DES MOINES - Marisa Berutti did her best to battle her raw emotions and fight back the tears Friday afternoon, but it was no good.

It hurt too much. The tears won.

"It sucks," she said succinctly.

Xavier's bid for Title 9 at the Class 2A state meet ended with a 1-0 loss to second-ranked North Scott in a memorable PK Shootout at Cownie Park.

The Saints lost at the state tournament for the first time since 2005, snapping their unprecedented streak of eight titles in a row.

Berutti, a senior, played for three state champions during her extraordinary career, but a fourth crown slipped away in a defensive struggle.

The third-ranked Saints graduated a ton of seniors from last year's  champs. There were only four seniors on this year's club, and Berutti and goalkeeper Holly Hazelton were the only 12th graders in the starting lineup.

By contrast there were nine freshmen on the team this season, and several of them were asked to play prominent roles in an effort to keep the streak of eight straight titles alive.

"I'm proud of our team for making it this far," said Berutti. "No one thought we would make it to state this year, let alone get by the first round.

"It's amazing that we've kept it going that long. It's amazing that we even make it to state every year. There are teams that haven't made it to state in years."

Xavier Coach Bailey Winter, a star player for the Saints when the streak began, called her girls together for a brief meeting after the 100-minute battle ended in a Shootout.

North Scott won the PK Shootout, 5-4, converting all five of its shots. That's how close the Saints came to reaching the state finals on Saturday.

"I told them heads up, be proud of what we did," said Winter. "That was an incredible game. So close. All the way to PKs. It's no fun to do that, but I'm so proud of the girls. Not just this season, but all the seasons leading up to this."

North Scott (17-4) had an 8-2 advantage in shots on goal during the 80 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtimes. The Saints had a couple of chances in the second half but could not convert in front of the goal.

Xavier was the visiting team and went first in the PK Shootout. Winter called on Berutti to go first, but the team's leading scorer was stopped by North Scott goalie Anna Radcliff.

That put the Saints at a disadvantage and they never caught up. Katie Ives, McKenna Lloyd, Lizzie Bailey and Elizabeth Fischer all converted for Xavier, but the Lady Lancers hit all five of their shots and never missed.

Several of North Scott's shots were nailed into the upper corners of the goal, where it would have taken a 7-foot keeper with long arms to have a chance.

"Their shots were pretty accurate," said Hazelton. "PK's are really hard to stop for a goalie. It is what it is."

Hazelton's formal soccer career ended with Friday's match. She plans to play intramurals at Iowa State, but her school career is over. It ended in the semifinals of the state tournament, the 12th straight trip to state for the Saints. That's a record, too, as are the eight straight titles.

"We've had a great rest of the season, from where we started," said Hazelton. "Our team has come such a ling way.

"Like Marisa said, it's amazing that we make it to state every year and have that really long streak (of 12 in a row). That's an amazing streak for a reason."

Winter obviously hated to fall short, especially in a Shootout.

"It's tough. It stinks," she said. "It would have stung if this had been the first time in eight years or not. I feel for our seniors. But really it was an incredible, incredible season. We're happy to be here and so proud of them."

Winter took a moment to reflect on the eight straight titles, which began in 2006 when the current freshmen were in the first grade.

"How amazing and exciting," she said. "We were that close to nine.

"When you look at eight titles and how close we were this year, it's just a reflection of the program. No matter what they're faced with, we're going to compete."

The Saints ended the season with an 11-8 record. With a young team, Winter is optimistic Xavier will be back here next year.

"That's the goal," she said, "and that's the plan."