Xavier Boys Soccer

Saints open title defense at home

Kennedy, Washington, Xavier and Marion all received byes in the first round of the boys substate tournament pairings released Friday by the Iowa High School Athletic Association.

The substate tournaments in Class 3A and Class 2A start on May 23. Semifinals are May 25 and finals May 28.

Kennedy, Jefferson and Prairie are in Class 3A substate #3. Prairie plays at Waterloo East at 5 p.m. and Jefferson hosts Marshalltown at 6:30 p.m. at Kingston Stadium in first-round games May 23. In the May 25 semifinals, the winner of the Prairie game will play at Cedar Falls and the winner of the Jefferson game will play Kennedy at Kingston Stadium. The substate final is May 28 at Kingston.

Washington and Linn-Mar are in Class 3A substate #4. Linn-Mar hosts Western Dubuque in the first round. The winner of that game will play in the semifinals at Waterloo West. Washington will host the winner of the Dubuque Hempstead/Dubuque Senior game at Kingston Stadium on May 25 at 5 p.m.  The championship game is May 28 at Kingston Stadium at 10 a.m.

Defending state champion Xavier and Marion are in Class 2A substate #3. Xavier will host either DeWitt Central or Anamosa. Marion will host either Maquoketa or Marion. Both games are May 25 at 5 p.m. The championship game is May 28 at Xavier at 12 p.m.

The state tournament is June 2-4 at Cownie Soccer Park in Des Moines.  Eight teams qualify in each of three classes.

Class 3A

Substate #3

Mon., May 23
First Round
Marshalltown vs. CR Jefferson at Kingston Stadium, 6:30 p.m.
CR Prairie at Waterloo East, 5 p.m.

Wed., May 25
Semifinals
Jefferson/Marshalltown winner vs. CR Kennedy at Kingston Stadium, 7 p.m.
Prairie/Waterloo East winner at Cedar Falls, 7 p.m.

Sat., May 28
Finals
Semifinal winners at Kingston Stadium, 12 p.m.

Substate #4

Mon., May 23
First Round
Dubuque Hempstead at Dubuque Senior, 5 p.m.
Western Dubuque at Linn-Mar, 6:30 p.m.

Wed., May 25
Hempstead/Senior winner vs. CR Washington at Kingston Stadium, 5 p.m.
Linn-Mar/Western Dubuque winner at Waterloo West, 5 p.m.

Sat., May 28
Semifinal winners at Kingston Stadium, 10 a.m.

Class 2A

Substate #3

Mon., May 23
First Round
DeWitt Central at Anamosa, 6:30 p.m.
Maquoketa at Mount Vernon, 5 p.m.

Wed., May 25
Semifinals
DeWitt Central/Anamosa winner at CR Xavier, 5 p.m.
Maquoketa/Mount Vernon winner at Marion, 5 p.m.

Sat., May 28
Semifinal winners at Xavier, 12 p.m.

Gilmer's hat trick leads No. 1 Saints

Chad Gilmer scored three goals, all in the second half, and Xavier rallied past Waterloo West, 4-2, Tuesday in a Mississippi Valley Conference boys soccer game at Xavier.

Class 2A No. 1 Xavier (11-1-1, 10-1 MVC) rallied twice from deficits.

Class 3A No. 13 West (9-7, 5-6 MVC) held a 1-0 lead at halftime on a goal by Haris Hadzalic in the 10th minute.

Gilmer's first goal came in the 47th minute off a corner kick.

West reclaimed the lead in the 52nd minute on a goal by Alen Kajtezovic.

Gilmer's goal off a crossing pass from Colin Gunn in the 58th minute tied the game. Gilmer broke the tie with a goal in the 62nd minute and Chris Kapfer completed the scoring with a goal in the 68th minute.

Xavier 4, Waterloo West 2

Goals -- WW: Haris Hadzalic, Alen Kajtezovic; CRX: Chad Gilmer 3, Chris Kapfer. Assists -- CRX: Zach Smith 2, Colin Gunn, Alex Haag.

Xavier tops Kennedy in OT thriller

It took 94 minutes for somebody to score Friday night when Xavier and Kennedy met in a boys soccer match at Kennedy.

That "somebody" was Josh Steffensmier, and he gave Xavier a 1-0 victory in double-overtime.

Neither team scored during 80 minutes of regulation, and neither team scored during 10 minutes of the first overtime. Finally, the Saints got it done with six minutes left in the second OT.

Michael Tessmer got the winning play started, Zach Smith tapped the ball to Steffensmier and Steffensmier delivered.

Nathan Even made seven saves for the Saints, who are top-ranked in Class 2A at 10-1-1 overall and 9-1 in the Mississippi Valley Conference. Kennedy, ranked No. 6 in Class 3A, dropped to 8-4, 5-3.

Xavier 1, Kennedy 0 (2OT)

Goals -- CRX: Josh Steffensmeier. Assists -- CRX: Michael Tessmer.

Smith's 2 goals send Saints past Hempstead

DUBUQUE -- Zach Smith scored two goals Thursday to help Xavier defeat Dubuque Hempstead, 6-1, in a Mississippi Valley Conference soccer match in Dubuque.

Michael Tessmer, Chad Gilmer, Alex Ries and Keane Haase had one goal apiece for Xavier.

Tessmer, Gilmer and Tommy Bales all had two assists for the Saints (9-1-1, 8-1). Tim Bouchard also had an assist.