Omaha World Herald 1st Rd at State May 17, 2003

Lincoln East 2, Columbus 0

Class A defending state champion Lincoln East scored a pair of second-half goals to turn back upset-minded Columbus.

East's second-half rally eased Coach Jeff Hoham's halftime worries but still didn't leave the second-year boss happy.

"Not to take anything away from Columbus, but we didn't do the basic things we need to do to win," Hoham said.

East's defense recorded its ninth shutout of the season and allowed the Discoverers just three shots on goal. The Spartans took 20 shots.

"Defensively, we played smart," Hoham said. "We stuck to our zone package and gave (Columbus) very few opportunities. Because of that, we were able to be in the position we were in to finish with one or two goals."

Justin Lightner, who was moved inside to a forward from outside midfield at halftime, headed in the match's first goal at the 59:16 mark. The Spartans added an insurance goal at 75:54 when Nick Zalewski dropped a shot over Columbus goalkeeper Ben Busboom, who had pulled out from the goal.

"Justin made me look smart, and that was good ingenuity on the part of Nick, seeing what he was given as the keeper had come too far out and simply chipping it over his head into the back of the net," Hoham said. "That's very good for a sophomore in his first full season of varsity soccer."

The loss was the third straight first-round setback for the Discoverers, who made their fourth state appearance.

Lincoln East (15-1).........................0 2-2

Columbus (12-5).........................0 0-0

• Goals: 1, LE, Justin Lightner (Steve Gogela), 59:16; 2, Nick Zalewski, 75:54.

Omaha World Herald -May 19, 2003

Lincoln East-2 Millard West-1--State Semi-Final Game

A penalty kick at 61:28 by Lincoln East's Steve Gogela at 61:28 snapped a 1-1 tie.

"These cardiac kids are keeping my heart pumping," East Coach Jeff Hoham said. "We didn't panic. We stuck with our game plan."

The Spartans trailed 1-0 at halftime as No. 6 Millard West took an early lead on Jeff Stewardson's 13th goal of the season, off an assist by Josh Klym, at the 8:08 mark.

East tied the match at 48:06 when James Kurasawa scored after a corner kick from Mike Johnson rolled down the side of teammate Justin Lightner and landed directly in front of Millard West's goal. Kurasawa kicked into the right side of the net for the score.

"I was in the right place at the right time," Kurasawa said. "I was just hoping for a deflection and it couldn't have been any more perfect. I don't know how it bounced off Justin, but luckily, it bounced right to me."

The corner kick gave East a situation Hoham was hoping for as he and his staff mapped out strategy before the match. According to Hoham, part of that strategy came from watching Westside and Millard West in a first round game on Saturday. Millard West goal keeper Nick Onken played Saturday and Monday with 30 stitches in his left knee as a result of an injury in the Wildcats' final district match.

"After we watched their game against Westside it became very obvious to us that (Millard West) would struggle with corners," Hoham said. "We talked about the lack of mobility in their keeper. Because of the right leg he wasn't going to be able to move well when he pushed to his left. As a result of that, we planned to get as many corners as we could."

The Spartans had only one corner kick in the first half, but they took advantage of their first try in the second half.

"We got that corner and that's exactly what we wanted," Hoham said. "The ball bounced around a little bit and James was right where he needed to be and put it in the back of the net."

Gogela's penalty kick came after Millard West was called for tripping inside the goal box. The senior midfielder sent the ball past Onken into the left side of the net for the game-winning goal.

"We seemed to score that first goal then sit back," Millard West Coach Ron Beernink said. "That's kind of hard to coach out of kids that they need to keep pressing. We got a nice goal then got back on our heels a little bit and East took over and controlled things for long periods of time."

Lincoln East (16-1).........................0 2-2

Millard West (14-6).........................1 0-1

• Goals - 1, MW, Jeff Stewardson (Josh Klym), 8:08. 2, LE, James Kurasawa (Justin Lightner), 48:06. 3, LE, Steve Gogela, PK, 61:28.

 May 21, 2003

Nearly perfect game boosts Jays past East for title

BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star

Omaha Creighton Prep boys soccer coach Jim Swanson knew what it would take to get a ball past Lincoln East keeper Joel Bergt.

"We knew we'd have to have perfect shots to beat him," Swanson said, "and we had two perfect shots."

They came 15 minutes apart in the second half, and they lifted the top-ranked Junior Jays to their sixth state soccer championship Wednesday night before an estimated 3,200 fans at Seacrest Field.

The 2-1 victory in the Class A final avenged last week's district finals loss to fourth-ranked Lincoln East (16-2).

Creighton Prep (15-1) is 6-0 in state championship matches. East, the defending state champion, lost for the first time in four finals appearances.

"I don't really look at it like we lost anything tonight. I look at it like we gave ourselves a chance to win," East coach Jeff Hoham said. "You can't ask anything more out of players than to give everything they've got, and they did that tonight."

The Junior Jays, though, used an athletic goal from Ryan Ellis in the 54th minute to break a scoreless tie and gain momentum.

Ellis, on an assist from Mike Bragg, turned and drilled a shot from 25 yards into the upper left corner of the net.

"That shot by Ellis was just outrageously great," Hoham said. "You've got to give them credit. We thought we were playing really well, and he buries that shot into the upper 90. That's about as good as shot as you can get."

East came close to answering Prep's goal less than a minute later, but Jason Pickerel's shot hit the crossbar and bounced over the goal.

Things got tougher for East when Prep sophomore forward Mike Stillmock lofted a shot from about 15 yards in the 69th minute for a two-goal advantage.

"He's the best scorer in the state," Swanson said of Stillmock. "I have no doubt about it. He's a legitimate goal scorer."

Hoham gave credit to Prep for playing a smart game.

"Excellent, excellent coaching," he said, "and phenomenal shots."

The Spartans were shorthanded when they scored their only goal in the 75th minute. Derek Dickman left the game with a red card shortly after Prep's second goal, meaning East played with only 10 players the rest of the game.

Still, Mike Johnson, on an assist from James Kurasawa, was able to hit a ball across the box that deflected off the inner part of the goal and into the back of the net.

"We pushed everybody up, pretty much," Hoham said. "We went from a flat four to a three, and then really just two backers."

That goal, though, was one of only three shots East had in the second half. For the match, Creighton Prep outshot East 10-7.

"I thought they had a very smart game plan in that their defenders were all over the back of our forwards from moment one," Hoham said. "As a result, that was very difficult for us to get a touch up there and generate an attack.

"Sometimes, that's just the way it works out. We outshot them in the first half and just didn't get a break."

Published Thursday

May 22, 2003

Junior Jays edge Lincoln East for title

BY DARYL BLUE

WORLD-HERALD BUREAU

Nebraska State Soccer Tourney - 5/21/2003

LINCOLN - A pair of blue-bodied Omaha Creighton Prep students hoisted Jim Swanson to their shoulders Wednesday night at Seacrest Field.

When they finally put him down, some of their blue paint found its way onto the clothes of Prep's first-year soccer coach. It was OK with Swanson. Life was good and on Wednesday night, so were the Junior Jays.

Creighton Prep won its third boys state soccer title in five years with a 2-1 win over Lincoln East before an estimated 3,200 at Seacrest Field.

The Junior Jays took a 1-0 lead at the 53:18 mark on a shot from 25 yards out by Ryan Ellis. They then added what turned out to be a needed insurance goal at 68:49 from sophomore Mike Stillmock.

The defending state champion Spartans, who played the final 11 minutes one player short following a major penalty call, clawed their way to within a goal at 74:28 when Mike Johnson scored from 15 yards out on the right side.

"That was one heck of a game," East Coach Jeff Hoham said. "We pushed everyone up, and Mike Johnson made a great shot. He's a great athlete."

For Prep's Swanson, the Junior Jays' ability to score on East goal keeper Joel Bergt was nothing short of perfection.

"Our big hope was to beat the trap and get a breakaway on them, which we didn't quite do - although we pushed up enough when Ryan made that beautiful turn and hit that incredible shot," Swanson said. "That wasn't the way we diagrammed it, but it was a great individual play."

Swanson wasn't sure who made the pass to Ellis, but when he found out it was Mike Bragg, it didn't surprise him.

"We have 17 seniors, they know each other and they know what they're doing," Swanson said. "These guys have played together for years."

Stillmock, who left the game with about six minutes left with what could be a dislocated shoulder, earned the praise of his coach for the third straight tournament game.

"He's the real deal," Swanson said. "He's such a natural goal scorer. To take a ball like he did tonight, out of the air and get enough speed on it to score is an unbelievable effort. We thought it might take a couple of perfect shots to score on Joel Bergt, and that's what we got - two perfect shots."

East made the final six minutes of the match more than interesting. The Spartans saw one shot bounce off the crossbar, and another was cleared out when it appeared as if an East player was in position to tie the score with a shot from 15 yards away in front of the goal.

"We played with a ton of heart tonight," Hoham said. "Give credit to Creighton Prep. They had excellent coaching and they had some phenomenal shots by 14 (Ellis) and 9 (Stillmock)."

Creighton Prep (15-1).........................0 2-2

Lincoln East (16-2).........................0 1-1

• Goals: 1, CP, Ryan Ellis (Mike Bragg), 53:18; 2, CP, Mike Stillmock, 68:49. 3, LE, Mike Johnson (James Kurasawa), 74:28. A: 3,200 (est.).

 June 1, 2003

East Coach Shows Class

Sunday Journal Star Sports Editorials/ Lincoln Journal Star

It is rare to read a sports story that contained such classy and gracious remarks from a sports coach after a very tough loss, but Lincoln East boys soccer coach Jeff Hoham’s comments displayed a deep understanding of why the games are played by the student-athletes. His comments were gracious and classy, East and all of Lincoln are well served by Mr. Hoham.

-Vince Powers, Lincoln