The week of July 22 began a new year for the Saint Xavier Soccer Program. Captains Eric Reid, Aj Chastonay, Spencer Allen, and Clayton Stanbery led the Tigers as they journeyed into the post season.

The beginning of the season led to many questions for Head Coach Andy Schulten. He stated that this team would be very strong and be a top contender for state. Starting preseason, the Tigers knew they would have to work hard to beat the preseason favorite, Collegiate. This held true all the way till the end of the season.

This team was one of the largest teams Coach Schulten has ever put together. He kept 40 players that he believed could be on the team. Throughout the season, Coach Schulten saw camaraderie with every individual player. He loved how this team worked together and got along.

The Tigers participate in the 26th district and 7th region. Key district games include Male and Collegiate. These teams all compete for a top spot in the district tournament. The Tigers topped Male 3-0 in the regular season and dominated Collegiate 5-0. This gave the Tigers a top seed in the tournament. The Tigers also topped rival Trinity Shamrocks 1-0 with a goal by Joel Yann. This was the first win for the Class of 2020 on Trinity’s home field.

During the post season, the Tigers defeated Brown 10-0 and topped Collegiate in penalty kicks to win the district championship. The Tigers dominated Saint Francis in round one of the Regional Tournament 10-0 and won the next game in a convincing fashion over Ballard 4-1. This put the Tigers in the Regional Championship against Collegiate for the second year in a row. Last year, St. X beat the Titans in double overtime to advance to the State Tournament.

This year, the Tigers fell to Collegiate in double overtime. The Tigers went down 3-0 and came back 4-3 late in the second half. The game evened up at 4-4 and this score was taken to overtime. Late in the second half of overtime, Collegiate scored a goal and the Tigers lost the game 4-5. Although the season was cut short, this will be a season to remember for this team.

It was no more than 12 hours after the Regional Championship when Coach Schulten started looking at next years season. He hopes to roster a team of current varsity players and rising juniors as they look to bring the state title back home.