Knights can't hold off Cedar Rapids Xavier's 6-goal surge
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By Jon Gremmels | Friday, June 08, 2007 |
By Jon Gremmels
Quad-City Times
MUSCATINE, Iowa — Three straight trips to the state championship match provides a certain air of confidence, so it’s no wonder it didn’t faze Cedar Rapids Xavier much when it spotted Davenport Assumption a one-goal lead.
“We knew you can’t go a long time without a goal scored on you,” Xavier junior Morgan Showalter said. “You’ve got to work hard to get it back. There’s plenty of time to get it back.”
It didn’t take long for Xavier’s athleticism and soccer skills to take over and for the Saints to take over, too. Showalter scored twice and assisted on another goal, and the top-ranked Saints breezed past the Knights 6-1 on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Iowa girls soccer Class 1A state tournament.
“We thought that lead might give us an advantage, but we didn’t keep it up,” said Erin Gardner, whose forceful header off a perfectly-placed free kick by Erin Fennelly gave Assumption a 1-0 lead less than 3 minutes into the match. “It was definitely the best feeling ever. I’ve always wanted to score in a state-tournament game.
“When they scored, it brought it down.”
The Saints (18-1) didn’t stop at one goal, either. They scored three unassisted goals in the first half on long runs to seize control.
“They work the ball well and let the ball do the work,” Assumption coach Rob Eckert said.
First, Bailey Dorrington, a four-year starter who has played on two state championship teams, broke through the defense and scored in the seventh minute. Colleen Bouchard made it 2-1 only 5 mintues later, dribbling down the right side and weaving through the defense for a goal. Later, junior Morgan Showalter made a long run down the left side, dribbled to the center, worked past a defender and then made a move on goalkeeper Sarah Mainey and scored to make it 3-1.
“We work on our one-on-one skills,” said Showalter, who has 29 goals this season. “They worked hard to get it up to me. I decided to take space since no one was coming up on me. I beat (the defender) and the keeper fell down.”
Suzy Levett (a perfectly-placed header off a Showalter corner kick seconds after Brady Greufe replaced injured Mainey in goal), Showalter (on a free kick from 40 yards out) and Ali Schmitt (on a penalty kick) scored in the second half for Xavier.
Despite the loss, the Knights weren’t hanging their heads after their 9-7 season came to an end.
“Next year, we’re going to be real good,” Fennelly said. “We have only two seniors, and the rest of us are going to be better.”
Jon Gremmels can be contacted at (563) 383-2294 or at jgremmels@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at www.qctimes.com.
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