Xavier Boys Soccer

Xavier boys collect two shutouts

The Xavier boys soccer team did not allow a single goal Saturday and won a pair of Mississippi Valley Conference matches.

The Saints blanked Dubuque Hempstead, 3-0, Saturday morning at Xavier on goals by Isaac Frisch, Eli Smith and John Drahozal. Dan Cowden, Tom Bales and Colin Gunn collected the assists.

Xavier packed its bags and traveled to Linn-Mar Saturday afternoon and posted a 1-0 victory on a 25-yard goal by Tom Bales, who drilled the ball into the upper-left corner with an assist from Chad Gilmer.

The Saints are ranked No. 3 in Class 2A.

Xavier boys fall to Wahlert in OT, 3-2

DUBUQUE -- Xavier fought back from a 2-0 deficit but fell in overtime, 3-2, Tuesday in boys soccer at the Dubuque Soccer Complex.

Wahlert (4-1, 3-1) scored a pair of goals in the first 20 minutes of the game.

Xavier (1-4-1, 1-3) tallied a goal in the 23rd minute by Kory Donithan on Logan Buschette's assist to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Donithan scored the tying goal early in the second half on an assist from Colin Gunn.

"We clearly moved the ball better in the second half and created a half dozen scoring opportunities and capitalized only on one," Xavier Coach Amir Hadzic said.

Wahlert scored on a counterattack with four minutes remaining in overtime. The goal was scored  by Sam Koenning.

Marathon J-Hawks take down another ranked foe

No, it was not a repeat. But Thursday's game against Xavier did feel very familiar to Tuesday night's contest at Kennedy.

Jefferson’s Eric Jones, who scored the game winner in double-overtime against Kennedy, slipped a goal in to the net off a nicely played through ball from Stefan Krohn and the J-Hawks won an overtime thriller, 1-0, at Xavier.

“Right now it is surreal,” Jones said. “I am just happy I am in the right spot at the right time to put them away.”

“I went in hard for the ball, looked to switch the field and saw a little gap,” Krohn said on the winning play. “Jones was right there and put it in.”

Class 3A No. 16 Jefferson is getting used to overtime and upsets. The J-Hawks took two overtimes to beat 3A No. 13 Kennedy on Tuesday night and followed that up with an overtime win over Class 2A top ranked Xavier.

“Obviously we would love to end it in regulation,” Krohn said of the week of overtimes. “But a win is a win whether it comes in overtime or not.”

The first half started rough for the J-Hawks. The Saints were able to control possession for a good part of the half and got plenty of opportunities to score.

“Soccer is a cruel game. You don’t get 30 lay-up opportunities in a game like basketball,” Xavier Coach Amir Hadzic said. “You get only a few opportunities so it hurts when you don’t finish.”

Despite a strong Saints attack the J-Hawk defense held strong and went into the half tied 0-0.

“We did a good job of falling back with them and not stepping early,” defender Fabian Huck said. “We got lucky a couple of times but in that end you need that little bit of luck.”

The second half saw the teams trade attacks and the defenses come up big time and time again.

Jefferson got a strong boost in the back from senior goalie Andrew Patience, who made some key saves to keep the Saints off the scoreboard.

“Patience is a big anchor in our defense,” Huck said. “With his goal keeping he is just amazing. He saves a lot that other goalkeepers wouldn’t.”

After a grueling 80 minutes the teams headed in to overtime even at zero goals apiece.

“It speaks a lot to their work in the offseason,” Jefferson assistant Ben Watson said of the team’s ability to stay strong in overtimes. “They were prepared coming in to the season to play all 80 minutes and beyond.”

The J-Hawks seemed to have more left in the tank as they came out in overtime with aggression and a feeling that the game was theirs to win. The J-Hawks attacked the Saints strong and took went they felt was theirs.

“The message from the bench was take what was ours. We saw that the game was ours,” Krohn said. “We knew that we could do it.”

“I think we kind of wanted them to attack more but we were kind of caught on our heels,” Hadzic said. “Ultimately that decided the game.”

J-Hawk players credit their strength, conditioning, and team chemistry to their continued success in their overtime wins.

“I would say it would be the strength and conditioning we do,” Jones said on their ability to push themselves throughout the long minutes.

“We work really hard together. We have worked really hard in the weight room,” Krohn added. “We have learned to play as a family and that’s really big when you get on the field.”

Jefferson’s only concern is if sophomore forward Hussin Al-Yasseri will be out long. He felt knee pain in the Kennedy game and it is believed he injured his meniscus.

“At this point it’s a meniscus issue. We don’t know if it is a full tear or a minor tear,” Jefferson Coach John O’Connor said. “He will have to get an MRI later in the week. It could be short term or it could be 4-6 weeks.”

Both teams will get some rest this weekend before tough games on Tuesday. Jefferson hosts 3A top ranked Iowa City West while the Saints hit the road to take on 2A second ranked Dubuque Wahlert.

“It feels great watching the team pull it out in overtime this past week. They are on a real high right now. Hopefully, they can carry it over to the Iowa City West game,” Watson said. “That is going to be a completely different animal when we play them on Tuesday.”

Jefferson 1, Xavier 0 (OT)
Goals: CRJ – Eric Jones Assists. CRJ – Stefan Krohn.

Xavier drops shootout to Waterloo West

CEDAR FALLS - The Xavier boys soccer team was defeated by Waterloo West, 3-2, in a shootout at the Cedar Valley Soccer Complex Tuesday in Cedar Falls.

The match was tied, 2-2, after regulation and overtime. Waterloo West won the shootout, 4-2, to claim the Mississippi Valley Conference affair.

Logan Buschette and Josh Steffensmeier scored goals in regulation for the Saints. Steffensemeier and Colin Gunn had assists.