Quick Glance at the State Tournament Seeds:

Although #2 Dyersville Beckman may be the odds on favorite due to win the Championship due to their placement in the polls, in the soccer circles the #5 seed Iowa City Regina Regals are the heavy-heavy favorite to repeat as the Class 1A Champion.  Last year’s field was a deep one at the Class 1A State Tournament, and this possibly is the deepest field ever to lace up the boots at the Cownie Park Pitch, as any one of these teams could walk away this Saturday with the Cup.  However it finishes, and hopefully it does very well for the Falcons, it is always nice to see half of your field made up of Catholic Schools.

#1-Columbus Catholic, Waterloo
#8-MOC Floyd Valley
#4-Saint Albert Catholic
#5-Iowa City Regina
#2-Dyserville Beckman
#7-Nevada
#3-Solon
#6-West Liberty

Quick Glance at the Iowa City Regals:
The number #5 seed is the heavy-heavy favorite to win a State Title?  Well, the Regals program has been to 1A futbol over the past decade to what your beloved Falcons has been to 1A football over the past decade.  The Regals are in their 5^th straight State Tournament, and they are aiming for their FOURTH straight State Futbol Title.  That is what we call on the Hill….Tradition.

The Regina Soccer Team comes into the Thursday match with a 15-5-1 record, compared to the Falcons 16-5.  They mirror the Falcons in the fact that they have reloaded for this season after graduating 9 from last year’s State Championship team.  The Regals have stumbled a bit as of late, losing two straight before closing out the Substate with three straight wins, but don’t let that fool you as they have played the best of the best all season long, and faired quite well.  They have notched victories over perennial powers Solon (#3 seed), West Liberty (#6 seed), Iowa Mennonite School of Kalona (ranked very high much of the season), and Davenport Assumption twice (ranked very high much of the season).  The Regals also won a 2-1 dandy over the Falcons back in the middle of April at their own Tournament.  The Regals have lost close matches to both Nevada (#7 seed) and Dyserville Beckman (#2 seed).  As you can tell, the Regals relish playing the best of the best, and fare quite well when doing so.  Sound familiar?

The Regals have 57 goals on the season, which averages to almost three per game.  They have 206 shots on goal.  If you are going to stop the Regals, it all starts and stops with standout Junior, Aaron Schmitz.  Aaron accounts for 27 of the Regals goals this year, which includes all three for the Regals in their Substate Finals victory over Davenport Assumption.  It sounds easy on paper to stop their one man show, but clearly the top notch competition they have faced this year hasn’t figured this out yet either.  Fellow Junior, AJ Adam accounts for 9 goals, and the Regals have seven total players that have scored this year.  Midfielder AJ Lynch is the lone returning Regal All Stater, whom likes to control the action for the Regals, and will assist Schmitz when the opportunity is there.  Compare that to the Falcons, whom have 45 goals on the season, which averages to just over two per game.  The Falcons have had to replace City Player of the Year and All Stater Stevie O’Neill, but they have still managed 237 shots on goal.  Francisco Barajas has 14 goals on the season, and Trae Tietsort and Nate Dunning each have 8 goals on the season.  The Falcons have had a total of nine players find the back of the net on the season.

This year’s Regals plays a lock down defense that allows very few shots on goals, and creates massive opportunities for break away goals for their Forwards.  Aiden Mullen is the goal keeper for the Regals.  In the 21 matches this year, the Regals have given up 19 goals, and have 78 saves on the season.  You read that correctly, which means that the Regals defense is so stout that most teams aren’t even able to get near the box to get a shot on goal.  Not to be outdone on the pride for Defense, compare that to the Falcons, whom have given up only 14 goals this year, and have 249 saves on the season.  Holy Family standout, Brendan Stephany, is the goal keeper for the Falcons, and he has made some miraculous saves for the Falcons.  Seniors Eric Assman, Josh Cochran, Zach Knott, Luke Sneed, and Joe Avey have played stellar defense this year, and arguably the Falcons defense ranks up with the State’s best this year.

Outlook:

What does this all mean?

The Falcons come in heavy in school Tradition.  Put this in perspective….the Falcon Slam.  Over the last year the Falcons have competed in the State Tournament in Soccer (quarterfinalist), Baseball (Semifinalist), Cross Country (State Champions), Football (State Semifinalist), Basketball (Quarterfinalist), Track (7^th Place, and 4x800 State Championship), and Soccer.  The Regals come in heavy in school Tradition as well, and are aiming for their Fourth straight soccer championship.  Will the Regals feel the pressure?  Sure, but expectations are high for both squads, which you expect at Catholic schools.

This should be low scoring and physical match between two very defensive oriented squads.  With a young squad with everything to gain and nothing to lose, look for the Doctor to work his magic.