“Practice makes perfect” is what every aspiring athlete is told from a young age. This saying applies to the Xavier girls’ soccer team, who, after  several losses to start the season, have started to improve and make progress on the quality of their play. Beginning the season with losses against Dowling Catholic, Linn Mar, Prairie, and North Scott, the team have notched two wins in succession against Iowa City High and Dubuque Wahlert. A team with a mix of experience and youth is always expected to take a period to gel together. Xavier has five seniors starting, but on the other side of the coin, have three freshman starting, and a large amount of underclassmen playing significant minutes.

“We are working better as a team with a lot of new players this year. Our team chemistry is starting to show on the field, and we are hoping for a winning season from here on out,” senior forward/midfielder Elena Minor said. “Our goals still remain making state and continuing the great tradition that Xavier girls’ soccer has in Iowa.”

The senior class, many of who have played varsity since they were freshman or sophomores, has yet to win a state title. The program’s last title came in 2013, the year before they arrived at Xavier. The Xavier girls’ soccer program’s widely known streak of eight straight state titles from 2006 to 2013 is now a thing of the past in the minds of the Xavier community. The senior class is ready for a state title, and many of the underclassmen can see how much they want that at practice, and would love to help deliver that come June.

“Having watched the seniors the past two years, I can really see how much they want to win this year. We are working very hard every practice to get better as a team,” sophomore forward Quinn Hanigan said. “The senior class has helped me adjust to the team the past two years, and all of the underclassmen want nothing more than to win them a state title.”

The Xavier girls continued their season with a home game against Cedar Rapids Jefferson on May 1. They play May 4 against Dubuque Senior in Dubuque. They hope to keep getting better as a team and make it back to the state tournament: this time to win.

William Hanigan

Sports Writer