Xavier boys’ soccer seeks ‘excellence’ again

CEDAR RAPIDS - Aristotle has been quoted as saying 'we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

Xavier's boys' soccer team adopted that motto last season and is using it again as the Saints strive to secure a seventh state title.

'As the season went on the team grew closer with every game, no matter the outcome,” sophomore Will Hanigan said about last year's team. 'We became a family and we would have done anything for each other. We pulled together to win the Xavier community as a family.”

Although only a freshman, Hanigan helped the Saints on their road to state by scoring against Adel DeSoto Minburn in a 1-0 victory. Hanigan netted the winning goal against Norwalk in a 3-2 victory that saw the Saints head to the championship, where they beat DeWitt Central.

This spring, the Saints are ranked No. 1 in Class 2A and are 9-4 overall.

'I became involved in soccer when I was four years old and I was pretty bad when I first started out,” Hanigan said. 'I started because my older brother did it and I always wanted to do what my older brother did. When I was younger I would always have to go watch my brother's team play.”

Hanigan also plays for CRSA and is a member of the Olympic Development Program. Several Saints players played for clubs outside of school. Senior captains Mason Hoxie, Connor Ramlo, Luke Koechner and Stephen Jones all played for CRSA.

'For club, I play central attacking midfielder,” Hanigan said. 'For Xavier, I play striker and right wing. I prefer to play central attacking mid, but I like to play anywhere in the attacking half of the field.”

Hanigan was not the only freshman moved up to varsity last season.

'Moving up to varsity was exhilarating but also overwhelming at the same time,” sophomore Thomas Bean said. 'It was a great feeling to play with the older kids. It was cool to play with Will on varsity as a freshman. I have played with Will since sixth grade.”

Bean also brought up the importance of team chemistry and how it can affect a team's performance. Strong leadership also was a reason for the Saints success, not only in mentoring the young players but also being a positive influence off the field.

'The upperclassmen were nice enough, but they treated us like any other freshman,” Bean said. 'We had to set up before games and practices and we also had to pick everything up afterward. The upperclassmen helped us throughout the season by giving us advice on the teams we were playing.”