Published
Saturday | May 5, 2007
Prep
soccer: Spartan boys rout Millard South
BY
STEVE BEIDECK
WORLD-HERALD
CORRESPONDENT
Avoiding
one streak of three Friday night kept Lincoln East's hopes alive for the
three-peat the Spartans' soccer team has dreamed of all season.
Taylor
Stacy scored two goals and Jim Ebke - the East quarterback who never played
soccer until this spring - scored the first goal and had the last assist in the
Spartans' 4-0 rout of Millard South in the championship game of the District
A-4 boys soccer tournament.
The
victory not only improved East's record to 14-3, it also gives coach Jeff
Hoham's charges a shot at a third consecutive Class A state championship.
"Three
losses this season is more than we've had in three years," Hoham said.
"We just executed tonight for 60 of those 80 minutes. We kept the ball on
the ground and spread the field."
After
falling to 17-4 and suffering their first loss to East after two regular season
victories, Millard South now has to wait and see if it will earn one of the two
wild cards for the state tournament scheduled to begin May 12 at Creighton's
Morrison Stadium.
"They
had a lot more energy than us tonight," Patriots coach Jim Cooney said.
"We did a poor job of moving the ball through the midfield tonight and I
thought our strikers turned and went forward with the ball too much."
East
started attacking at both ends of the field from the opening whistle and never
let up. Ebke scored the first goal at 14:54 by knocking the ball in with his
head following his own missed shot.
The
Spartans made it 2-0 less than 16 minutes later when Cameron Meter scored what
Hoham said was "the only goal of his life." It came on a scrum at the
top of the goalkeepers box directly in front of the Patriots goal.
Story
then added his two goals in the second half to secure the victory over the
Patriots on their home turf. Senior Alexander Heyl, who had assists on the
second and third goals, said no one associated with the East program wanted
this to be their last match of the season.
"We
knew right off the bat this could have been the last game for our
seniors," Heyl said. "We didn't want to lose this and have to wait
and see what would happen."
Lincoln
East (14-3)...2 2-4
Millard
South (17-4)...0 0-0
At Buell Stadium
Goals: 1, LE, Jim Ebke (Anthony Dingledine), 14:54. 2, LE, Cameron Meter
(Alexander Heyl), 30:33. 3, LE, Taylor Stacy (Heyl), 63:49. 4, LE, Stacy
(Ebke), 70:37.
Spartans
dominate No. 2 Patriots
BY
BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Friday,
May 04, 2007 - 11:06:26 pm CDT
OMAHA
— The personnel changes Lincoln East boys soccer coach Jeff Hoham made
eight days ago are paying dividends at the right time.
The
Class A fourth-ranked Spartans outscored their two A-4 district foes a combined
11-0, with Friday nightıs 4-0 domination of No. 2 Millard South the real
eye-opener.
³Apparently,
the last 72 hours,² Hoham said of his tweaked lineup, ³it seems to be working.²
East
(14-3) can now focus on trying to win its third straight state championship.
Before Fridayıs victory at Buell Stadium, in Millard Southıs backyard, the
Spartans werenıt certain they were guaranteed a wild-card berth. And beating
Millard South — a team East had lost to twice this season — was no
cinch, either.
No
worries. The Spartans scored twice in each half, dominated possession at the
start and had little trouble in handing Millard South its fourth defeat. The
Patriots (17-4) will head to state with a wild card.
³We
came out immediately with what we call high-pressure defense which isnıt
anything uncommon in soccer, but itıs risky,² Hoham said. ³If youıre doing it
against a team as talented as Millard South, you better execute. Fortunately
tonight, we did.
³We
connected on our passes, kept the ball on the ground, spread the field. That
really was the difference tonight.²
As for
the lineup changes, Hoham started freshman Sam Nobbe at stopper, moved senior
Joe Backer from midfielder to central defender and gave significant minutes to
sophomore midfielder Cameron Meter.
Meter
responded by scoring his first career goal — a solid shot from about 10
yards, on an assist from Alexander Heyl. It gave East a 2-0 lead at 30:33.
³The
changes werenıt anything new. We all knew what to expect,² said senior Taylor
Stacy. ³If you work for it and earn it, then youıll get it.²
Senior
forward Jim Ebke, playing his only season of high school soccer, scored first,
at 14:54. Millard South goalkeeper Dan Whithorn batted away an initial shot by
Ebke, but Ebke headed in the deflection with authority. A.J. Dingledine was
credited with an assist.
Millard
South had two first-half goals wiped away because of offside calls.
Stacy
scored twice in the final 20 minutes to finish things for East. He headed in a
corner kick from Heyl at 63:49 and turned and fired from about 20 yards to
score at 70:37, on an assist from Ebke.
Goalkeeper
Anthony Reichwaldt earned the shutout, contributing three key saves in the
second half.
³It
was our strategy to come out very hard and attacking,² Stacy said. ³We knew
itıd be a lot harder to take the pressure right off the bat so we tried to
make them play up to our level instead of theirs.²