Beckman on a state soccer mission

DES MOINES - Is this the year for Dyersville Beckman, the year the Blazers not only make it to the championship game but carry away the hardware?

The Blazers have been knocking on the door. This is their fifth trip, fourth in succession. They've been runners-up (2013) and last season were the top seed before an upset by Mid-Prairie in the semifinal sent them to the consolation round.

'It's tough to predict anything,” Beckman Coach Mirek Laskowski said. 'Because at the state tournament level you get eight teams from all over. Everybody goes for the same purpose, to win the state championship. Can we do that? Probably, yes. It's our fourth trip to the state in a row. We do have the potential to go and do some good damage and get a title.”

Class 1A has been dominated in recent seasons by Iowa City Regina, which has won five of the last six titles. But maybe this is the year for Beckman.

The brief on behalf of the Blazers starts with their 15-0 record and Wamac Conference title. They are seeded No. 1 in the tournament and ranked No. 2, behind Regina, by the Iowa Soccer Coaches Association.

'We've been battled-tested,” senior forward Carter Boekholder said.

'We're really a sound team. We don't have a weak spot on the entire field,” senior Billy Hoffman said. 'We all play as one unit. It's not like we have a weak link. We're all 11 strong links that work together really well.”

Beckman returns an experienced, hungry team that knows the dynamics of tournament play in Des Moines.

The Blazer defense has given up only six goals all season, the fewest of any Class 1A team. One came in an 18-1 blowout. Two each were scored by 2A state qualifiers South Tama and DeWitt Central, both of which Beckman defeated.

'I have to give 100 percent of the credit to the defense,” senior goalie Trent Westhoff said. 'Without them I could be the worst keeper in the state. Jay (Wessels) and Jacob (Grover) in the center and then Josh (Gehling) and Cody (Goedken) on the outside. Jay and Jacob and I have been playing together for a long time. They make my job easy back there. We communicate well together, and that's shown through the stats.”

Wessels and Grover are longtime starters and have helped bring the new guys along.

'They help the two outside guys. It's pretty amazing to watch actually,” Boekholder said.

'They play very well together,” Laskowski said of his defense. 'But again it's the final product. We do have great midfielders; we have great forwards, and everybody works very well as a team.”

Offensively only first-round opponent Danville among 1A teams has scored more goals than Beckman. The Blazers' top scorers - Boekholder, junior Dillon Keegan and Hoffman - have combined for 44 goals and 14 assists.

'We're really balanced, and a lot of that is transition,” Westhoff said. 'We share the ball really well.”

'Mirek really stresses possession, passing, I think that's a big part of it,” Boekholder said. 'Keeping the ball away from the other team. Mirek always talks about wearing the other team down and with our good possession passing we can see it happen on the field. We wear other teams down. We score goals and they get tired and they can't score.”

This is a team that has thrived on drills. 'A lot of drills,” Hoffman said.

'Every practice makes me happy because I can see how we're improving with ball handling, creating space on the field, making the field big for us and small for the opponent,” Laskowski said. 'That's the key in the game. The way we're moving the ball makes me happy.”