WEST DES MOINES - West Des Moines Valley showed their dominance in a 3-1 victory on Thursday night at Dowling Catholic in a crosstown battle between two of the state’s top teams. Abby Coppola put the Maroons ahead a with an outstanding individual effort from distance in the 10th minute after showing her strength and skill to shake Valley’s defenders. However, Valley pulled one back 3 minutes later through Hannah Oleson and took the lead for good on a Meg Nelson strike in the 23rd minute. The Tigers continued to control the first half before senior Libby Helverson finished off the scoring with a great turn and finish in the 32nd minute. Dowling coach, John Pearson, had his squad ready to go in the second half, but couldn’t capitalize. As the game played out, Valley kept possession for long stretches and came close through Hannah Oleson multiple times, although the Dowling goalkeeper was up to the task. As expected in a game of crosstown rivals, tackles were flying in and the game got a little chippy as time wore on. Folks in the stands were heard throughout the night letting the yellow team know how they felt, making for an intense atmosphere on one of the first nice spring nights of the year. West Des Moines Valley looks to continue their winning streak on Monday, April 16 in Ames against the preseason’s top-ranked Little Cyclones. The weather has postponed Dowling Catholic’s weekend plans with Iowa City Regina and instead they will travel to Des Moines Hoover next Tuesday, April 17 for their next match. Be sure to check out the Kick It Forward Twitter feed @kick_forward and Facebook page @kickitforwardia for highlights of the game.