Metro Madness
The Metro tournament is always one of the craziest times of the soccer season. Halfway through the year, 19 teams put the rest of their schedule on hold to play 5 rounds in 6 days. It’s chaotic, unpredictable, and almost always delivers on the drama. Naturally, our team had to get in the action and fill out our brackets.
Now the semifinals are here. On the girls’ side, Marian and Elkhorn South face off in one match, while Bellevue West and Papio La Vista South meet in the other. So far the tournament has gone chalk, with all four top seeds advancing, but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been action. Marian’s offense exploded for 7 goals against Omaha Central in the quarterfinals, while on the other end of the spectrum, Papio South ground out a hard-fought 1-0 win over Omaha Westside. Regardless of how they got here, all four teams will be determined to keep their tournament dreams alive a little longer.
On the boys’ side, things have also gone mostly according to plan, with Creighton Prep, Omaha Central, Omaha South, and Papio La Vista South all advancing to the semifinals. Omaha Central was the lone team to pull an upset, advancing as the 5 seed by beating 4 seed Papio in a dramatic shootout, highlighted by their goalkeeper stopping all three of Papio’s attempts. They’ll face Creighton Prep in the next round, the defending champions and current title holders, who show no signs of slowing down. The Jr. Jays have won five straight and have yet to lose in regulation this season. Papio South and Omaha South are rolling as well. The Titans in particular have been scorching hot, using an explosive 4-goal first half to advance past Omaha Westside 4-1.
Tune in this evening for four exciting semifinals across both the boys’ and girls’ brackets.
National Rankings
Teams are beginning to establish themselves as the season rolls on, and for some, that means earning recognition on the national stage. The United Soccer Coaches Association releases national high school soccer rankings annually, and in the most recent poll, published April 7th, Nebraska had three boys’ teams ranked in the Top 25.
Papio La Vista South made an impressive showing, cracking the top ten at #8 in the nation. Lincoln Southwest came in at 15th, and Creighton Prep at 19th. In the association’s regional breakdown, Nebraska falls in Region III alongside Utah, Iowa, and Wyoming, where Papio South, Lincoln Southwest, and Creighton Prep are ranked 2nd through 4th respectively. Schuyler also checked in at 8th in the regional poll.
On the girls’ side, one Nebraska school has cracked the national Top 25, a tougher list to land on, as more states participate in girls’ spring soccer. Lincoln Southwest sits at 12th nationally, fueled by a strong undefeated start to the season. In regional play, Nebraska is grouped into Region V alongside Colorado, Wyoming, and Alaska. Lincoln Southwest is ranked 3rd there, with Omaha Marian at 6th and Lincoln Pius X at 8th.
Defense Wins Championships
After digging through team records and results this season, one stat jumped out. Unless I’ve missed someone, Kearney Catholic appears to be the only team in the state that has yet to concede a goal. The Stars have played eight matches, scored 27 goals, and allowed none. Junior goalkeeper Pfeiffer Anderson has been a standout along the back line, averaging an impressive 4.3 saves per game.
With tough matchups on the horizon this week against Scotus Catholic and North Platte, Kearney Catholic will have a real chance to test their perfect record and find out if they can keep the clean sheets coming.