Xavier advances to Division 4 state soccer championship game with 1-0 win over Lake Country Lutheran

MILWAUKEE − Ellie Reed is a freshman, but she may have scored the most significant goal in the past 10 years for the Xavier girls soccer program.

The 5-foot-5 midfielder fielded a rebound off a shot attempt and tapped in what proved to be the game-winning goal in Xavier's 1-0 victory over Lake Country Lutheran on June 19 in a WIAA Division 4 state semifinal at Uihlein Soccer Park.

The victory catapults top-seeded Xavier (19-3-1) to the state title match June 21 at 1:30 p.m. They will play either Ozaukee/Random Lake or Washburn.

Reed's goal came in the 61st minute and came off a shot from junior forward Kate Jannette that bounded off the hands of Lake Country Lutheran goalie Rachel Malm and into Reed's possession.

"Pretty much, yeah," Reed said when asked if it was the biggest goal in her life. "(Jannette) had a really good shot and it hit off her hands, so then I just followed it in. We kind of collided and I don't know, I just kicked it in."

Shots on goal were hard to come by for Xavier, so Jannette was ready to take advantage of any clearing in the Lightning defense.

"In a game like this, it's so back and forth so you have to take every chance that you can get," Jannette said. "I had an opening, so I thought I might as well go for it."

Xavier's offense had been prolific heading into the state tournament, scoring 21 goals over the four games in regionals and sectionals.

Fourth-seeded Lake Country Lutheran (9-8-2) was up to the challenge, and never let the Hawks get comfortable on offense. The Lightning held the advantage in shots (13-6) and corner kicks (4-3).

The goal from Reed put Xavier in a good position and the Hawks' defense did the rest. They turned away three late shot attempts by Lake Country Lutheran to preserve the victory and move on to the final.

Xavier coach John Meyer said the team may have been on the fortunate end of some plays in the victory.

"There's no skill involved in being lucky, but they were in the right place at the right time," Meyer said. "(Reed's) a freshman ... she always hustles."

With temperatures expected in the mid-90s for the championship game, Jannette said the team will do what it takes to be prepared for the conditions.

"We're definitely going to have to drink a lot of water and have some electrolytes," she said. "We usually have a team breakfast or dinner before, so we'll probably hold each other accountable during that."

Meyer said he and the team don't worry too much about who they will play in the championship game.

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"You get too caught up on some of that stuff. I know nothing except it's (second seed) against (third seed)," he said. "You know, they can get overloaded with information sometimes. And I'm too old to do that. My brain's only got so much space in there, obviously years of living and coaching people."

Jannette added the team is ready for a shot at another state title, which would be their first since a D2 crown in 2008. The Hawks last were in the state tournament in 2014.

"Obviously we want to go for the gold," she said. "We have a pretty young team, so it's an incredible opportunity because we haven't been to state in 11 years, so it would really be amazing to bring it home."

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Wisconsin high school girls soccer: Xavier advances to WIAA title game