Metro Sports Report

No.1 Saints trip No.1 Cougars

The boys who play soccer at Xavier and Kennedy pass each other on the way to school in northeast Cedar Rapids every day and they're all entitled to raise their index finger as the No.1 soccer team in Iowa.

The Saints are No.1 in Class 2A and the Cougars are No.1 in Class 3A, but now the Saints are No.1 on 42nd Street.

At least for now.

Isaac Frisch scored midway through the first half and Paul Cavin made a series of acrobatic saves as Xavier handed Kennedy its first loss of the season, 1-0, Friday evening at the Kennedy field.

Armstrong helps Saints kick Cougars

With her top-ranked team trailing Kennedy 1-0 after 40 minutes at home Friday afternoon, Xavier girls soccer coach Bailey Dorrington used it as a teaching tool.

“It’s the first time we’ve been behind at halftime all year,” said the mild-mannered first-year coach. “I told the girls it was a great learning experience and to pretend that we were in the state tournament, where if we lose we’re done.”

The Saints came out on fire after the intermission.

Besides holding the powerful Cougars at bay the rest of the way, they scored four goals in a flurry to win their sixth straight game, 4-1.

Kernels open 4-game lead with sweep

DAVENPORT – It was far from their best effort of the young season, but when the plays needed to be made, the Cedar Rapids Kernels came through.

Dalton Hicks atoned for what could have been a critical error in the bottom of the eighth with a run-scoring double as a part of a two-run 11th inning as the Kernels blanked Quad Cities, 2-0, in the first game of a doubleheader Friday night at Modern Woodmen Park.

The momentum carried over for the Kernels in Game 2.

They scored four runs in the top of the first and cruised to the sweep, taking the seven-inning nightcap, 5-1.

Semler accepts offer from UNI

Kasey Semler's dream has come true.

Semler has accepted an offer to join the University of Northern Iowa basketball team as a preferred walk-on for the 2013-14 campaign with a chance to earn a scholarship after that.

Semler, a 6-foot-1 guard, graduated from Marion High School in 2011 and spent the last two seasons at Kirkwood Community College.