Earning an athletic trophy never gets old. Xavier has many
of them, but the Gators always are willing to add another to their collection.
It happened again on Monday (Dec. 29), when XCP captured
ninth place in the 32-team Excalibur Invitational, winning the Guinevere
bracket with a 2-1 victory over Mission Viejo, Calif.
“It was awesome,’’ said Gators coach Barb Chura. “We came
home with some hardware.’’
“It was a tough, very competitive tournament. Back to front,
we played as a team. The quality of the competition definitely will prepare us
for the long haul and get us ready for our own state tournament in Arizona.’’
The Gators were supposed to play Scripps Ranch from the San
Diego area earlier on Monday, but advanced to the bracket final after Scripps
announced that it was going to forfeit.
Xavier opened the tournament on Friday (Dec. 26) with a
shootout win over Mater Dei of Los Angeles, then fell to Buchanan of Fresno
(Calif.) in a shootout. The Gators also
defeated Westview of California in a shootout on Saturday (Dec. 27), setting up
Monday’s games.
Senior Tessa Zaccagnio scored Xavier’s first goal against
Mission Viejo. She scored in all of the
Gators’ games in the tournament. Senior Kendall Ward scored the game-winner
with about five minutes left in regulation.
Chura called Ward’s effort “one of the best goals I’ve
seen.’’
Zaccagnio was named to the All-Tournament Team, quite a
prestigious honor, given the quality of players participating. Chura said the
only other Xavier player to earn that honor was Samantha Bidwill, a 2010
graduate.
“Tessa earned it. She played fantastic all the way
through,’’ Chura said.
Chura added that the Gators “measured up against some of the
best teams out there. It gave us a lot of confidence. We learned what our
strengths really are and what we need to work on. So we will be able to enjoy
this for a little while.’’
Xavier’s next game is Jan. 6 at their Petznick Field home,
against Phoenix Camelback. It will be a 6 p.m. start.
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