Lincoln Southwest’s Peyton Held shoots the ball during their game against Lincoln East at Seacrest Field on April 3, 2025. (Photo/Fisher Madsen)
The Lincoln Southwest Silverhawks girls’ soccer team have proven that they’re the top dogs of the Capitol City.
Thursday night, #1 Southwest outlasted the undefeated #2 Lincoln East Spartans in overtime behind a hat trick from junior Peyton Held, each of her three goals coming at crucial points in the game.
East came into the match undefeated led by two D1 college commits in Kate Egget and MaKynlie Cade. Southwest coach Thomas Nettleton said going up against the Spartan attack was like “trying to defend the speed of light.”
“I think it’s rare to see that kind of level in a high school game,” Southwest coach Thomas Nettleton said. “Even the college coaches spared a Thursday night, which is also very rare.”
Held’s first goal came early in the game in the sixth minute. Eight minutes later, East’s MaKynlie Cade found the net to equalize the game.
The teams battled for over an hour before East’s Kate Egget scored with three minutes left in the game.
With less than a minute on the clock, Held put her second ball of the night into the net to even the score.
“I feel like in the beginning (of the season) we weren’t as positive, or we weren’t as gelled as a team as we are right now,” Held said. “But today and (last week at) Marian, we literally just all were working for each other… We were all just embracing the moment.”
In overtime, Held found the net a third time in the 83rd minute to put the Silverhawks up 3-2 and win the match.
“It was the most positive game I think I’ve ever played in my life,” Held said. “Even though we went down, and we tied, and they counter attacked, it was just, it was a really nice game.”
Held said that playing East brought out the character of her team.
“We just all love each other, we want to play for each other,” Held said. “Nettleton always talks about positivity and ‘rise to lift others,’ and that’s what we did on this field. I feel like everybody got a little knocked down on where the goal happened. But there were people. There were leaders on this team.”
The game finished at 10:55 PM, after the previous game at the field ended in overtime.
Gretna East’s Sonora De Fini dribbles the ball during their game at Lincoln Pius X on March 31, 2025. (Photo/Fisher Madsen)
#1 Gretna East 3 – #2 Lincoln Pius X 1
Monday, Gretna East left little doubt that they’re the team to beat in Class B after a dominant win against Pius.
“Pius is a really good team, one of the better ones in Class B,” East coach Chace Hutchinson said. “We stacked our schedule full of quality teams because we wanted a challenge. That’s exactly what they gave us. What this tells us is we are where we probably need to be, we go into games hoping, expecting to win, preparing for that, but we might see Pius down the road, so it was great to see him in the regular season.”
East got on the board nine minutes in off the foot of reigning POTY Sonora De Fini.
“I think it got us to calm down a little bit,” Chace Hutchinson said. “(It’s a)big game, and so it gave us that initial confidence to say, ‘All right, it’s a really good opponent, but we can play our style. We know how to finish.’ Anytime you get an early goal like that just helps you settle into the game a little bit more.”
Four minutes later, Cadence Dobberstien found the net off a corner kick from twin sister Kendall Dobberstien.
A 23rd minute goal from Pius kept things interesting, but Lily Frederick scored in the 29th minute to seal the win for East.
Hutchinson said the scenario was similar to a match earlier in the season against Millard West, but the response from his side was much better.
“We were up 3-0, then they got a corner, and they scored on it,” Hutchinson said. “In the Millard West game, we kind of reacted, not as a veteran team, but as one that felt like, even though we were up by two goals, still we felt like we were down, and our actions and our behavior kind of reflected that. I was really proud of our girls that, instantly we use the word rally, and they did.”
OTHER NOTABLE RESULTS
Gretna East’s Ty Gilliand saves the ball during their home match against Gretna on April 5, 2025. (Photo/Fisher Madsen)
BOYS
Monday
Lincoln Pius 1 – #10 Gretna East 0
Freshman Leo Fulton scored the lone goal of the game for the Thunderbolts. Additionally, the game marked Pius’ first goal against a ranked team all season.
#8 Millard North 3 – #4 Elkhorn South 1
Millard North continues to make their case as a state contender this year under new head coach Jovan Sudar. Connor Robbins and Tin Oo were the scorers for the Mustangs, who have won four straight.
Tuesday
Millard West 2 – Bellevue West 1
In a battle of teams on the cusp of our rankings, Millard West was able to edge out a victory over Bellevue West. Diego Zapata scored both goals for the Wildcats.
#7 Norfolk 2 – #2 Grand Island 1
Isidro Rosas and Vidal Aguirre were the scorers for the Panthers. The Islanders cut the lead to 2-1 in the second half, but the game was called early due to severe weather, giving Norfolk the win.
#5 Papio South 1 – #10 Omaha Central 1 (SO)
Papio South narrowly avoided an upset against Central, who came into the game with just one loss. Morgan Macke scored for the Titans in the first half, and Sidi Adan scored for Central in the second. South went on to win the shootout 5-4.
#5 Skutt 7 – #7 Crete 0
Crete were unable to rise to the challenge of their first ranked matchup of the year, while Skutt earned a statement victory. Ben Schendt scored a hat trick, and four individual Skyhawks had a goal apiece. The game marked the most goals Skutt had scored in a game since May 2023.
#6 Elkhorn North 1 – Roncalli 0
Elkhorn North won their biggest test of the season so far at Roncalli. Zac Keenan scored in the first half, which was enough for the win and to preserve the Wolves’ undefeated season.
Thursday
S. Sioux City 2 – B #8 Gretna 1
While Gretna got out to a 1-0 lead in the second half, the Cardinals topped the young Dragons 2-1. The win was S. Sioux City’s first ranked of the season, helping them find their footing after a 2-3 start.
#7 Norfolk 0 – #2 Lincoln Southwest 0 (SO)
Neither team could earn a goal during regular time or over time, and Norfolk came out with the shootout victory. The match marked Southwest’s standout forward Miguel Solano, who is expected to be out a significant amount of time with a foot injury.
Millard West 2 – #5 Papio South 1
In their second notable result of the week, the Wildcats pulled off the upset against Papio South. West went up early in the game, but the Titans answered just before the end of the first half while playing a man down. West then scored with 12 minutes left in the game to earn the victory.
#1 Bennington 2 – #5 Skutt 1
The top-ranked Badgers survived their first true test of the season against Omaha Skutt. Austin Kaiser opened the scoring in the 31st minutes and added another in the 45th. Skutt added a goal in the 57th minute, but it wasn’t enough for a comeback.
Lincoln Pius 1 – #3 Mt. Michael 1 (SO)
After getting back on track following three early-season losses, Pius topped Mount Michael in a shootout, handing the Knights their first loss of the season.
#3 Omaha South 6 – # 4 Elkhorn South 2
On the road in Elkhorn, the Omaha South Packers scored one goal leading into halftime. Coming out of the break, the Packers put up five more en route to a statement win.
#1 Creighton Prep 4 – #9 Omaha Westside 2
In one of the oldest rivalries in the state, Prep came out on top against an up-and-down Warriors side. Jordan Igwenma scored two for the Junior Jays.
Friday
Kearney 3 – B #9 Schuyler 1
After dropping out of the NEST rankings, the Kearney Bearcats took home their first ranked win of the season in the first round of the inaugural Central Nebraska Cup.
Saturday Scoreboard
B #9 Schuyler 3 – A #6 Grand Island 2
Schuyler rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit to earn the win against Grand Island in the Central Nebraska cup.
#1 Bennington 2 – #3 Mt. Michael 1
After taking down #2 Skutt, the Bennington Badgers also outlasted the #3 team in the state behind goals from Kade Olbrich and Austin Kaiser.
Kearney 1 – B #2 Lexington 1 (SO)
With their win against Lexington, the Bearcats won the inaugural Central Nebraska Cup and showed that they are indeed in state contention.
S. Sioux 3 – #7 Norfolk 0
South Sioux City earned their first statement win of the season in the Norfolk invite after a rocky 1-3 start to their season
S. Sioux 2 – Lincoln Pius X 1
GIRLS SCOREBOARD
Elkhorn South’s Caroline Grainger (left), Gabby Wagenfuhr (1), and emery Grace (11) celebrate a goal during their home match against Westside on April 4, 2025. (Photo/Fisher Madsen)
Monday
#8 Bennington 2 – Elkhorn 2 (SO)
The Badgers were able to out Eastern Midland Conference foe Elkhorn in a shootout. Sophomore Claire Miller scored both goals for Bennington.
Tuesday
Mercy 5 – #10 Duchesne 1
Unranked Mercy also announced their status as state contenders after blowing out last year’s runner-up. Audrey Bush scored three for the Monarchs, and four of the Monarchs’ five goals came in the first half.
Omaha Westside 1 – #3 Bellevue West 0
After pulling off upsets against Duchesne and Marian, Bellevue West was on the other end of an upset against Westside. The win was the Warriors’ first of the year.
#6 Papio LaVista 2 – #7 Millard North 1
#8 Elkhorn South 4 – #10 Millard West 1
Thursday
#4 Columbus Scotus 3 – #8 Gretna 1
#4 Marian 2 – #10 Millard West 0
Friday
#3 Bellevue West 4 – Millard South 2
After their upset loss against Westside, the Thunderbirds won the Omaha Central tournament against Millard South. After a 2-2 first half, West scored two in the second half to pull away. Freshman Josie Ryan had a hat trick.
#8 Elkhorn South 3 – Westside 0
Saturday
#4 Marian 4 – #2 Lincoln East 2
After a 2-2 start to the season, Marian showed they still have every intention of winning the state title after defeating Lincoln East. Sophomore Skylar Farley scored a brace for the Crusaders, and the two other goals of the game were scored by underclassmen.
A #5 Kearney 2 – B #3 Skutt 0
Kearney won their second ranked matchup of the year to win the Central Nebraska Cup. Molli Kalsbeck and Macie Stubbs had a goal apiece for the undefeated Bearcats.
Fisher Madsen is a contributor for Nebraska Soccer Talk, currently studying Sports Media at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.
