Xavier dominates possession in 1-0 quarterfinal victory

DES MOINES - Xavier's quest for a seventh boys' soccer title will continue thanks to the sneaky feet of freshman Will Hanigan. Of all the shots the Saints mustered against ADM goalie Brett Buscher, only Hanigan's found the net in a 1-0 quarterfinal victory.

The Saints (15-2) advance to play defending champ Norwalk (15-3) in Friday's semifinal at 2:35 p.m. ADM finished 16-5.

Hanigan was part of an offensive attack that came in waves and never quit but left the Saints on the brink of the precipice that is a one-goal game.

His score came in the 17th minute when he found himself in the right corner and he snaked the ball down the end line and curled it into the corner of the near post before Buscher could stop it.

'I just saw the opportunity down the line, and it all opened up for me,” Hanigan said. 'I probably could have crossed it, but I saw the keeper gave me a little bit on the near post so I just put it on the outside of my foot and it went in.”

'We wanted to score first, and we missed some opportunities,” Xavier Coach Amir Hadzic said. 'Fortunately little Will Hanigan played unfreshman-like to score a goal on a big scene.”

Xavier had possession in the Tigers' end of the field for the vast majority of the game.

'Our offense has done a great job all year,” Hanigan said. 'I think we were really unlucky with the chances we didn't take, but all credit goes to ADM's team defense and goalie. They did a great job keeping us out.”

Saints' shots hit the crossbar and the post, and Buscher made himself a real nuisance in front of the net. He even blocked a penalty kick early in the second half by the Saints' Connor Ramlo.

'Soccer is a sport of momentum shifts so I was a little bit concerned,” Hadzic said. 'It was just one of those days when nothing went our way, so I'm really happy we came out on top.

'(Buscher) was phenomenal. He kept them in the game. And I think in 1-0 games like this when a keeper has such a great game I didn't want to go to overtime or shootout because usually those kids kind of shine as the game goes on.”

Xavier's offense was most of its defense, but the defense was effective the few times the Tigers charged.

'We just played a good game,” defender Mason Hoxie said. 'Our midfielders were able to keep it away from us. So our defense didn't have to do that much.

'I was confident. I knew if we played the way we did we could win. They were a good team and they had chances as well, but we were able to get the W.”