Published Thursday

May 18, 2006

Spartans cap undefeated season with title

BY STU POSPISIL

Nebraska Class A Soccer Finals - May 17, 2006

If someday there's soccer lore in Nebraska high schools, they can bring up the Lincoln East connection of Maaloo to Rocke to Stacy.

Lincoln East's Badum Maaloo shields Millard South's David Mueller from the ball.

That's the path the winning goal took Wednesday night - in the final minute of the match - to give Class A its first undefeated state championship boys soccer team.

Badum Maaloo centered the ball to Jake Rocke. He passed back to fellow midfielder Taylor Stacy, who put a shot past Millard South goalkeeper Andrew Stothert for the 1-0 victory before an estimated 3,000 at Creighton's Morrison Stadium.

"What a way to cap an undefeated season, burying a goal in the last 30 seconds," Lincoln East coach Jeff Hoham said. "A game like this comes down to who gets a break, and we got one."

Top-ranked Lincoln East (18-0) is Class A's first repeat winner since Omaha Creighton Prep in 1999 and 2000. The Spartans were the third team to get to the Class A finals undefeated. Omaha Burke lost its bid at perfection to Prep in 1989, then returned the favor against Blair five years later.

No. 2 Millard South (14-6), playing in the finals for the first time since 1998, lost to the Spartans for the third time this season.

Stefano D'Adamio, left, and teammate Taylor Stacy celebrate after Lincoln East won the Class A soccer title.

"I want to give Millard South a lot of credit," Hoham said. "That was the best overall complete game I've seen them play in five years."

Stothert and Lincoln East goalkeeper Anthony Reichwaldt were pitching shutouts against some talented midfielders and forwards until the end.

Reichwaldt, a junior, finished with his 10th shutout of the season.

"We hit everything but the net," Patriots coach Jim Cooney said. "Our kids battled. This will be a tough one to swallow."

If there were a regret from Cooney, it was that junior midfielder Caleb Theimer was out of the match with an injury when Stacy scored.

"Caleb got injured in the district final and they scored twice while he was out," Cooney said. "That shows what he means to our team."

Stacy is a junior midfielder who had three goals and seven assists entering the state tournament.

"Going undefeated was on our minds the entire season," he said. "We didn't push for it, but we got it in the end."

Millard South (14-6).........................0 0-0

Lincoln East (18-0).........................0 1-1

Ä Goal: 1, LE, Taylor Stacy (Jake Rocke), 79:33.

East boys complete perfect soccer season

Thursday, May 18, 2006 - 12:11:23 am CDT

Taylor Stacy scored the winning goal with less than a minute left in the game Wednesday to make Lincoln East the first undefeated champion in Class A boys soccer.

BY BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON/Lincoln Journal Star

OMAHA — As soccer goes, this was a buzzer beater.

May Madness found its way to Morrison Stadium on Wednesday night, as Lincoln East junior Taylor Stacy buried a shot in the net with 26.8 seconds left to win a state title.

≥By golly, we used almost all 80 minutes didnπt we?≤ Spartans coach Jeff Hoham said as East students rushed the field.

You arenπt supposed to win soccer championships like this. Then again, you arenπt supposed to go undefeated in Class A boys soccer.

No one had ä until now. With Stacyπs goal, East claimed a 1-0 win over Millard South and became the first Class A boys team to go through a season perfect — finishing a shining 18-0. It was also a repeat state title and the East boys programπs fifth.

Stacy hardly could make the words come out after the game he was so excited.

≥Best goal of the season,≤ he said. ≥I canπt even ä best goal of the career. I canπt even put it into words how good it felt.≤

The goal came to be after Eastπs Badum Maaloo sent a cross into the box. Teammate Jake Rocke got a head in it. Someone from Millard South tried to clear it but the ball came right out to Stacy, sitting at the top of the box.

≥I saw the ball come out, saw the back of the net, finished like a champ, finished the way coach taught us,≤ Stacy said.

Millard South goalkeeper Andrew Stothert made a game dive for the ball, but it was well placed, just inside the post.

East students, who came by the droves to see both their girls and boys teams go for state titles, jumped over one another in the stands.

≥What a way to cap a dream season,≤ said Hoham, whose teams have now won three state titles under his direction. ≥This team, theyπre charmed.≤

Hoham also called them the most unselfish team heπs had in 20 years of coaching high school sports.

For most of the year, the Spartans had dominated foes, never trailing once all season. But on Wednesday, Millard South was every bit their equal.

≥We gave Lincoln East the best game theyπve had all year, I guarantee you that,≤ Millard South coach Jim Cooney said. ≥Lincoln East is an unbelievable team, they are so good, they are so talented, and theyπre still kind of young, which is the scary thing.≤

Millard South already had played East twice prior to the title game. The Spartans had owned a clear advantage in both — winning the first 5-0 and the second 3-2.

In the title game, however, it could be argued that Millard South (14-6) had even better chances to score.

In the 11th minute, East goalkeeper Anthony Reichwaldt had to make a one-on-one save on Millard Southπs Caleb Theimer. In the 43rd, Michael Trogdon hit a shot off the crossbar.

But as the game progressed, Hoham sensed his team had a conditioning edge.

≥I just kept smiling at these guys,≤ he said, ≥because I thought well, their teamπs awfully tired. Weπve worn Millard South down.≤

While Hoham was feeling good about a potential overtime, one of his players was not.

≥I was exhausted,≤ Rocke said. ≥I thought I was going to fall over.≤

He fell over, all right. He fell over Stacy in a mob scene after the goal.

Hoham said it was the most exciting finish heπs been a part of as a high school coach. And as his players went about a post-game hugfest, he recalled a team conversation from earlier in the season.

≥The kids were like, åHey, coach, you think we can go through undefeated?π All I said was, åWhy not? Why not?π≤