East earns another state berth

By BRENT C. WAGNER / Lincoln Journal Star

Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 10:44:24 pm CDT

It was a three-part season for the Lincoln East boys soccer team that is back to the usual spot: The Spartans have qualified for the state tournament for the 17th straight season.

Without the luxury of a great season to make a wild-card berth to state a possibility, East scored two first-half goals and beat Millard North 2-1 in the A-5 District championship Thursday at Seacrest Field. The state tournament parings will be released today.

Both East goals were scored by sophomores on corner kicks. Kyle Nowka had the first goal, and Dillon Wagner the second.

Millard North pulled to within 2-1 early in the second half with Mitchell Kussπ blazing shot that hit the cross bar and bounced in. The unranked-Mustangs (8-7) had several more scoring threats throughout the match, but East held tough.

The season started slow for one of the most successful programs in state history. East was 0-3 after losses to top-10 teams Grand Island, Lincoln Southwest and Omaha Westside.

The No. 8 Spartans (12-6) followed that with a nine-game winning streak that put East in position to be a top-seed for districts. During the third part of the season, East stumbled into district play with losses to Millard South and Millard West before beating Lincoln High and Millard North in districts.

Despite the early losses, senior Cameron Meter never felt Eastπs long streak of making state was in jeopardy.

≥We just decided we arenπt going to let our season go like this, and we turned it around,≤ Meter said.

Meter had a front-row seat for Nowkaπs goal 27 minutes into the match on a textbook corner kick. Aaron Bulow lofted his kick toward the goal and Nowka booted the ball into the far side of the net without the ball having touched the ground.

≥Kyle just flipped it on goal with his left foot and there was nothing the goalie could do,≤ Meter said.

East took a 2-0 lead on Wagnerπs goal off a corner kick late in the first half.

The Spartans arenπt a tall team and had scored only two goals on corner kicks before Thursday. East finished on its opportunities in its biggest game.

≥There are two kinds of goals in soccer,≤ East coach Jeff Hoham said. ≥There are very lucky goals, and very good goals. Those were both very good goals. When you finish on things you execute you feel a lot better than saying a ball bounced in off somebodyπs leg.≤

While it was a unique season for Hoham, he always felt his team could play with anybody. The biggest improvement has been in the midfield, Hoham said.

≥Weπre starting to pass with two touches, and thatπs a huge factor in our success,≤ he said.