DES MOINES - Cedar Rapids Kennedy goalkeeper Olivia Weigel has been on the bottom of dogpiles before, so she knew exactly what to do as soon as the Cougars captured the state title at the Class 3A soccer tournament in Des Moines Saturday.

She immediately fell to the ground and covered her head as the entire team rushed toward her end of the field and piled on top of her to begin the celebration after Kennedy whipped No.4 Dubuque Hempstead, 5-2, for the crown.

"They've done that to me multiple times before," said Weigel, delighted with the state title and happy she escaped unharmed. "It's just fun. It's a good way to celebrate."

The Cougars had plenty to celebrate after pulling off one of the most remarkable postseason runs in state history with victories over No. 1 Linn-Mar, No. 2 Bettendorf, No. 6 Waukee and No. 4 Hempstead in four straight games.

"It's amazing," said Carly Langhurst, the captain of the all-tournament team. "We really didn't think we'd get this opportunity, but we knew we could do it."

Kennedy (16-6) dropped its last three games of the regular season, including a 3-1 setback to Hempstead in a Mississippi Valley Conference affair, but the Cougars caught fire in the postseason under interim head coach Scott Myers.

"I don't know what to think. There's no words to describe it," said Annie Feltes, the master of corner kicks. "I'm so proud of my team. We've worked so hard together, we get along so well. It's just amazing."

Kennedy dominated the championship game and was never seriously threatened by Hempstead, which was sporting a 13-game winning streak.

Emily Feltes gave the Cougars a quick 1-0 lead with 35:16 left in the first half on a corner kick from her cousin Annie. Alesha Duccini tied the game for Hempstead, but Kennedy scored the next three goals for a 4-1 bulge.

Alyssa Drewelow scored to make it 2-1 with a nifty assist from Sydney Hayden, who used her quickness and terrific footwork to make it happen. Kennedy made it 3-1 when another perfectly place corner kick by Annie Feltes deflected off a Hempstead player and into the net for an "own goal."

It was 3-1 at halftime and the Cougars were feeling good.

"Forty minutes!" they shouted in unison before taking the field for the final 40 minutes of action.

Anna Frerichs gave Kennedy a 4-1 margin with 14:06 left in the game with an assist from Emily Feltes. Duccini scored again for Hempstead to make it 4-2 with 11:51 left, but it stayed that way until Emily Feltes scored again with 30 seconds remaining.

Myers, who gave the Cougars the freedom to have fun at the state tournament, gave one of the shortest post-game speeches in history.

"I just said, 'Thank you for trusting me,'" he told the girls.

Myers, 35, became the interim head coach in midseason when Andrew McKnight left the team to join the Iowa City Police Department. Myers is no rookie coach, however. He's the women's soccer coach at Coe College and had a plan to make the game as fun as possible for the Cougars.

"I can't be happier," he said. "After 15 years of coaching, this is one of the most memorable moments, because of what we had to do to get here."

The Cougars were not at full strength when they lost to Hempstead two weeks, but they were happy and healthy Saturday. By contrast, three Hempstead players were injured during the match and had to be helped off the field.

Kennedy had 22 players in uniform and Myers used them all, keeping his players fresh and their confidence high. You can use only 11 players at a time in soccer, so Myers employed two full teams in the state finals, including four girls who were promoted from the junior varsity to the varsity for the postseason run.

"He's done an amazing job with us," said Langhurst. "We're a crazy team and he's picked up with it and laughs along with us."

Kennedy won state titles in 2009 and 2012.

"I really believed in our team. I knew we could do it," said Langhurst. "Yeah, we lost those three games before state, but I think that only made it better for us.

"We knew we had to come out strong, but we knew we could do it."

Myers wore the "interim head coach" tag at the state tournament, but he'd like to become Kennedy's regular head coach for next season.

"Absolutely. If they'll let me," he said. "I hope I didn't screw it up too much."

Jordan Holmes, Kaela Dickerman and Weigel joined Langhurst on the all-tournament team.

The Cougars will be honored Sunday at noon in the "Cougar Commons" area at Kennedy High School, between the baseball and softball fields.