Xavier will go for fifth straight girls soccer championship

MUSCATINE - Doug Graham has been waiting for today's England-United States soccer match since the World Cup pairing were announced last December. An Englishman, he owns The Londoner pub and eatery in northeast Cedar Rapids and is expecting a huge crowd to watch ABC's coverage of the big event.

You'll have to forgive him if he shows up a little late to his own party, though, because he's got an earlier commitment. The Cedar Rapids Xavier girls' soccer team he coaches plays this morning at 11 for its fifth consecutive Class 1A state championship.

“I am going to miss my game. What's up with that?” a smiling Graham said after Xavier escaped Sioux City Heelan, 2-1, in a Friday afternoon semifinal. “That's OK. I'll get back as soon as possible.”

With another gold trophy in tow, he and the Saints hope. Xavier (21-0) won its 27th consecutive game, but it took a pretty goal from sophomore Annie Dale at the 67-minute mark to do it.

Lauren Konchar lifted a crossing pass toward the middle of the goal area, with Dale leaping high above everyone to get her head on the ball and direct it home. Konchar had Xavier's first goal early in the first half.

“Me and Annie, we've been playing together for a while,” Konchar said. “So I know she's good in the air. I crossed it, hoping that she was making a run. She was.”

“I think I've had about five (header goals) this year,” Dale said. “I just try and line myself up with it, so I don't hit it backward. Just put my head through (the ball) and try and hit it as hard as I can.”

Xavier plays La Porte City Union (22-0) and prolific sophomore striker Darian Powell in today's finals. Powell scored two more goals, including the game winner with 5:18 left to lift Union to a 3-2 semifinal win over Dallas Center-Grimes.

Powell has five goals in this tournament, 61 this season and 131 in her two-year varsity career.

“She's a great player,” Graham said.

This was an equally topsy turvy game, with Xavier responding favorably after Heelan (18-4) tied it on a Carli Tritz goal midway through the second half. Saints keeper Tori Shepard actually got caught well offline a couple of minutes later but scrambled back and made a diving save of a shot that appeared sure to give Heelan the lead.

Dale scored a couple of minutes after that.

“Once someone scores on us, I think our team just snaps together,” Dale said. “It seems like ‘Wow, we've got to get our heads in this game and finish it.' We were not losing this game. We wanted to go to the final and win it all.”

“We got off to a good start with that (early) goal,” Graham said. “But they kept hanging in there. It was a great game.”

Photos by Brian Ray