Notre Dame senior midfielder Ryan Willen played the final soccer game of his life Saturday in the Class 2 state championship.
It was a good finish.
He scored the first two goals and assisted on the third to lift the Bulldogs to a 4-1 victory against Smithville. With the win, Notre Dame won its second consecutive Class 2 state championship.
Willen, who has played soccer since kindergarten, now will turn his attention to basketball, and the 6-foot-7 forward expects to play that sport beyond high school at Lafayette College.
He said the title game being the last time he would ever competitively play soccer wasn't on his mind.
"The main thing on my mind was trying to win the game," he said. "Come out, play hard, win every 50-50 ball."
Willen also scored a goal in the semifinals Friday to help earn the team a spot in the title game. He finished the season with 12 goals and eight assists.
"I've been telling Ry-Guy for a week and a half he's going to get goals and assists coming up,"Bulldogs' Ryan Bass said. "Last few days, he caught on fire and played amazing."
Connect with the Southeast Missourian Newsroom:
For corrections to this story or other insights for the editor, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To learn about the Southeast Missourian’s AI Policy, click here.