Nebraska 2015 boys and girls soccer championship match capsules

Alec Foltz's controversial red card in a 3-1 Nebraska Class B boys soccer state semifinal win over Lexington did little to crush the defense of Scotus (Columbus) in the 2014 state soccer championship.

Noah Schacher simply picked up the offensive slack in Foltz's championship game absence, scoring two goals, and Evan Chohon supplied some clutch goal-stuffing in the 3-0 Shamrock triumph over Skutt Catholic (Omaha) (13-5).

"It was all over social media," Scotus coach Jonathan Brezenski said of Foltz's red card. "The pictures refuted it. There wasn't even a foul called on the play. No foul, no play.

"This win is definitely up there. I'd say it's in the top five. Maybe the top three. It has to be up there just because of the outside things and what was on the line. We repeated as a team, the first time a boys soccer team did that at Scotus."

A slow start didn't hinder the title defense. With a scoreless tie at intermission, Brezenski simply instructed his team to listen. Then the Shamrocks (19-3) went out, executed and took the win.

Schacher's first score was assisted by Cole Harrington at 36:47. Then he scored again at 14:58 and Jake Bos finished off the SkyHawks with his lone goal about two minutes later.

"We had some great chances to score in the first half," Brezenski said. " We just didn't put the ball away. We then settled down and got back to playing Scotus soccer in the second half."

Class A boys
Millard West (Omaha) 3, Creighton Prep (Omaha) 1

Ron Beernink led Millard West to its second Class A boys soccer championship in 20 years of coaching and then walked away from the game. Beernink retired as Millard West's only boys soccer coach in school history.

Caden Frank gave the Wildcats the lead for good, scoring when he cleaned up a ball in front of the goal. Frank then rounded out the scoring when he chested a ball to the ground and booted it into the net with 12 minutes to play.

Wildcat forward Dan Zapata opened Millard West's scoring when he hit the crossbar and bounded the ball into the goal to answer Creighton Prep senior Michael Korbitz's game-opening goal in the 26th minute.

Class A Girls
Millard West (Omaha) 2, Marian (Omaha) 1 (Shootout)

Megan Merkel squeezed a shot by Omaha Marian goalkeeper Mckenzie Meola to take an early 1-0 lead in this battle of powerhouse soccer programs. But Madeline Wright took a pass from Susie Dineen and answered for the Crusaders.

Mackenzie Coons, just a freshman, then booted the game winner in the fifth round of a 4-2 shootout win.

Class B Girls
Elkhorn South 1, Gretna 0

Jessica Dvorak supplied all the offense the Storm needed in breaking the state record for wins in a season with Elkhorn South's 21st triumph against no losses. Dvorak intercepted a Dragon pass just after intermission and found the right side of the net.

Championship coaches
Class A Boys – Millard West, Ron Beernink
Class A Girls – Millard West, Jacque Tevis-Butler
Class B Boys – Columbus Scotus, Jonathan Brezenski
Class B Girls – Elkhorn South, Lindsay Aliano

Leading Goal Scorers
Boys
1. Alec Foltz, Columbus Scotus – 4
2. Kevin Andrade, Lexington – 3
3. Michael Korbitz, Omaha Creighton Prep – 2
3. Connor Tupper, Millard West – 2
3. Caden Frank, Millard West – 2
3. Noah Schacher, Columbus Scotus – 2
3. Adam Gottschalk, Omaha Skutt - 2

Girls
1. Cassie Legband, Elkhorn South – 4
2. Jessie Dvorak, Elkhorn South – 3
3. Bailey Cascio, Millard North – 2
3. McKenzie Buchanan, Millard West – 2
3. Madeline Wright, Omaha Marian – 2
3. Bella Arkfeld, Gretna – 2
3. Cece Limongi, Elkhorn South – 2
3. Caitlin Rerucha, Omaha Skutt - 2

They said it:

"Worlds of Fun doesn't have a roller coaster like that," Omaha Creighton Prep boys soccer coach Tom Hoover told the Lincoln Journal Star after his squad had to ride out the ups and downs they faced before earning a wild card berth to the Nebraska Class A boys state soccer tournament.

"I was just thinking this is me; I got to get us back in it, and then I know they'll finish their other ones," Sydney Cassalia told the Lincoln Journal Star after Millard West missed its first shootout kick in the Class A girls state soccer championship. "I saved one, and then wanted to save another one to help us win."

"We just wanted to thank our goalkeeper for keeping the shutout," Scotus' Noah Schacher told the Lincoln Journal Star of the Shamrock dogpile on Evan Chohon. "He's been doing a great job this year and he deserved that dogpile, that's for sure."

"A little luck," Millard West girls soccer coach Jacque Tevis-Butler told the Omaha World Herald after the Wildcats secured both the boys and the girls state soccer championships. "Good teams, a little luck."

"We hit bar, we missed by two feet," Omaha Marian girls soccer coach Amy Price told the Omaha World Herald of the Class A girls state championship game's early play. "I thought we played really well. Sometimes it's just not in your favor."

"Finally," Jessie Dvorak told the Omaha World Herald after her Elkhorn South team finished 21-0 and overcame last-second championship losses in 2013 and 2014 to secure the 2015 Class B girls soccer title. "The past couple of years had weighed on us a lot. We'd been hearing it from everyone – other schools, other coaches, other teams. It's been a well-known thing throughout the soccer community. So we've heard all about it, and we were just trying to put it behind us."

"This was a game we wanted," Gretna coach George Behney told the Omaha World Herald. "Unfortunately, we concede a goal on what I felt like was an error on our behalf. But credit to them: They took advantage when we slipped."

"Anytime you do this, it hits you later," Millard West boys soccer coach Ron Beernink told the Omaha World Herald of winning a state championship. "You dream about it. You hope it happens."

"He cleans up a lot of trash," Millard West forward Dan Zapata told the Omaha World Herald of Wildcat forward Caden Frank after he finished off a loose ball for the deciding goal, and added another score later. "He is a big danger up there. He has size. Once he gets going, he's tanking people. No one is going to get in his way. We saw that today."