3 defending champions among area boys’ soccer teams poised for state returns

Last season three area teams swept the boys' soccer championships. Dyersville Beckman (1A), Cedar Rapids Xavier (2A) and Linn-Mar (3A) not only won last year but were cloaked in high expectations this season.

Saturday's substate finals present these three and other area teams with perhaps the most pressure-filled games of the high-school season.

Beckman (18-0) hasn't lost for two seasons and has a 36-game winning streak that includes this year's 3-2 win over Xavier in the Catholic schools tournament. The defense, which has surrendered just six goals, has been just as stout as last year's.

Last year Xavier lost two regular-season games. This season the Saints are 14-4 after playing the usual rigorous 3A-dominated schedule. The mantle of the defending champions hasn't been a burden. The emphasis was not on repeating but improving and developing versatility and depth.

'We have been in this situation before,' Xavier Coach Amir Hadzic said, citing the school's last back-to-back titles in 2010-11.

'Obviously it's a different group of kids, but a lot of kids returned from last year's team. We lost a big group, and we didn't know what to expect. We were a little bit decimated by injuries. But as long as we learn from those losses ... I challenged some of the more successful club players like Luke Duball and Will Hanigan, and they've really stepped up.'

The Saints have won nine of their last 10 games.

Linn-Mar, which returned a majority of starters including Gatorade Player of the Year Leroy Enzugusi, struggled midseason in a couple games, but its record (15-4) is nearly the same as last year's 16-3 mark heading to the substate final.

The Lions are ranked seventh now and were fourth heading into the playoffs last year. They've scored 20 more goals than last year at this time. So while they've had some hiccups, they are on the same path as last year's team.

'It certainly, at least as of late, doesn't feel that we've been as smooth as we can be, but you have to keep a perspective on things and not get too worked up about it,' Linn-Mar Coach Corey Brinkmeyer said. 'We've tried to keep things loose and not talk so much about it. Sometimes we get caught up in looking at rankings and who beat who. None of that matters at this point.'

Aside from the defending champs, top-ranked City High (17-0) must handle the pressure of its perfect record and the conservative tactics that many teams employ in the playoffs. The Little Hawks headed off Pleasant Valley's packed-in alignment in the semifinal.

'When you know that one team is better than you on paper you are going to do what you have to,' City High Coach Jose Fajardo said. 'They do it; I would do it. We have done it.

'It's been like that the whole season. But it is very hard to defend perfectly for 80 minutes. It is very hard.'

Area Substate Finals

CLASS 1A

No. 15 West Liberty (10-6) vs. No. 16 Anamosa (10-6) (at Solon)

No. 9 Benton Community (14-4) at No. 2 Iowa City Regina (13-6)

Postville (10-8) at No. 1 Dyersville Beckman (18-0)

CLASS 2A

Mount Vernon (11-5) at No. 13 DeWitt Central (13-3)

No. 15 Fort Madison (15-1) at No. 2 Cedar Rapids Xavier (14-4)

CLASS 3A

Marshalltown (10-9) at No. 7 Linn-Mar (15-4)

No. 6 Bettendorf (14-2) at No. 3 Iowa City West (16-2)

Davenport Central (14-6) at No. 1 Iowa City High (17-0)

No. 16 Cedar Rapids Prairie (9-8) at No. 10 Cedar Rapids Washington (12-5) (at Kingston Stadium)