West Des Moines Valley soccer's Preston Kipnusu is in a league of his own
Preston Kipnusu held up his right hand, all five fingers outstretched, and smiled.
He pointed to each finger and counted off: One, two, three, four, five. He shrugged, walked to the bench and sat down.
Five.
That’s how many times Kipnusu – Valley's forward and captain – found the back of the net in Monday’s substate semifinal against Des Moines East. Oh, and all those goals came before the end of the first half.
“Can I get your autograph, P?” someone yelled from the crowd.
Kipnusu subbed out of the game with just over three minutes left in the opening half and didn’t return. The Tigers scored only one additional goal in the final 40 minutes of the game, beating the Scarlets, 8-1.
For those following Iowa high school soccer, Kipnusu’s five-goal game is no surprise.
He’s been dominant for one of the top teams in the state and opponents can’t find a way to slow him down.
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A lifelong love of soccer
With an uncle involved in coaching and a family love of the sport, Kipnusu doesn’t remember a time when soccer wasn’t a part of his life.
His parents put a ball at his feet as a toddler and, unlike with some of his siblings, his love of the sport stuck. Kipnusu’s sisters wrestle and his brother dances. But for the Valley senior, it’s all soccer, all the time.
But it wasn’t until a few years ago that Kipnusu’s growth in the game skyrocketed.
He realized during the pandemic – spending most of his days at home – that he could do something with soccer. He’d go outside most days to work on his craft. Something clicked.
“I started to realize, I can actually get my college paid for if I can perfect this,” Kipnusu said. “I would go out every single day during lockdown and that’s when I started to really fall in love with the game.”
A lifelong love didn’t translate to automatic success, though.
Kipnusu remembers one of the lowest points of his soccer journey. In his U16 year, he trialed for the Minnesota United club team as a striker. Kipnusu was sent home; the team didn’t like him as a striker.
“They said I’d be pretty good at centerback, but they didn’t like the way I played my position,” Kipnusu said. “I took it personal after that. My confidence was really low.”
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Instead of giving up, though, Kipnusu decided to learn from the disappointment.
Kipnusu is easily among the best in the state
Aziz Haffar knew Kipnusu long before he played for his team.
The Valley head coach remembers officiating one of Kipnusu’s youth games when the future Tigers’ star scored four goals. Haffar asked him after the game where he’d go to high school, and he was elated to hear it would be Valley.
Kipnusu started as a freshman.
“It’s very difficult (to start as a freshman),” Haffar said. “Physically, he’s able to play with the big boys. Technically – speed of thought, speed of play, speed of vision – he had all that and he’s gotten better. I have a philosophy to play the best players. It doesn’t matter what grade you’re in.”
Kipnusu isn’t just the best player on Haffar’s roster. He’s among the best players in the state.
The Valley senior is third in Iowa – and first in Class 4A – with 35 goals. That’s over 10 more goals than the next-highest scorer in the class and nearly 20 more than any other player in the Central Iowa Metropolitan League.
He ranks second in Class 4A with 16 assists, too.
Monday’s game showed why it is so difficult to shut down Kipnusu.
Almost all his goals came in a right-place-right-time situation. But it wasn’t because Kipnusu randomly happened to be in an open area of the field or that he – standing at 6-foot-4 – was taller than most of his competition.
Even from the stands, it’s easy to tell that Kipnusu’s soccer IQ is ahead of the game.
And in the rare times when an opponent can keep up with Kipnusu – who always seems two steps ahead – his skill makes up for it. He scored his second goal of the game Monday by trapping the ball, turning and shooting on a dime. He did all that around the feet of a defender.
Kipnusu’s ability to combine smarts and skills turned Valley into a serious threat this season. Only two teams – Iowa City West and Dowling Catholic – held Kipnusu scoreless. Valley lost both of those games, so it’s easy to see the impact he has on the Tigers.
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But it’s also been over a month – that April 5 game against Dowling – since Kipnusu has been held off the scoresheet. So now, heading into the state tournament, he is playing his best soccer.
Maybe that’s because Kipnusu wants to go out on a high note.
Preparing Valley soccer for the future
By the end of next week, Kipnusu’s high school soccer career will be over.
Either he will have helped Valley to a state soccer title, or his senior season would have ended in heartbreak.
Kipnusu isn’t one to look ahead too much, but he is preparing Valley for the future – one without him on the pitch. He will take his talents to Drake in the fall, and he wants his high school team in as good a place as when he was there.
While being interviewed before a Tuesday practice, Kipnusu pauses and shakes his head.
“Are they really not going to warm up without me? Pablo,” he yelled, “Get them started with warmups.”
He was calling out to Pablo Mendez, a Valley junior with the most assists (22) in Class 4A. Come next season, Mendez is the player both Kipnusu and Haffar want to take on the captaincy.
Kipnusu took it upon himself to teach Mendez about leadership. He’s confident in the leadership choice for next season because Kipnusu’s mentorship was always about keeping Valley at the top of its game.
“I want to leave my mark on the team, because of what Aziz has done for me,” Kipnusu said. “When I’m gone, I hope these players can continue the Valley legacy and hopefully win some more state championships.”
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Valley soccer's Preston Kipnusu among Iowa soccer leading scorers
