Xavier gets past stubborn CC-A, 2-0

DES MOINES - They haven't come up with a nickname for themselves, yet, but here's a suggestion. The Hired Gunns.

It's a takeoff on sophomore midfielder Colin Gunn's last name. He's among a group of four or five guys, most of them sophomores, who come in to spell Cedar Rapids Xavier's starters.

"We just try to get momentum off the bench, energy off the bench," said Gunn, whose first half goal helped the defending champion Saints past stubborn Clear Creek-Amana, 2-0, in a Class 2A boys' soccer state tournament quarterfinal Thursday afternoon at Cownie Park. "Give some people who are playing (a lot) a rest, so they can get their energy back."

This was the first go-around at state for CC-A (12-5), and it showed early, as the Clippers had the more spirited of the play. But Xavier (15-2-1) has a lot of depth and eventually wore down their underdog opponent.

Gunn took a pass at the top of the penalty box from Chad Gilmer and drilled a shot off the inside of the right goal post and past CC-A goalkeeper Joe Weldon in the 24th minute.

Tim Bouchard and Gilmer hooked up on a neat give-and-go play off a free kick three minutes into the second half to pretty much put the game away. Xavier sees a familiar foe in Friday afternoon's semifinals in Mississippi Valley Conference parochial rival Dubuque Wahlert (10-9-1).

Xavier won the regular-season encounter in penalty kicks.

"It's just a play that we've worked on," Bouchard said of his goal. "Wherever the ball is, wherever the free kick is, depending on the spot of the ball, we can try to do it or not. I was looking forward to playing a cross back in, but the back post was so wide open there, so I tried to place it on the back post. Chad played a beautiful ball, which made is easy."

"I think they came with more fire than we did," said Xavier Coach Amir Hadzic. "It was their first time ... but we hoped that our depth would eventually prevail. It was very important for us to match that intensity, win some 50-50 balls and establish a presence."

Clear Creek-Amana never seriously threatened offensively after its initial thrust. That didn't make their effort - or appearance here - any less sweet.

"We don't have how many ever club-type players," said Coach Tim Benson. "So we've got to play with our hearts. That's what we left out there today. And we played decent soccer, too. It's not that it was all heart.

"We thought we deserved better than an eighth seed, and I think we proved that today. We could give any team in this tournament a run for their money."