A passion for soccer

CEDAR RAPIDS - Soccer is, by far, Ellie Fischer's favorite sport.

'I started playing when I was four years old,” said Fischer, a sophomore at Cedar Rapids Xavier. 'I played YMCA for a couple years then moved to a club called Marion Soccer Club. After one year I moved to FC United where I still am now.”

Fischer's club team has been very successful, winning U.S. Club Nationals in Greensboro, N.C., and State Cup in Cedar Rapids. She was surprised both teams made it to the championship and won.

'When my club team won U.S. Club nationals, I was speechless,” she said. 'Coming into the tournament we didn't have any expectations. We were just happy to be there.

'We put everything we had into every game and in the end it paid off.”

Heading into State Cup, her team's only goal was to win. They worked all season for this tournament, hoping to win their first game at the State Cup.

'I have no words to describe the feeling of winning the State Cup title,” Fischer said. 'It finally felt like all the work our team has put in all these years has finally paid off. We proved all the teams wrong that thought we couldn't do it.”

Fischer plays on varsity at Xavier. Their main goal last season was to make it to the state finals again, but their season came to an end in the semifinals.

'When we lost, I felt like we let down so many people,” she said. 'None of us want to feel that way again, which will push us to work that much harder (this) year.”

The Saints will kick off their season Monday in the jamboree at Kingston Stadium.