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Cedar Rapids Xavier has no regrets after girls’ state soccer loss to 2-time defending champion DCG
Mustangs score 4 goals in first half to get back to the Class 2A semifinals
DES MOINES — The Saints battled for 80 minutes.
Ultimately, it wasn’t enough to take down the two-time defending state champions.
Fourth-ranked Dallas Center-Grimes (16-3) defeated seventh-rated Cedar Rapids Xavier (9-5), 4-1, Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the Class 2A Iowa high school girls’ soccer tournament at Cownie Soccer Park.
The Mustangs jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first half, but Xavier held them scoreless in the second.
“(The effort) was courageous,” Saints Coach Jacob Johnson said. “We left it all out there, nothing to think back on and regret. We battled well as a team.”
DCG’s Landry Glasgow broke loose in the eighth minute for a goal to give the Mustangs an early lead.
The Saints responded as Resse Komenda scored on a headed rebound after a Macie Herting shot bounced off the top of the crossbar, tying the game at 1-1.
Dallas Center-Grimes then scored three goals in the final 17 minutes of the opening period.
“It’s a little bit of a hole to dig,” Johnson said. “Hard to come back from, but we’re a resilient group. To make them go scoreless in the second half just shows the pride that they have in themselves.
“I couldn’t be more proud.”
The Mustangs will take on No. 12 North Scott in Thursday’s semifinals. The Lancers upset No. 3 Waverly-Shell Rock on Tuesday, 2-1.
Xavier’s 18th trip to the state tournament had a difficult ending, but fortunately a young core of Herting, Komenda and keeper Lani Kunz can return next season.
“I’m excited (about the 2025 season),” Johnson said. “I mean, we’ve shared conference titles the last two years playing in the Mississippi Valley, which is pretty tough. And each year, we’re kind of peaking at the right times.
“The seniors are going to be hard to replace, but we do have a ton of girls who have been getting experience since their freshman year.”
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