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Saints lose thriller in state finals

DES MOINES - Less than eight minutes stood between top-seeded Xavier  and a 1-0 victory over the defending Class 2A state champions, but a collision in front of its own goal that involved keeper Owen McCarron would help change those fortunes and lead to a third title in four  years for Norwalk.

The Warriors took advantage of a fallen McCarron to even the score at  1-1 when Kason Crall booted a rebounded ball into an empty net. McCarron couldn’t recover quickly enough as Crall found an open net and didn’t miss from the left wing.

With the score knotted at one, both sides continued fighting for an  elusive title for another 27 minutes, including a pair of overtimes, before Norwalk triumphed 4-1 in a shootout. Krall, Nick Eltjes, Chase Sinclair and Jack Palen notched penalty kick goals, while the Saints were 1-for-3 in the extra session with only Nick Koechner finding the back of the net.

“I knew it would be a hard, close game, and unfortunately for us it ended up this way,” said Xavier Coach Amir Hadzic. “It’s really hard to lose in penalty kicks, especially when we spent so much energy in a game. It’s like finishing a basketball game shooting free throws.”

The late second-half sequence was also tough to stomach for Hadzic’s  senior-laden roster that included veteran forward Luke Duball. The veteran forward’s thoughts echoed those on the Xavier sideline, which felt McCarron was fouled on the game-tying goal.

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Saints top Iowa Falls, eye 8th state title

DES MOINES - The Xavier Saints will be seeking their eighth state  title in school history Saturday afternoon when they face Norwalk in  the championship game of the Class 2A boys state soccer tournament in  Des Moines.

Xavier (14-4) is the No. 1 seed in the tournament. Norwalk (17-4) is  the No. 2 seed and the defending state champions. The championship  match is scheduled for 2:30.

The Saints clipped Iowa Falls/Alden, 4-2, in the semifinals Friday.

Luke Duball and Will Hanigan gave Xavier an early 2-0 lead, but Iowa  Falls superstar Marcos Villa scored twice to pull his team into a 2-2  deadlock at intermission.

All the scoring in the first half came in the first 10 minutes.

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Jackson Joens commits to Upper Iowa

Jackson Joens hopes to help the Xavier Saints win their third state  title in a row next season.

After that, he plans to play college basketball at Upper Iowa  University in Fayette.

Joens, a 6-foot-6 forward, announced Friday that he'll join the  Peacocks for the 2018-19 campaign.

Upper Iowa is an NCAA Division II program that competes in the  Northern Sun Conference. The head coach is former Northern Iowa point  guard Brooks McKowen.

Joens averaged 11.6 points for the Saints last season and led them  with 56 3-pointers. Xavier has won two Class 3A titles in a row.

Xavier baseball team sweeps Waterloo East

The Xavier Saints made quick work of Waterloo East in their  Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader at Ken Charipar Field Friday.

The Saints swept the Trojans, 10-0 and 14-0, in a pair of lopsided  baseball games that were stopped after 4 1/2 innings due to the mercy  rule.

Xavier raised its records to 3-6 overall and 2-2 in the league.  Waterloo East fell to 2-9 overall and 0-4 in the conference.

Bryce Schulte and Will Angstman had three hits for the Saints in the  first game. Ryan Hosch pitched the first three innings for the  victory, allowing two hits with five strikeouts.

Garrett Reis went 3-for-3 with two triples, a double and four RBIs in  the second game. Angstman had two more hits and three RBIs.

Schulte had two hits and pitched three innings for the victory in Game  2. He allowed one hit with five strikeouts.