Washington girls upend Xavier again, 1-0

CEDAR RAPIDS - It was swing and a miss initially for Tori Carson. Then it was a home run.“Yeah, I whiffed at first,” the Cedar Rapids Washington forward said about a first-half goal that ended up giving her team a 1-0 win over Cedar Rapids Xavier last night at Kingston Stadium.Carson ran down a long pass from teammate Maddi Hines in the left corner of the penalty box, but missed completely on her initial kick. She recovered, found the ball again at her right foot, turned and fired a perfectly placed grounder that rolled its way past Xavier goalkeeper Sarah Chicchelly and into the far right corner of the net.That was it, as Washington (4-1) defended well enough to hold off the top-ranked, six-time defending Class 2A state champion Saints again. Washington, ranked ninth in 3A, stopped a 35-game Xavier win streak last regular season.“Just to come out here and do it again just felt so good,” said goalkeeper Sophia Malcolm. “Defend our home ground.”Xavier (5-1) had outscored its previous five opponents by a staggering 31-1 margin but found beating Malcolm and defensive-oriented Washington problematic. The Saints had the vast majority of the ball possession, initiated some good chances but could never get the tying goal.Carson scored in the 14th minute.“Sometimes you don't want it so early,” said first-year Wash Coach Chad Hollmer. “I'll sneak in a late one, you know? But we did really well, kept our defensive shape. It's a good win for everyone. We played really well as a team.”“I was ecstatic (about Carson's goal) because we've had issues scoring,” said Malcolm, who would prefer not playing goalkeeper. “When we score, it's just a huge lift for our team. We worked really hard to get the first goal. We know then we just have to settle in and defend.”Washington made it to the state tournament last season but lost a lot of top players to graduation. It appears this is a reload, not rebuild, however.“This means a lot,” Carson said. “Xavier's one of the top opponents we play, so by winning, it just gives us that confidence to keep going.”"I don't want this to be their best game," cautioned Hollmer, whose team plays three more times before the week is out. "I want maybe the state tournament to be our best game. Everyone knows their roles, and collectively we play well together as a team.”