by Chris Pfaff, Xavier Sportswriter

In their quest for five State Championships in a row, #3 Xavier Soccer has defeated the #14 Liberty Lions 3-0 in round two after defeating #30 Sandra Day O’Connor by the same score in round one.

The first half gave no indications that this would be a cakewalk; in fact, it predicted quite the opposite. It took the Gators fourteen minutes to score their first goal, and they came up empty handed during the remaining twenty-six minutes of the first half. Xavier led just 1-0 after forty minutes of hard work.

Eleven minutes into the second half, Xavier led 2-0. With thirteen minutes left in the game, a third goal gave the Gators some insurance.

Michal Cagungun scored the first goal from around fifteen yards out as the Liberty goalie ran towards her to “decrease the angle” of attack and give Michal a smaller window through which she could direct her shot at the goal. The smaller window proved adequate.

Dylan Cook punched the ball in from 12 yards out after receiving a well-placed assist from Ally Brown.

Ally scored the second goal. Izzy Lee was awarded a direct kick from over thirty yards away from the net. She lofted the ball to the top of the goal area, eight yards from the goal, where Ally expertly executed a header into the net.

You can watch all three goals in the Highlight video below. Slow motion included.

#3 Xavier advances to Tuesday night’s quarterfinal match-up with the #22 Crismon Rattlers on Xavier Petznick Field. Don’t let the #22 ranking give you the wrong impression. The Rattlers beat #11 Buena 1-0 in round one and #6 Prescott 3-2 in round two. Their defense shows signs of being stingy. Game time is 6:00 pm.

Highlight Video: all three Xavier Goals

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Bonus Coverage: penalty leading to Free Kick AND penalty leading to Yellow Card and Free Kick (slow motion included)