DISTRICT CHAMPS: ND BULLDOGS UPSET TOP-SEED ST. PIUS 2-1

St. Pius forward Mike Tranchilla is the kind of offensive threat who makes a 1-0 deficit almost a non-issue.

The senior forward, who is a member of the U.S National under-18 team, has scored 130 goals in his high school career and helped the Lancers pull in the district's top seed.

"It's like the ball is on a magnet on his foot," said Notre Dame coach Brad Wittenborn, who was commissioned to stop him Tuesday afternoon. "He can do whatever he wants with it."

Tranchilla, however, could not break the defense of third-seeded Notre Dame in the Class 1A-3A District 1 championship Tuesday at the old Notre Dame soccer field.

Notre Dame, which held a 1-0 lead for nearly 60 minutes in the game, relinquished its lead with 22 minutes left in the game, but bounced back with a goal by Chris Dirnberger with seven minutes left to win the game 2-1.

It was the first district soccer championship for Notre Dame (18-4-4) since 1994. St. Pius finished 16-4.

The Bulldogs advance to sectionals to play the winner of the St. Mary's-Dubourg District 2 title game. The sectional will be at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Anheuser Busch Conference and Sports Centre in St. Louis.

Notre Dame adjusted its defensive game-plan to slow Tranchilla, who led the St. Louis area in scoring last year.

Normally a zone defensive team, the Bulldogs used midfielder Cory Elfrink on defense to mark Tranchilla man-to-man.

"Cory's a tenacious player," Notre Dame coach Brad Wittenborn said. "He did a good job keeping the ball away from Tranchilla. He only got the ball on his foot about five times. But everytime he had it, he was something to watch."

Notre Dame took the lead in the game's third minute. On a nice passing play, Adam Obermiller provided the final pass to Tommy Wencewicz, who had broken free in the box.

The speedy forward fired a low shot to the near post and past St. Pius keeper Joe Buehler.

"Getting that goal early," Wittenborn said, "really put us in a favorable position."

But after controlling the game's first 15 minutes, the Bulldogs fell into a defensive shell. Notre Dame keeper Colin Vandergraff bailed his team out with a pair of big saves on Tranchilla to preserve the Bulldogs' 1-0 halftime lead.

"Colin made some big saves," Dirnberger said. "You have to give credit to our defense too. I think Cory Elfrink did a great job marking Tranchilla."

The lead lasted until the 22nd minute of the second half, when St. Pius took advantage of the absence of Bulldog center back Mark Buerle, who went to the bench after taking an inadvertent fist to the face.

With Wittenborn trying to get a stoppage to reinsert Buerle into the game, Tranchilla sent a ball to an opening at midfield. St. Pius' Tim Eckelkamp won a race to the ball and fired a low shot from the top of the box past Vandergraff, who had come out to cut down the angle.

The game was tied 1-1.

"There was a stretch where we got a little defensive out there," Wittenborn said. "But (the goal) kind of actually woke them back up. We got more assertive at that point."

Notre Dame narrowly missed on a pair of chances: Ryan Fenwick was tripped in the box on one, and Rob Cuba was bumped going up for a headball on the other. No call was made on either.

With Notre Dame controlling play, Zach Miller (leading Notre Dame with 22 goals, one shy of the school record) lofted a ball toward the box. Dirnberger and a St. Pius defender collided in pursuit, and Dirnberger spun away to the ball.

His low, right-footed shot to the far corner of the goal beat Buehler as he came out.

"It felt great," said Dirnberger, a junior forward with 12 goals this season. "We played with a lot of heart. This means so much to the seniors."

Notre Dame's physical defense did not allow any strong scoring opportunities in the final seven minutes.

"When a team has a Tranchilla out there and you have a one-goal lead, it's not over," Wittenborn said. "We finished with a lot of emotion. When you beat a club with a superstar like that, it's an accomplishment."