varsity kicks off at 5:30 PM, followed by the junior varsity match.