Pius X boys back in state finals

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BY BRENT C. WAGNER / Lincoln Journal Star

OMAHA — Giddy was the word Marcus Schademann chose to describe his emotions as he trotted up the field, the fate of the Lincoln Pius X season resting on his feet.

It was a penalty kick to send the Thunderbolts to the state soccer tournament finals for the third straight season.

Of course, Schademann delivered, and that decided the top-ranked Thunderbolts’ 1-0 victory against No. 2 Lincoln Lutheran in a Class B boys semifinal Saturday.

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Matt Klein (15) and Tyler Groskurth (10) battle for the ball Saturday. (Michael Paulsen)

Matt Klein (15) and Tyler Groskurth (10) battle for the ball Saturday. (Michael Paulsen)

Pius X will try to complete its perfect season with a match against third-ranked Omaha Skutt in Tuesday’s final. Pius X beat Skutt 4-1 in the regular season.

Another Lutheran vs. Pius X classic seemed destined for overtime until Pius X was awarded a penalty kick with 1 minute, 34 seconds remaining. The foul came when a Lutheran defender tripped attacker Kyle Policky in the goal box. Policky still got off a shot.

Schademann has been taking the bulk of the penalty kicks for Pius X the past four seasons. He’s missed only one in about 15 career tries. And that miss came when he admittedly tried to get fancy.

“Here it is, senior year, and it’s mine,” Schademann said.

He drilled a low liner to his left, just like everybody knew he would.

“It’s hard to imagine him missing one,” Policky said.

Some were disappointed with a foul being called to decide a close match. Policky was just confused.

“When I went to slide for the 50-50 ball, I didn’t realize there was a guy behind me,” he said.

“When I slid it hit off the keeper, so I thought it was going to be a corner kick. Then I saw the referee cross his hands and thought, ’Well, he’s not running toward me, so I didn’t get a card, so it must be a penalty on them. We might be able to put this way.“

Lincoln Lutheran coach Nathan Bassett says it was a heartbreaking way to lose.

“All I know is with one minute I think you call the corner kick and see what happens,” he said. “I don’t feel like our guys lost the game in some ways. We didn’t quit, and it came down to the last minute.”

While Pius X had the best scoring chances, Lutheran kept stopping quality attacks, and Warrior keeper Jesse Heibel continued to come up with saves to keep Lutheran in the match.

“That was a hard-fought game,” Policky said. “And Lutheran did a great job of staying with it. You can tell they’ve got a lot better.”

In the first half, Pius X got off a shot only 35 seconds in, and Jake Ramsay hit the post with two minutes remaining in the half.

The opportunities kept coming for the Thunderbolts in the second half. Pius X had shots go wide-right, wide-left and even whiffed one shot.

“Obviously, our finishing needs to be better,” Pius X coach Harlan Milder said. “Nobody likes to win a game by a penalty kick, that’s for sure.”

While the Warriors’ scoring chances were limited, two good chances in a two-minute stretch midway through the second half stood out.

“It was a lot more even in the second half,” Bassett said. “We didn’t get great looks, but we had some opportunities. We just didn’t put it home.”

Lutheran has been in the semifinals each of the past five seasons, but has yet to advance to the finals.

Pius X accounted for each Lutheran’s three losses.

“We only lost to one team,” Bassett said. “It happened to be three times, but we only lost to one team.”

Omaha Skutt 1, Elkhorn 0Bo Bohan scored 16 minutes into the game, and that was all it took for Skutt to win a game played in stiff winds and sheets of rain.

Omaha Skutt’s only regular-season losses were to Pius X and Lutheran.

Reach Brent C. Wagner at 473-7435 or bwagner@journalstar.com.