Senior-led Xavier gets to girls’ state soccer semifinals with help from a freshman and a former teammate

DES MOINES — The seniors gave Cedar Rapids Xavier the lead, a freshman made sure it held up.

Fifth-ranked Xavier got goals from three different seniors and some big saves from freshman Alena Kunz, advancing to the Class 1A girls’ state soccer semifinals with a 3-1 win over No. 4 Spencer in a quarterfinal game Tuesday at Cownie Soccer Park.

The Saints (13-3) will face top-ranked Dallas Center-Grimes (20-0) here at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

Xavier did its damage on corner kicks in the first half. Mary Clare Bean scored the opener in the 19th minute, then, after a Spencer equalizer less than a minute later, Jaleah Klein restored the lead with 10:04 left before the break. Both scorers capitalized on winning second balls after Eden Campbell’s initial deliveries.

“We usually give teams problems with set pieces,” Xavier Coach Chris Higgins said. “Eden’s delivery is fantastic.”

» Photos: Cedar Rapids Xavier vs. Spencer in girls’ state soccer quarterfinals

“People think that I have specific spots where I put it,” Campbell said. “Honestly, I just kick it. My foot does the rest. Coach just tells me to put it in the box. The rest of the team does the work, they put it in the back of the net.”

It still was 2-1 with just 1:32 before halftime when Spencer drew a penalty. Johnson sent her attempt low and to the right, looking for her 58th goal of the season and a game-changing one at that. Instead, Kunz dove, stretched and parried it away.

“Honestly, she was fantastic today,” Higgins said. “She kind of came of age today.”

Give the assist to a 2021 alum. Former all-state goalkeeper Maggie Conrad returned in state tourney prep to give Kunz some pointers after playing at Tennessee Tech in the fall.

“(Kunz) was ready,” Campbell said. “Her training all week basically set her up for this game. It was kind of like a sign from God, honestly, for them to work on PKs for that long and for it to just come right to her. She read that shot and it was an amazing save.”

Kunz again kept the Saints in front by tipping an Addison Hoben free kick over the bar in the second half.

Soon enough, seniors teamed up for the clincher — Mary Kate Moeder scored on a counter-attacking pass from Brielle Bastian with 16:06 to go.

“I think we’re all pretty well-rounded players, and it’s harder for teams because we have so many goal-scorers,” Bean said. “It’s hard to just trap one of us when we have five scorers they need to watch out for.”

Bean and her classmates were freshmen on the 2019 state championship team, with Conrad in goal. By the way, that state tournament started with a quarterfinal win over Spencer.

“We knew we didn’t want this to be our last game,” Bean said of the mindset after Johnson’s goal, “so we knew we had to dig deep, even though it was hotter than what we’ve usually played in.”

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