Xavier Boys Soccer

No. 2 Xavier boys kick North Scott

Luke Duball collected two goals and three assists Saturday as the  Xavier Saints blanked North Scott, 6-0, in a boys soccer match at  Xavier.

The Saints, who are ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, raised their record to  4-2. North Scott fell to 4-8.

Thomas Bean, Michael Glaven, Jon Jacobi and Brian Lang scored goals  for Xavier. Bean, Justin Schneider and Shane Scott had assists.

Nolan Dostal and Quinn Miller shared time in goal for Xavier. Both keepers made one save in the shutout. They were subbing for Owen McCarron, who was injured in Xavier's last match against Prairie.

Xavier boys nicked by Prairie Hawks

The Xavier boys soccer team was clinging to a 2-1 lead over the Prairie Hawks Thursday when Xavier goalkeeper Owen McCarron collided with a Prairie forward and had to be carried off the field.

The Prairie Hawks scored two goals in the next few minutes and topped the Saints, 3-2, in a Mississippi Valley Conference match at Xavier.

Prairie, which is ranked No. 4 in Class 3A, raised its perfect record  to 9-0. Xavier, which is ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, fell to 3-2 with its second tough loss in a row.

The Saints lost at Linn-Mar Tuesday night in a PK shootout.

Andrew Russell gave Prairie a 1-0 lead Thursday, but Matt Been connected from long range for Xavier to square the match at 1-1.

The Saints took a 2-1 lead in the second half when Nick Koechner converted a penalty kick after Luke Duball had been fouled.

Russell scored his second goal on an assist from Mateaus to tie the match, 2-2, shortly after McCarron was injured and left the field. Lewis booted the game-winner on a free kick a few minutes later for the Hawks.

Saints drop thriller to Lions

The Xavier boys soccer team was short-handed Tuesday night with two of its top players unable to play against Linn-Mar, but there was nothing short-handed about their spirit and determination.

The Saints fell to the Lions, 2-1, in a marathon PK shootout that took nine players to decide at Linn-Mar Stadium.

Xavier is ranked No. 2 in Class 2A and Linn-Mar is ranked No. 16 in  Class 3A, but there wasn't much difference between the two Mississippi Valley Conference powers on a drizzly night in Marion.

Thomas Bean, who leads the Saints in scoring, had to serve a one-game suspension after receiving a red card in Xavier's last match against Cedar Rapids Washington when he said something to a friend on the Washington team that apparently was misinterpreted by an official.

Will Hannigan, the No. 3 scorer for the Saints, missed the match with an injury suffered last week against Iowa City West, taking another top player off the field.

The Saints simply shuffled a few players around and came within a whisker of winning the match.

"We stretched as much as we could in the game," said Xaiver Coach Amir Hadzic. "We had as many open looks as Linn-Mar had. Too bad those  shots - Luke's particularly - didn't go in. That's a hard deal."

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No. 2 Saints boot No. 2 Warriors in thriller

Xavier captain Luke Duball scored with 37 seconds left Tuesday as the  Saints trimmed the Washington Warriors, 2-1, in a battle of state soccer powers at Xavier.

Xavier (3-0) is ranked No. 2 in Class 2A and Washington (3-1) is  ranked No. 2 in Class 3A.

The Warriors took an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Brooks Papendick. Duball, who switched to forward, countered with eight minutes left in  the first half to forge a 1-1 tie.

Xavier goalkeeper Owen McCarron stopped a one-on-one opportunity by  Washington with about two minutes left in the game.

The Saints quickly countered and got the ball to Duball, who eluded  two Washington defenders and fired a rocket into the upper-left corner  of the goal for the victory.