Xavier grabs soccer gold again with 2-0 victory

DES MOINES - This one was for the seniors. Courtesy of a freshman.

Isaac Frisch scored a pair of goals seven minutes apart in the first half as Cedar Rapids Xavier won the Class 2A boys' state soccer championship Saturday at Cownie Park, 2-0, over Dubuque Wahlert.

It's Xavier's fourth soccer title but first since 2006. That was the end of a three-peat.

You can call this a “long” drought ended. Maybe more importantly, it's a huge weight off an entire class's shoulders.

“We came here our freshmen year and lost in the (semifinals) with probably the best team Xavier has ever had. That's tough to do,” said senior Clayton Lynch, the goalkeeper on this 2A all-tournament team. “But now we've come back here our senior year and gotten it done. So it's good.”

Xavier was unbeaten when it lost in penalty kicks to Norwalk back in 2008. As Lynch said, not that it matters now.

“Ever since then, this group of seniors we have now have been working just for this moment, just for this reason,” said all-tournament captain Charlie Bales, who was lifted on some shoulders and feated by teammates as part of the postgame celebration. “It's just huge.”

As was Frisch.

Going into the state tournament, he had played all of one varsity game. But his fourth appearance with the Big Saints was a big one.

He converted a through ball from Josh Steffensmeier in the penalty box into Xavier's first goal with 11:01 left in the first half. With 3:45 remaining in the half, he stuck his leg out and deflected a loose ball past Wahlert keeper Ryan Ernst.

Frisch didn't play in Xavier's 4-3 regular-season victory over Wahlert. The secret weapon.

“(He) was a surprise for them,” said Xavier Coach Amir Hadzic. “They probably didn't know who he was.”

“I never thought about this (happening),” Frisch said. “I'm so grateful that this happened. Helping out these seniors, giving them a state title.”

Maybe it was all in the hair for Frisch. He sported a Mohawk for the game, given to him by Bales after Xavier's 5-0 semifinal win Friday over Siousx City Heelan.

Just about every Saints player had a unique hairdo of some sort.

“Pretty nice,” Frisch said. “I love it. I might keep it after this.”

Decorah won the 2A consolation game with a 4-0 shellacking of Heelan. The Vikings finished their season 18-2, with both losses coming to Wahlert (16-3).

That included Friday's 2-1 semifinal loss.Here's a short interview with Lynch: