DES MOINES - Katie Ives had to wait patiently for several months before finally getting a chance to play soccer for the Xavier Saints this season.

It was worth the wait.

Ives scored her first goal of the year Thursday to help the top-ranked Saints clip ADM/Van Meter, 4-1, in the opening round of the Class 2A state tournament in Des Moines.

Xavier (17-1) will face fourth-ranked Pella (18-1) in the semifinals Friday at 4:45 p.m. at the Cownie Sports Complex.

Ives transferred from Cedar Rapids Jefferson to Xavier in the middle of the school year and had to satisfy state-imposed transfer rules before becoming eligible for the Saints in the semifinals of the regional tournament last week.

Ives has played only three games for Xavier, but now she's ready to help the Saints try to win an unprecedented eighth state title in a row.

"She's our secret weapon," said Xavier Coach Bailey Dorrington. "She's a stud."

Ives, a sophomore, broke a scoreless tie with 24 minutes, 55 seconds left in the first half. Sammi Shepard sailed a perfect corner kick in front of the ADM goal and Ives was there for the header.

"Well honestly, I had no idea it went in," said Ives. "I just jumped up and hit the ball. Sammi makes great corners, as you can tell.

"I wanted a goal, so I just jumped up and headed it. I saw Kayla (Armstrong) running at me and I knew it went in."

Armstrong, one of the elite players in Iowa and the captain of the all-tournament team last year, had a frustrating day until she scored with just 10.6 seconds left in the game. She missed several good opportunities, but credited her teammates for coming through in the clutch.

"It was all my teammates today," said Armstrong. "Everyone brought their 'A' game and I'm really proud of our team effort.

"Today definitely wasn't my day, but everyone stepped up and came through for our team."

Freshman Brylee Bastain gave Xavier a 2-0 lead with an assist from Elizabeth Bailey with 19:50 left in the first half. The ADM goal keeper stopped Bailey's shot, but Bastain was there for the putback.

Bailey scored a pretty unassisted goal of her own with 37:54 left in the game when she made a strong rush, eluded several defenders and fired the ball off the goalie's hands and into the net.

Meanwhile, Xavier goal keeper Sarah Chicchelly made several sparkling saves to keep ADM off the board.

Armstrong is a superstar among prep soccer players, but the Saints are blessed with many other top players.

"There's been a lot of talk about Kayla, which is great, but there are people who are getting her the ball," said Dorrington. "The defense has been rock solid. It's a whole team effort."

Now the team has a new "secret weapon" from Jefferson.

Ives said her father had wanted her to attend Xavier earlier, but she said she had a lot of friends at Jefferson and attended school there until she had a chance to look further into Xavier's entire academic and athletic programs.

"When the opportunity came up, I wanted to transfer," she said. "The elite soccer at Xavier is just a bonus."

Ives practiced with the Saints all spring, working hard and biding her time.

"It was hard, because I knew there were some games where I maybe could have helped," she said. "I practiced hard and I really enjoyed practicing with the girls, but as it got closer we started counting down and I started getting more anxious.

"The team is just as excited as I am," she said. "It's really great to be able to play with a team like this.

"Compared to my freshman year when I was at Jefferson, it's a lot more competitive playing on a team with such great leaders and great seniors who pressure you until the very last minute to do your best."

ADM/Van Meter (12-7) gave Xavier a good battle in the first 20 minutes, but the Tigers did not score until there was 24:08 left in the game.

"They were definitely taking it to us," said Dorrington. "We were nervous. I'm sure they were, too. They did a great job taking it to us. It could have gone either way."

Now it's on to the semifinals.

"One game at a time," said Dorrington. "Always."

This is Xavier's 11th straight trip to the state tournament. The Saints won a state title in 2004 and began their string of seven consecutive titles in 2006.

STATE GIRLS SOCCER TOURNAMENT
At Des Moines

Thursday

CLASS 3A
Quarterfinals
Iowa City West 3, Johnston 2 (SO)
WDM Dowling 3, Dubuque Hempstead 2
Ankeny 4, Iowa City High 0
Waukee 3, Linn-Mar 0

CLASS 2A
Quarterfinals
SC East 2, North Scott 1 (SO)
Pleasant Valley 2, Lewis Central 0
CR Xavier 4, ADM/Van Meter 1
Pella 2, Dallas Center-Grimes 1

CLASS 1A
Quarterfinals
Center Point-Urbana 2, CB St. Albert 1
SC Heelan 6, Bondurant-Farrar 1
Davenport Assumption 5, Denver 0
Nevada 2, Iowa City Regina 1

Friday

CLASS 3A
Semifinals
Iowa City West (16-4) vs. WDM Dowling (17-2), 7 pm
Ankeny (20-0) vs. Waukee (16-4), 7:15 pm

CLASS 2A
Semifinals
SC East (17-2) vs. Pleasant Valley (15-5), 4:30 pm
CR Xavier (17-1) vs. Pella (18-1), 4:45 pm

CLASS 1A
Semifinals
Center Point-Urbana (18-3) vs. SC Heelan (16-0), 2 pm
Davenport Assumption (17-1) vs. Nevada (13-5), 2:15 pm

Saturday

CLASS 3A
Championship
Semifinal winners, 4 pm

CLASS 2A
Championship
Semifinal winners, 1:30 pm

CLASS 1A
Championship
Semifinal winners, 11 am