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.
