Xavier blanks Glenwood, runs win streak to 26

MUSCATINE -- Pretty good was good enough.

More than good enough.

Top-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier dominated Glenwood far more than the 3-0 final tally indicated in a Class 1A quarterfinal at the girls' state soccer tournament Thursday afternoon at the Muscatine Soccer Complex, running its winning streak to 26 games.

At one point late in the game, the four-time defending state champion Saints (20-0) had taken 15 shots, compared to one for Glenwood (13-5).

The first half was a lot of opportunities, not a lot of conversions.

"We came out sluggish, but we had a good halftime talk," said Annie Dale. "We stepped up and got our heads in the game."

Dale's header found the net, 7 minutes into the second half, giving the Saints some breathing room at 2-0. That enabled Coach Doug Graham to play a lot of reserves a lot of minutes down the stretch.

"It's a long season, so we took it a little easy today," Graham said. "We moved a lot of players around, and a lot of players came in."

The extra freshness for the starters might come in handy in the semifinals; the Saints face No. 4 Sioux City Heelan at 4:15 Friday afternoon.

Heelan (18-3) pasted Davenport Assumption, 9-1, Thursday.

"I think (the rest) will help," Dale said. "It will make us a little less sore and will let our bodies heal up."

Xavier outshot Glenwood, 10-1, in the first half, but had just a 1-0 lead to show for it.

Lauren Konchar scored from inside the box off a deflection with 23:27 left in the half. Colleen Bouchard was credited with an assist.

Dale's goal -- with an assist from Ali Ungs -- made it 2-0, then a own goal wrapped up the scoring with 6:17 to play.