In the third-ever edition of the Gretna High and Gretna East boys soccer rivalry, the Dragons emerged victorious, controlling possession and limiting any scoring opportunity for the opposition.
Both teams had a shot apiece entering the final five minutes of the first half. In the final stretch of the half, junior midfielder Alex Sowinski found the head of sophomore center back Noah Fulton, who hit the ball across the goal to the top left corner of the net.
“They have a big keeper, obviously, a really good keeper,” Sowinski said. “I knew he would come out big and strong, so I tried to play it more out instead of towards the goal, giving our players time. Either if it’s on target, like Noah had, or if it’s a ball, backpost, the opposite way for someone to pick up.”
Gretna kept their foot on the gas leaving the halftime break.
“I think we did well keeping the ball,” Gretna coach John Cover said. “ We didn’t do it very well in the 1st half. We knew that they were gonna kind of go over the top, kind of pin some balls onto us. We did better keeping it, winning the point of attack, and then just played our style of football.”
In the 49th minute, Sowinski shot the ball to the top center of the goalpost, and freshman striker Nate Thiellen jumped on the rebound and scored the second goal of the game.
Thiellen has scored in each of Gretna’s three wins this season, scoring against then No. 7 Skutt and No. 4 Lexington.
“He creates a lot of opportunities,” Cover said of Thiellen. “He scares the back line when he has the ball. It’s just going to be the same thing from him and (senior striker) EJ (Fulton). EJ has the experience, if EJ can just give a little motivation, a little support, a little information that can pass on to Nate, he’ll be a fantastic player.”
Sowinski, meanwhile, joins the Nebraska high school ranks after competing in Spain and the MLS Next program. Sowinski’s brother, Tommy, scored over 20 goals for Gretna in their 2023 runner-up campaign.
“He wins the 1st and 2nd balls,” Cover said of the younger Sowinski. “ He’s always finding the ball. He keeps it when we need to, and he’s just a fantastic little defender.”
Gretna East struggled to break Gretna’s ranks and only managed to get two chances on goal. The Griffins opened the season with an impressive 3-0 win over last season’s No. 2 seed Hastings. East beat Gretna last season in overtime in the second installment of the rivalry, and Gretna won the first in 2024.
Cover and Sowinski both said the revenge felt good. East’s Graham Johns and Jude Witt have older brothers who won state with Gretna in 2022.
Last season was Gretna’s first in Class B after a brief stint in Class A. The Dragons finished last season with a 7-9 record, missing out on state. This year, Gretna has started its season 3-0, with two ranked wins.
Cover said that nothing has really changed from last year’s team environment, and that going through the adversity last season
The Dragons won the 2022 Class A title and finished second in 2023. This year’s roster features seven younger brothers from the 2022 and 2023 squad, and Gretna’s starting keeper in 2022, Alec Scharff, is this year’s goalie coach. Cover said that the added dynamic has added a depth to the team’s culture.
“They get to represent the school like their brothers before them did. I think that just gives them a little extra passion, and I think I see that with a lot of these guys and they want to win for this program.”
Gretna East faces No. 9 Mount Michael on March 27, and Gretna’s next significant matchup is April 2 against Class A South Sioux City.
Fisher Madsen is a contributor for Nebraska Soccer Talk, currently studying Sports Media at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.