Published Friday

May 7, 2004

No. 2 Lincoln East sets the tone early vs. Creighton Prep

BY DAVID WORFORD

WORLD-HERALD CORRESPONDENT

Lincoln East didn't want a repeat of Tuesday's close call in the District A-5 boys soccer tournament.

So when the second-ranked Spartans won Thursday's coin flip for the championship match with Omaha Creighton Prep, they chose to start with the stiff north wind at their back, hoping for an immediate spark.

"We said if we won the coin toss we were going to take a shot from midfield," East Coach Jeff Hoham said. "We wanted to set the tone."

They executed that quick shot, but the tone was set some 12 minutes later when Patrick Dingledine finished a perfect cross from Dan Popp for the first strike in a 2-0 win over the Junior Jays at Millard South.

East (14-1) was coming off a 1-0 shootout semifinal win over Bellevue West.

"That Bellevue West game was a wake-up call," East junior defender Corey Zikmund said. "We talked about controlling this game and being the No. 1 or 2 seed at state."

The Spartans did control most of the first half. In the final 27 minutes, they forced Prep goalkeeper Brian Eike to make nine of his 11 saves, the best being a point-blank stop of Dingledine's rebound off Bob Kurasawa's free kick in the 26th minute.

The Spartans scored again in the 49th minute. Sophomore Jake Rocke found a streaking Nick Zalewski, who placed a ball off Eike and the post before finally crossing the line.

The No. 5 Junior Jays had their best chances to put something on the board early in the game. But two free kicks from just outside the penalty box by Michael Stillmock - the first coming in just the second minute when Dominic Marasco was pulled down on a developing breakaway - were knocked safely over the goal by the East defense.

Prep, which finishes its season 10-8, added seven of its nine corner kicks in the opening half but couldn't convert.

Prep Coach Tom Hoover said the corner kicks were "not a reflection of the game."

"We just got some lucky bounces," he said. "They were clearly the better team.

"Playing on your heels, that's been the name of the game for us all season."

With the wind at their back in the second half, the Junior Jays evened the game some, even outshooting East 11-9. But the Spartans never allowed anything too scary as they secured at least a No. 2 seed in next week's state tourney.

"This was a mini-state tournament, I really believe that," Hoham said. "I really feel tremendous the way our team played."

Om. Creighton Prep (10-8).........................0 0-0

Lincoln East (14-1).........................1 1-2

• Goals: 1, LE, Patrick Dingledine (Dan Popp), 12:51; 2, LE, Nick Zalewski (Jake Rocke), 48:30. A: 200.

No. 2-ranked Spartan boys bring it all together in final

BY TODD HENRICHS

OMAHA — If Saturday's first loss of the season didn't have Lincoln East's attention, being shutout in a shootout victory did.

After surviving Tuesday's semifinal game with Bellevue West, the Spartans responded with one of their most complete games of the season Thursday in a 2-0 defeat of Omaha Creighton Prep in the A-5 District boys soccer final played at Millard South.

The second-ranked Spartans ended their scoreless drought with a goal from Pat Dingledine in the 13th minute and then worked hard to preserve their second consecutive shutout of a ranked opponent.

Sophomore goalkeeper Brady Beran made eight saves but as much credit for the shutout went to East's midfielders and defenders who reduced No. 9 Creighton Prep to just one quality scoring chance off eight opportunities at corner kicks in the game.

"I'd rather give up a corner kick than a shot anytime," said junior defender Don Freeman. "We just wanted to play hard on defense, and that early goal helped to take some of the pressure off of us."

East (14-1) advanced to the state tournament beginning May 15, likely as the No. 2 seed behind Millard West, the team that defeated the Spartans in a shootout last week.

That loss, said junior defender Corey Zikmund, reminded the Spartans that they weren't invincible.

"We played really strong today," he said, "and I'm just glad we held up."

East coach Jeff Hoham said it was a "coming of age" for Beran, who turned away two shots by the Junior Jays' Daniel Heck late in the first half. Then in the second half, Beran made the save on a close-range shot by Mike Stillmock, one of Prep's leading scorers.

East, meanwhile, converted on its best scoring chances. Precise passing by Daniel Popp and others set up Dingledine's goal, a bounding shot that nestled into the right corner of the net. The Spartans went up 2-0 on Nicholas Zalewski's shot that crept just across the goal line in the 49th minute.

"We really felt like we were overdue," said Hoham, noting that the Spartans worked hard on attacking in Wednesday's practice. "That first one was a pretty goal. There were four one-touch passes and for Pat to finish it like that, it was perfect. You execute that in practice, but when you do that in a game, that's great."

Creighton Prep, which beat East in last year's state final, now must earn a wildcard or miss the state tournament for the first time since 1996. The Junior Jays (10-8) began the season 2-4.

East extended its string of state-tournament appearances to 12. The Spartans won titles in 1996, 1997 and 2002.