Dyersville Beckman grabs coveted first state soccer title

DES MOINES - It was the game that wouldn't end. With fatigue sapping the legs of both Dyersville Beckman and Gilbert the Class 1A title game turned into a battle of attrition.

The Blazers' Billy Hoffman knocked in a corner kick from Andy Carton via Dillon Keegan in the second overtime for a 1-0 victory, and Beckman had its first state title in dramatic fashion.

'I don't know who headed it,” Hoffman said. 'It hit off the cross bar and it was just perfect placement. It was total chance. I just hit it left foot. It was a rocket and the goalkeeper couldn't get to it and we won the game.

'I don't know how to explain it. It's just an unbelievable experience having the game-winning goal.”

'I got it with the corner of my head and it goes off the bar and Billy was right there to put it in,” Keegan said. 'It was amazing. I've been crying. The joy is awesome.”

This was Beckman's fifth appearance at state and second title game. It finished second in 2013 and fourth a year ago. The team also finished 18-0.

Coming into the tournament Coach Mirek Laskowski said his team 'had the potential to do good damage,” and indeed it did.

'We've tried for however many years and it always seemed to get right down to the end and we'd never finish,” Hoffman said. 'Finally we have a championship and we can say we've won one, so it's unbelievable.”

Possession was hard to come by. The teams were unable to string together more than a couple passes. The players were loathe to admit it, but fatigue played a big role in the lack of scoring.

One of the key plays in the game was Beckman keeper Trent Westhoff's save of a penalty kick in the first half.

'I've gone through three or four shootouts in my career, so I wasn't too worried,” Westhoff said. 'He gave it away. I'm so used to taking PKs I read him like a book. I went that way and blocked the shot.”

'That was probably a game-changer for us,” Laskowski said.

The Blazers defense was once again top notch. It gave up one goal in the quarterfinal and nothing after that. Jacob Grover, Josh Gehling, Jay Wessels and Cody Goedken were the back four that kept the Tigers at bay.

'They were wonderful,” Laskowski said. 'They always step up; they always play tough.”

As the game wore on it seemed destined for a shootout.

'It was just a huge fight; it was one heck of a battle,” Keegan said. '

'If it went to PKs we were pretty confident,” Hoffman said. 'But everyone was so tired we just wanted to get it over with. I give a lot of credit to Gilbert. They are probably the best team we've played this year.”