Previewing an upcoming season is never an easy task. To do so properly takes countless hours of emails, observations, statistical research, conversation, and reflection. Adding onto that difficulty are challenges, such as a cancelled 2020 season and lingering COVID restrictions, making our preview preparation feel almost impossible.

Despite these obstacles, the approaching 2021 season and its participants – whether that be players, coaches, fans, or families – deserve some semblance of normalcy. Soccer in Nebraska and all those who participate deserve to be promoted. Over the course of the next several weeks, NEST will overview EVERY high school soccer program in our state. This was done to the best of our ability using all of the information we could collect.

Nebraska Soccer Talk is here to support many fantastic teams, coaches, players, fans, and referees that make our game possible. One mission of this venture is to discover and centralize newsworthy information. This can only be done in collaboration with individual programs. As a whole, our sport must better promote itself in order to grow the player and supporter pool. We encourage every team to proudly and consistently advertise itself to us and the general public. The more information available, the more our game will grow. Soccer is a game historically left behind to linger in the background in the United States. That circumstance is changing, but that change will not happen automatically. Growing and covering all aspects of our sport will take effort from all of those who love it.

Disclaimer – To prepare for these articles, a questionnaire was sent to every school’s head coach and athletic director. Many of these questionnaires were returned in a timely fashion, others were not. Nebraska Soccer Talk prides itself on equal and in-depth coverage but cooperation is needed to meet that goal. Please consider this to be our reasoning when it comes to article length and accuracy.

Millard South

Head Coach – Shon Mosser

Previous Records

Players to Watch – Grace Henry

State Status – Front Runner, Contender, Dark Horse, Up-And-Coming, Building, Too Early To Tell

NEST Analysis – Who will finally give recognition to an under the radar but competitive and consistent program? We will. Millard South should be receiving more respect on the state stage. Look for that to be proven yet again in 2021. Teams like Millard South are the exact reasons why we were motivated to create Nebraska Soccer Talk. They help grow the game inside the state of Nebraska. Recent enrollment and athletic success patterns suggest that Millard South is beginning to establish a place at the soccer table. Could the Patriots be the next breakout team from Millard? This region of the Metro is sneakily becoming a hotbed of soccer talent. Grace Henry is the more notable name on the team sheet but others are sure to arise throughout the year. Millard South is a Team on the Verge in our preseason rankings.

Thank you for reading and being a part of our new community. A like, share, comment or recommendation of content would be greatly appreciated. In order to financially support our efforts, sponsorship/partnership opportunities have become available. Sponsors will receive vast exposure to the Nebraska soccer community through different media avenues. The sponsorship process is easy and reasonable.

Contact us on our website or email @ nebraskasoccertalk@gmail.com.

Connect with us on Twitter, Instagram, or listen to our podcast on Spotify.

Chace Hutchison

Although it is rarely covered by the traditional media giants of the state, Nebraska is filled with exciting and competitive collegiate soccer programs. In fact, Nebraska contains a grand total of THIRTY programs for men and women. Those thirty programs compete across a wide variety of collegiate levels including Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, and junior college.

Nebraska Soccer Talk is here to examine, cover, and promote all of these teams. This task has been made a bit more challenging by the circumstances created by COVID-19. Depending on the playing level, conference, and school, the season outlook changes drastically. Roster information can also be in flux, depending on the school. Despite these challenges, our staff attempted to put together the best program summaries possible. To our knowledge, we are the only outlet providing such coverage to our state’s college programs.

Just like Nebraska Soccer Talk, this column will grow and become more in depth as the years pass. In the future, we hope to provide sideline coverage of games, facility features, coach and player interviews. We look forward to the journey ahead. Thank you for being a part of our community. The sport of soccer is growing in Nebraska, and we intend to see it thrive.

Disclaimer – In the making of this article, team websites and other research sources were utilized. Although we attempt to avoid them whenever possible, errors can occur. Please contact us directly with corrections.

Hastings College

Head Coach – Jade Ovendale

Assistant Coaches – Bruno Moreira & James Westfield

Mascot – Broncos

Nebraska Homegrown Players On Roster – 

• #3 Rilee Silvain – Fr – Omaha Marian – D
• #5 Katie Heller – Fr – Lincoln East – D
• #6 Hunter Reeves – Jr – Gretna High – F
• #8 Mackenzie McNeel – Fr – Elkhorn South – D
• #17 Ayden Ridder – Fr – Bennington – M
• #20 Miley Prine – Fr – Bennington – F
• #25 Eva Dunker – Fr – Blair – M
• #27 Kelsey Peterson – So – Omaha Roncalli – D
• #30 Sofia Gomez-Garcia – Fr – Columbus – M
• #32 Carolyn Hopkins – Sr – Lincoln East – D
• #34 Lancy Siefken – Fr – Papillion-La Vista South – F

11/31 = 35%

NEST Analysis – Hastings is a highly successful Nebraska based program that has elevated the sport with its wonderful showing on a yearly basis. With so many collegiate women’s programs within our borders, it can be difficult to rise above a crowded field. However, Hastings College has distanced itself from the field. Even better, this success has been accomplished with some of the best homegrown talent Nebraska has to offer. As of right now, 35% of the roster is made up of Nebrakans. The Broncos consistently find talent that fits their culture and buys into the program’s standard. Even more impressive is the fact that the head coaching position is rotating regularly. Credit must be given to the athletic department for seemingly always hitting a home run with their hires. Coach Ovendale is the latest to hold the post and have major success. The season has the Broncos in title contention yet again.

Thank you for reading and being a part of our new community. A like, share, comment or recommendation of content would be greatly appreciated. In order to financially support our efforts, sponsorship/partnership opportunities have become available. Sponsors will receive vast exposure to the Nebraska soccer community through multiple different media avenues. The sponsorship process is easy and reasonable.

Contact us on our website or email @ nebraskasoccertalk@gmail.com.

Connect with us on Twitter, Instagram, or listen to our podcast on Spotify.

Chace Hutchison

Although it is rarely covered by the traditional media giants of the state, Nebraska is filled with exciting and competitive collegiate soccer programs. In fact, Nebraska contains a grand total of THIRTY programs for men and women. Those thirty programs compete across a wide variety of collegiate levels including Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, and junior college.

Nebraska Soccer Talk is here to examine, cover, and promote all of these teams. This task has been made a bit more challenging by the circumstances created by COVID-19. Depending on the playing level, conference, and school, the season outlook changes drastically. Roster information can also be in flux, depending on the school. Despite these challenges, our staff attempted to put together the best program summaries possible. To our knowledge, we are the only outlet providing such coverage to our state’s college programs.

Just like Nebraska Soccer Talk, this column will grow and become more in depth as the years pass. In the future, we hope to provide sideline coverage of games, facility features, coach and player interviews. We look forward to the journey ahead. Thank you for being a part of our community. The sport of soccer is growing in Nebraska, and we intend to see it thrive.

Disclaimer – In the making of this article, team websites and other research sources were utilized. Although we attempt to avoid them whenever possible, errors can occur. Please contact us directly with corrections.

Nebraska Wesleyan University

Head Coach – Brandon Bonilla

2020 will be Bonilla’s third year with NWU after compiling a 15-16-4 record in his first two seasons as head coach. This is Bonilla’s first opportunity to run a program after gaining assistant experience across the Division I level at Texas A&M, Houston, and Nebraska-Lincoln.

Assistant Coaches – Scott Sheffield, Steve Pointon

Mascot – Prairie Wolves

Nebraska Homegrown Players On Roster – 14/20 = 70%

NEST Analysis – The Prairie Wolves program will attempt to turn its on-field direction around this season. This is a Nebraska heavy roster that we hope finds success in the near future. Their overall record has been declining gradually, much of that being due to conference play. The primary goal of any program is to compete for conference titles, and that should be NWU’s first focus. One point of optimism is the overall age of the roster is very young. With time to learn and grow, the Wolves could see a quick turnaround. 

Thank you for reading and being a part of our new community. A like, share, comment or recommendation of content would be greatly appreciated. In order to financially support our efforts, sponsorship/partnership opportunities have become available. Sponsors will receive vast exposure to the Nebraska soccer community through multiple different media avenues. The sponsorship process is easy and reasonable.

Contact us on our website or email @ nebraskasoccertalk@gmail.com.

Connect with us on Twitter, Instagram, or listen to our podcast on Spotify.

Chace Hutchison

Previewing an upcoming season is never an easy task. To do so properly takes countless hours of emails, observations, statistical research, conversation, and reflection. Adding onto that difficulty are challenges, such as a cancelled 2020 season and lingering COVID restrictions, making our preview preparation feel almost impossible.

Despite these obstacles, the approaching 2021 season and its participants – whether that be players, coaches, fans, or families – deserve some semblance of normalcy. Soccer in Nebraska and all those who participate deserve to be promoted. Over the course of the next several weeks, NEST will overview EVERY high school soccer program in our state. This was done to the best of our ability using all of the information we could collect.

Nebraska Soccer Talk is here to support many fantastic teams, coaches, players, fans, and referees that make our game possible. One mission of this venture is to discover and centralize newsworthy information. This can only be done in collaboration with individual programs. As a whole, our sport must better promote itself in order to grow the player and supporter pool. We encourage every team to proudly and consistently advertise itself to us and the general public. The more information available, the more our game will grow. Soccer is a game historically left behind to linger in the background in the United States. That circumstance is changing, but that change will not happen automatically. Growing and covering all aspects of our sport will take effort from all of those who love it.

Disclaimer – To prepare for these articles, a questionnaire was sent to every school’s head coach and athletic director. Many of these questionnaires were returned in a timely fashion, others were not. Nebraska Soccer Talk prides itself on equal and in-depth coverage but cooperation is needed to meet that goal. Please consider this to be our reasoning when it comes to article length and accuracy.

Lincoln East

Head Coach Info – Emily Mathews

Previous Records

Players to Watch

• Haley Peterson – University of Nebraska-Lincoln soccer signee
• Briley Hill – University of Nebraska-Lincoln soccer signee
• Annie Mulder – Kansas State University soccer commit
• Olivia Kugler

State Status – Front Runner, Contender, Dark Horse, Up-And-Coming, Building, Too Early To Tell

Previous Season Accomplishments – 2019 Class A State Semi-Finalists

NEST Analysis – Coach Mathews should be incredibly excited about her team’s prospects in 2021. This is a program that has been building and all of that work has been aimed towards this upcoming year. It appears that a “golden generation” type of situation is taking place within the Lincoln East program. A returning triple threat of Haley Peterson, Briley Hill, and Annie Mulder have the Spartans poised for a momentous campaign. All three of those talented players are committed to play for high level Division I programs. Even though Class A was a difficult field to choose from due to the fact there are many talented players and teams throughout the state this year, Lincoln East claims the top spot in the NEST pre-season rankings. The Spartans will begin the season ranked #1 in Class A, and they are considered to be the favorites for the state title. High expectations can be a blessing and a curse for any program. Challenges will surface, but the best teams are able to overcome those obstacles.

Thank you for reading and being a part of our new community. A like, share, comment or recommendation of content would be greatly appreciated. In order to financially support our efforts, sponsorship/partnership opportunities have become available. Sponsors will receive vast exposure to the Nebraska soccer community through different media avenues. The sponsorship process is easy and reasonable.

Contact us on our website or email @ nebraskasoccertalk@gmail.com.

Connect with us on Twitter, Instagram, or listen to our podcast on Spotify.

Chace Hutchison

Previewing an upcoming season is never an easy task. To do so properly takes countless hours of emails, observations, statistical research, conversation, and reflection. Adding onto that difficulty are challenges, such as a cancelled 2020 season and lingering COVID restrictions, making our preview preparation feel almost impossible. 

Despite these obstacles, the approaching 2021 season and its participants – whether that be players, coaches, fans, or families – deserve some semblance of normalcy. Soccer in Nebraska and all those who participate deserve to be promoted. In the following article series, we will reveal our Pre-season Top 10 rankings for the 2021 season. 

This poll was developed while considering many different factors including program track records, recommendations from coaches, and roster strength. With that being said, much of this is subjective and opinions can vary. The rankings will be updated on bi-weekly basis. To the best of our ability, these rankings will reflect the reality of the soccer environment. Adjustments will be made as the season progresses and many conversations will take place. We look forward to those discussions. At season’s end, we will look back to review these preseason rankings. What did we get right? Where did we go wrong? Which team surprised us all? 

Also including in each article is a section title Teams on the Verge. These teams ranked just outside our Top 10 but are considered to be in contention. The rankings are fluid and flexible, any team could quickly enter our Top 10 list.

Class A Boy’s Pre-Season List

1. Creighton Prep
2. Omaha South
3. Gretna
4. Lincoln Southwest 
5. Papillion-La Vista South
6. Papillion-La Vista
7. Kearney
8. Grand Island
9. Lincoln East
10. Omaha Bryan

Teams on the Verge: Omaha Burke, Lincoln High, Millard West, Elkhorn South, Omaha Central, Millard North, Omaha Westside, Columbus High, North Platte

Thank you for reading and being a part of our new community. A like, share, comment or recommendation of content would be greatly appreciated. In order to financially support our efforts, sponsorship/partnership opportunities have become available. Sponsors will receive vast exposure to the Nebraska soccer community through different media avenues. The sponsorship process is easy and reasonable.

Contact us on our website or email @ nebraskasoccertalk@gmail.com.

Connect with us on Twitter, Instagram, or listen to our podcast on Spotify.

Chace Hutchison

Although it is rarely covered by the traditional media giants of the state, Nebraska is filled with exciting and competitive collegiate soccer programs. In fact, Nebraska contains a grand total of THIRTY programs for men and women. Those thirty programs compete across a wide variety of collegiate levels including Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, and junior college. 

Nebraska Soccer Talk is here to examine, cover, and promote all of these teams. This task has been made a bit more challenging by the circumstances created by COVID-19. Depending on the playing level, conference, and school, the season outlook changes drastically. Roster information can also be in flux, depending on the school. Despite these challenges, our staff attempted to put together the best program summaries possible. To our knowledge, we are the only outlet providing such coverage to our state’s college programs. 

Just like Nebraska Soccer Talk, this column will grow and become more in depth as the years pass. In the future, we hope to provide sideline coverage of games, facility features, coach and player interviews. We look forward to the journey ahead. Thank you for being a part of our community. The sport of soccer is growing in Nebraska, we intend to see it thrive. 

Disclaimer – In the making of this article, team websites and other research sources were utilized. Although we attempt to avoid them whenever possible, errors can occur. Please contact us directly with corrections.

University of Nebraska-Omaha Men’s Soccer

Head Coach – Bob Warming

Warming has a great coaching history in the Big Ten. He is a big-time coach, and UNO is fortunate to have him. Warming took over in 2018, and we can see if his previous success eventually applies to UNO. As of right now, the roster has been overturned with many transfers in the last year, and the honeymoon period is coming to an end. UNO is one of two D1 men’s programs in the state, which automatically makes it a flagship. In order for soccer to grow in Nebraska, the state has to have success at the highest of levels.

Assistant Coaches – Grant Warming, Ugo Tritz

The assistant coaches are relatively inexperienced at this level and are assisted by a close relationship with the head man. Both were successful college players, hopefully it translates into the coaching sphere. Kudos to Warming for giving young coaches a chance – time to prove him right.

Mascot – Mavericks

Nebraska Homegrown Players On Roster – 

• #2 Stevie Siy – Omaha Central – Sr – D
• #6 Ed Gordon – Creighton Prep – Sr – Mid
• #15 Zion Osorio – Lincoln East – So – D
• #16 Mauricio Felix-Alvarado – Omaha South – Fr. – D
• #19 Michael Monico – Gross Catholic – So – Mid
• #24 Gonzalo Ledesma – South Sioux City – R-Sr – D
• #26 Youde (Junior) Noutoua – Creighton Prep – Jr – Mid
• #29 Jonathan Lopez – Millard South – Sr. – Mid

8/24 = 33%

NEST Analysis – There are ten transfers now on the roster – eight of those are from a JuCo or lower level squad. That is a major shake up in a short amount of time for Warming’s squad. Hopefully they are correct in their evaluation process. This is a team that made the NCAA tournament in 2017 which is right where this program should be. That is the expectation, but we will see if year three is when everything clicks.

Thank you for reading and being a part of our new community. A like, share, or recommendation of content would be greatly appreciated. In order to financially support our efforts, sponsorship/partnership opportunities have become available. Sponsors will receive vast exposure to the Nebraska soccer community through multiple different media avenues. The sponsorship process is easy and reasonable.

Contact us on our website or email @ nebraskasoccertalk@gmail.com.

Connect with us on Twitter or listen to our podcast on Spotify.

Chace Hutchison

Previewing an upcoming season is never an easy task. To do so properly takes countless hours of emails, observations, statistical research, conversation, and reflection. Adding onto that difficulty are challenges, such as a cancelled 2020 season and lingering COVID restrictions, making our preview preparation feel almost impossible. 

Despite these obstacles, the approaching 2021 season and its participants – whether that be players, coaches, fans, or families – deserve some semblance of normalcy. Soccer in Nebraska and all those who participate deserve to be promoted. Over the course of four articles, NEST will recognize many outstanding athletes that everyone should look forward to seeing on the pitch. 

This list was put together using several resources such as coach recommendations, past all-state lists, statistical analysis from previous seasons, and observational research. The inclusions vary greatly in terms of location, age, and future plans. The listed athletes live in every corner of the state from Omaha to Scottsbluff. Many have signed or are committed to play soccer at the Division I level, while others are pursuing other interests in the future.

 Even so, there are two traits that all inclusions of the inaugural NEST Players to Watch preview have in common. 

1. Show stopping and jaw dropping ability on the field. 
2. An admirable love for the sport of soccer. With their ability, passion, and outreach, this game will grow; that is the ultimate goal of Nebraska Soccer Talk. 

Without any further delay, part one of this series spotlights Class A Boys. 

A special congratulations to all of the athletes. Your hard work, skill, and dedication deserve to be recognized. Nebraska Soccer Talk will be observing closely as your season and career progress.

Class A Boys

Players are not ranked, instead listed alphabetically by first name.

1. Brayden McPhail
   • High School: Lincoln East
   • Class of 2022
2. Cole Hoppe
   • High School: Bellevue West
   • Class of 2021
3. Cole Lammel
   • High School: Millard South
   • Class of 2021
4. Ian Becerra
   • High School: Lincoln High
   • Class of 2021
5. Ismail Hassan
   • High School: Omaha South
   • Class of 2021
6. Jack Redd
   • High School: Papillion-La Vista South
   • Class of 2021
   • Future Plans: Creighton University soccer signee
7. Javier Baide
   • High School: Grand Island
   • Class of 2022
8. Luis Garci
   • High School: Omaha South
   • Class of 2021
9. Nolan Fuelberth
   • High School: Lincoln Southwest
   • Class of 2021
10. Ryan Brakke
    • High School: Creighton Prep
    • Class of 2021
    • Future Plans: Creighton University soccer signee
11. Schyler Smeby
    • High School: Bellevue East
    • Class of 2022
12. Sebastian Fierro
    • High School: Omaha South
    • Class of 2022
13. Wawa Palga
    • High School: Omaha South
    • Class of 2021

Once again, congratulations to the above athletes for all of their accomplishments. Your future in the game of soccer is incredibly bright. 

Additionally, it must be mentioned that this is not intended to be an all encompassing or complete list. There are a great number of talented soccer players in Nebraska that we have simply not discovered yet. As the 2021 season gets underway, those athletes will be seen and recognized. That is truly the whole point of Nebraska Soccer Talk. 

If you are a soccer player or know of a soccer player that should be on our radar, feel free to contact us. NEST is always looking to cover more soccer and add to our lists.

Thank you for reading and being a part of our new community. A like, share, or recommendation of content would be greatly appreciated.

In order to financially support our efforts, sponsorship/partnership opportunities have become available. Sponsors will receive vast exposure to the Nebraska soccer community through multiple different media avenues. The sponsorship process is easy and reasonable.

Contact us on our website or email @ nebraskasoccertalk@gmail.com.

Connect with us on Twitter or listen to our podcast on Spotify.

Chace Hutchison

Nebraska Soccer Talk is a newly established outlet that has the sole purpose of covering and promoting soccer within the state of Nebraska.

The NEST is a three-person operation that will be doing their best to cover all teams from the Metro to Scottsbluff and everywhere in-between. The authors/volunteers love this sport and have a genuine desire to grow the game throughout the state.

Follow along with our journey on Twitter or give our podcast a listen on Spotify.

This is a true community effort, so please feel free to contribute! Tips and observations are welcome! Let us know who or where NEST should be looking. Leave a comment below or email at nebraskasoccertalk@gmail.com

Chace Hutchison