Xavier blows past Mount Pleasant in substate final

CEDAR RAPIDS- As the second half began, it seemed like it was just going to be a matter of time before Thomas Bean scored again.

The Cedar Rapids Xavier junior had sent a penalty kick in the net during the middle of the first period, but with the way the Saints were pressing Mount Pleasant in a Class 2A substate final at home, another goal was almost preordained.

Then, with 27:51 left in the game, he got No. 20 for the season. In a scramble near the box, Bean lightly tapped one past Panthers keeper Nathan Rauenbuehler. It was the final goal of a 4-0 Xavier rout.

'I thought we were a little iffy in the beginning of the game, trying to get used to the opposition,” Bean said. 'I think we kicked it up in the second half.”

After losing on the first day of the tournament last year, there certainly was a bit of a feeling of unfinished business. The Saints soccer program is proud and has a long history. They've won six state titles (the last coming in 2015) and have missed the state tournament exactly once since 2001.

That's dominance personified into a high school soccer team. It should say something that losing in the state tournament is considered something akin to a down season.

On Saturday the fourth-ranked Saints (12-4) showed they're ready for state. Xavier's first goal came less than eight minutes into the game after a full-frontal attack seemed to stun the Panthers (11-8) - a team that certainly isn't anything close to a pushover.

Jon Jacobi put the ball in with a short, easy shot. Bean added the aforementioned penalty kick around 10 minutes later and by then it seemed the game was pretty much over. Mount Pleasant couldn't get any sort of offense going as the ball stayed on its side of the field for most of the game.

Seemingly every time the Panthers cleared the ball, the Saints were right there to jam it back at them. While Mount Pleasant was able to mount a couple of attacks, it never felt like they were going to be able to threaten for a goal, much less the game.

Xavier head coach Amir Hadzic was, of course, more nitpicky.

'It wasn't easy,” Hadzic said. 'They're a quality team, every time we had a chance, they would come back and we missed many opportunities as well. Maybe the score looked a little worse than it should be.”

This was, however, how the Saints wanted to head into state. A physical game to prep them as well as a good chance for Will Hanigan - who has been battling injury throughout the year - to get some quality minutes. They're red hot heading into the tournament, too. After falling to Kennedy 2-0 on May 9, Xavier has won five straight matches by a combined score of 32-2.

The Saints have just one loss to Class 2A competition all year. They might not have another.

l Comments: jordan.hansen@thegazette.com