Notre Dame to play for Class 2 soccer title

~ Defending state soccer champs roll to a 3-1 victory over Duchesne in the semifinals.

FENTON, Mo. -- Notre Dame forward Brock Dirnberger said he and his teammates were feeling stressed before their Class 2 state semifinal game against Duchesne on Friday evening.

The stress mainly resulted, he said, from the team's bus breaking down twice on the way to the game in Fenton.

"Nothing seemed to be going right," Dirnberger said. "We got a bus and left from Notre Dame, and then it broke down in Jackson, and then we got on another but it broke down."

The team did, however, finally make it to Fenton, Mo., and for the players the game went much smoother and much less stressful than the ride. The Bulldogs scored three goals in the first 25 minutes of the game, and from there the defense held on for a 3-1 win at the Anheuser-Busch Center.

Notre Dame's Ty Williams got position under a ball during the Class 2 semifinal game against Duchesne.

The win earned the Bulldogs a chance to repeat as the Class 2 state champions as they will play in the title game against Smithville today at noon in Fenton.

Dirnberger, who scored the third goal, said getting an early lead was important.

"The whole day we were stressed," Dirnberger said. "We knew if we got an early goal we would be good, so three of them was really good."

Fellow forward Ty Williams began the scoring early at the 34:13 mark on an assist from John Unterreiner.

"It bounced around a little bit and I kind of just ran through it," Williams said. "It was a bouncing ball and it kind of went into the top of the box, and I just tried to put a good strike on it and it went in."

Notre Dame's Brock Dirnberger battled for control of the ball with Duchesne's Ryan Mitchell during the first half of Friday's Class 2 semifinal game at the Anheuser-Busch Center in Fenton, Mo. (Aaron Eisenhauer)

"It was nice to get the first one, but then we got the second and third one and it was even better because it puts them in such a deep hole," Williams added. "It felt good to get up 3-0."

Ryan Willen knocked in the second goal for the Bulldogs at the 20:10 mark and Dirnberger added the third about seven minutes later.

Both Willen and Dirnberger spoke highly of the defensive effort.

The defense, which played a zone, was stingy in the first half, allowing Duchesne hardly any opportunities. Most all the Pioneers' 14 shots came in the second half.

The Bulldogs took 16 shots overall.

Notre Dame's Ty Williams hurries to get in position under a ball during their state championship semi-final game against Duchesne on Friday, November 9, 2007. (Aaron Eisenhauer)

"Our defense is what keeps us in the games," Dirnberger said. "The second half it could have gone either way, but our defense is just solid. They keep on coming and coming and they always back each other up."

Willen added: "Nick Wren and just about everyone who was playing defense did a good job, staying with their man, sticking people and getting the ball up field once they got it."

The lone Duchesne goal was scored by Paul Rebello 19:39 into the second half.

The Bulldogs were able to shut down the Pioneers' top scorer Johnny O'Mara, who led the team this year with 19 goals and 6 assists for a total of 44 points. Entering the contest, the senior had 27 more points than any other player on his team.

With about 15 minutes remaining, the Notre Dame defense keyed on O'Mara by having Joda Holloway mark him.

Notre Dame's Brock Dirnberger struggles with Duchesne'sRyan Mitchell over control of the ball during the first half of the semi-final game on Friday, November 9, 2007. (Aaron Eisenhauer)

"[He[']s] the one player they have up top who they try to run a lot through, so we wanted to key on him a little," Notre Dame coach Brad Wittenborn said. "Joda plays defender for a club team up here, so he's used to marking some pretty high-level attacking players."

Wittenborn added that he was impressed the whole game with the way the defensive players backed one another up. If a player was beat off a dribble, there was always another player there to help out.

"We kind of ran a bend-don't-break defense back there," Mark Himmelberg said. "They got some opportunities but we held them."