Saints beat Wahlert in OT; advance to title game
DES MOINES - The top-seeded Xavier boys soccer team squeaked by Mississippi Valley Conference rival Dubuque Wahlert, 1-0, in overtime Friday in the semifinals of the state tournament at Cownie Soccer Complex.
Xavier (16-2-1) plays No. 6 seed Norwalk (12-7) for the state championship Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Cownie. Norwalk beat seventh-seeded Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji, 2-1, Friday.
The Saints beat Norwalk, 2-1, in the first round of last year's state tournament on their way to winning the state championship.
Much of the game against Wahlert (10-10-1) was a battle for possession in the middle of the field. The Saints finally broke through in the sixth minute of overtime when Josh Steffensmeier found Logan Bouchette in space on the right side of the field.
“I just saw Josh with the ball and a big space on the side,” Bouchette said. “I called for it, ran down, and got a good cross in.”
The cross went all the way across the face of the goal and found senior Chris Kapfer, who was making a run to the far side post. He hammered in the golden goal, ending the game.
“I saw him cross it in and I figured I’ve got to get this to finish it,” Kapfer said.
The game was the latest installment of numerous close games that the two MVC schools have shared in recent years. The Saints and the Golden Eagles play each other every regular season, and often meet in the postseason, so the two teams are very familiar with one another. The fact that this game was a defensive struggle was not all that surprising.
“They play with two fullbacks and then a deep sweeper that takes away all the long balls, so it is really hard to exploit them through the sides. But once you do then they just open up,” Bouchette said.
The Saints edged Wahlert in a similar defensive battle earlier this season taking home a 1-0 victory in penalty kicks. They also played each other in last year's state championship, won by Xavier, 2-0.
“We know each other so well, it was down to the last little detail,” Xavier Coach Amir Hadzic said. “We know each other, we match so well, it is like a chess game.”
The two schools also always seem to get fired up to play one another.
“It’s always a tough game, no matter where it is at, they always come to play hard, especially against us since it’s a Catholic school rivalry,” junior Logan Bouchette said.
Xavier used more substitutions than Wahlert in the game and Hadzic thought that played a big role as the game went on and with the temperatures in the 90s.
“You could see that some kids were cramping and the defense was not as sharp as it was in the beginning so it was just a matter of time that one of the defenses would collapse,” Bouchette said.
Xavier 1, Walhert 0 (OT)
Goals -- Xavier: Chris Kapfer (86th min). Assists -- Xavier: Josh Steffensmeier, Logan Bouchette.
Injury report
The Saints have been bit by the injury bug hard at the end of the season.
Sophomore Alex Hagg left Friday's game with an injured wrist and was on the way to the hospital to get x-rays to see if it was broken after the game. Hadzic said he is questionable for the Norwalk game.
Sophomore Colin Gunn also left the game in the second half with a banged up knee, although Hadzic said that he was feeling better after the game and hoped to play Saturday.
The Saints already were without starting defender Braxton Chicchelly who suffered a concussion in the first round game against Clear Creek Amana on Thursday and Valley Division boys soccer athlete of the year and team captain Zach Smith, who has been sidelined during the postseason with a knee injury.
“It’s a little hospital here, but you know, we have been through adversity all year and we have a deep roster,” Hadzic said. “There are some other guys that are waiting to step up and play well for us.”
