Pius X fends off York; Lutheran beats Waverly
OMAHA — It was another of those plays Nate Polak always seems to make.
This one was a pass, though, not a goal. Regardless, it was much needed for Lincoln Pius X, who had yet to get those goals that usually come so easily.
Polak set up Joe Hilger for a goal late in the first half to jump-start the top-ranked Thunderbolts’ 2-0 victory on Friday against York in the first round of the Class B boys state soccer tournament.
Hilger scored his eighth goal of the season with 35 seconds remaining in the first half with a shot from about 10 yards out.
“Nate made another great pass,” Hilger said.
Polak leads Pius X with 17 goals and 13 assists. Luke Votipka scored the Thunderbolts’ other goal four minutes into the second half.
The unranked Dukes (11-9) were better than expected, Thunderbolts senior Marcus Schademann said.
York had one of the best scoring chances early. Midway through the first half, a shot bounced off the right goal post, flirted with crossing the goal line and eventually rolled past the other post.
“How did that not go in?” York coach Rich Saxer said. “I thought it was going in, and it bounced, and I still thought it was going in.”
York avenged previous losses in its final three games to get here. The Thunderbolts had beaten York by three goals earlier in the season.
“If we would have beat them it would have been a huge upset,” Saxer said. “Not because we’re that bad — I think we’re pretty good — but they’re just so good.
“They don’t have a weakness.”
Lincoln Lutheran 1, Waverly 0
Walker Agee remains perfect on penalty kicks this season.
Lincoln Lutheran is pretty automatic when it comes to reaching the state semifinals, as well.
Agee scored on a penalty kick 56 minutes into the game. The Warriors were awarded a penalty kick when freshman Isaiah Bockelman was tripped.
On the penalty kick, Agee drilled a line drive to the left corner of the goal.
He’s made three penalty kicks in regulation and two during shootouts this season. None of them were as big as this one.
“It felt amazing,” Agee said.
“At the beginning of the year, I honestly didn’t think we’d be in the semifinals. I thought we’d have a decent team, but I didn’t know we’d make it this far. We had lost a lot of players that helped us out.”
Lutheran faced a tough challenge from Waverly (13-4) but was able to stop the Vikings’ long runs and big-time goal scorers Andrew Bundy and Andrew Palmer.
“We can’t complain about the looks that we had, but soccer is like other sports, where it’s a game of inches,” Waverly coach Dan Jensen said. “But we never had super-clean looks, and they were always there.
“That’s one thing that makes Lincoln Lutheran good. They’re always there."
This one was a pass, though, not a goal. Regardless, it was much needed for Lincoln Pius X, who had yet to get those goals that usually come so easily.
Polak set up Joe Hilger for a goal late in the first half to jump-start the top-ranked Thunderbolts’ 2-0 victory on Friday against York in the first round of the Class B boys state soccer tournament.
Hilger scored his eighth goal of the season with 35 seconds remaining in the first half with a shot from about 10 yards out.
“Nate made another great pass,” Hilger said.
Polak leads Pius X with 17 goals and 13 assists. Luke Votipka scored the Thunderbolts’ other goal four minutes into the second half.
The unranked Dukes (11-9) were better than expected, Thunderbolts senior Marcus Schademann said.
York had one of the best scoring chances early. Midway through the first half, a shot bounced off the right goal post, flirted with crossing the goal line and eventually rolled past the other post.
“How did that not go in?” York coach Rich Saxer said. “I thought it was going in, and it bounced, and I still thought it was going in.”
York avenged previous losses in its final three games to get here. The Thunderbolts had beaten York by three goals earlier in the season.
“If we would have beat them it would have been a huge upset,” Saxer said. “Not because we’re that bad — I think we’re pretty good — but they’re just so good.
“They don’t have a weakness.”
Lincoln Lutheran 1, Waverly 0
Walker Agee remains perfect on penalty kicks this season.
Lincoln Lutheran is pretty automatic when it comes to reaching the state semifinals, as well.
Agee scored on a penalty kick 56 minutes into the game. The Warriors were awarded a penalty kick when freshman Isaiah Bockelman was tripped.
On the penalty kick, Agee drilled a line drive to the left corner of the goal.
He’s made three penalty kicks in regulation and two during shootouts this season. None of them were as big as this one.
“It felt amazing,” Agee said.
“At the beginning of the year, I honestly didn’t think we’d be in the semifinals. I thought we’d have a decent team, but I didn’t know we’d make it this far. We had lost a lot of players that helped us out.”
Lutheran faced a tough challenge from Waverly (13-4) but was able to stop the Vikings’ long runs and big-time goal scorers Andrew Bundy and Andrew Palmer.
“We can’t complain about the looks that we had, but soccer is like other sports, where it’s a game of inches,” Waverly coach Dan Jensen said. “But we never had super-clean looks, and they were always there.
“That’s one thing that makes Lincoln Lutheran good. They’re always there."
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