Duball's goal sends Saints to state
On the sun-splashed sidelines of the Saints soccer field Saturday afternoon, Xavier Coach Amir Hadzic kept thinking, “Somebody put the ball in the goal.”
At last, in the 55th minute of a scoreless tie, Jerry Duball - the oldest of the three Duball boys on the team - sneaked one past a diving Dubuque Wahlert goal keeper Johnny Klauer from about 10 yards out.
“We were extremely dominant on offense the whole game,” said Saints defensive star Stephen Jones. “We knew it was just a matter of time before we’d score. And Jerry finally did it.”
With the 1-0 substate title, defending Class 2A state champion Xavier returns to the tournament Thursday for the seventh time in Hadzic’s eight years at the helm.
Xavier (9-9) will face Sioux City Heelan (12-3) in the quarterfinals Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at the Cownie Soccer Park in Des Moines. The Saints are seeded No. 8 and Heelan is seeded No. 1.
The Saints have won state titles three of the last four years, losing out in the first round in 2012. And they’ve claimed six state titles overall, one less than only Iowa City West.
Ranked No. 4 in Class 2A, they carry a 9-9 record to Des Moines. But Hadzic said that’s deceiving.
Last Updated on Saturday, 31 May 2014 17:54
