Bulldogs capture district title

~ Notre Dame posted a 2-0 shutout to repeat as champions.

FARMINGTON -- Ryan Bass passed all the tests De Soto kicked at him Wednesday night, including the one he barely remembers.

Bass made 11 saves in Notre Dame's 2-0 shutout of the Dragons in the Class 2 District 1 championship game played at Farmington.

The defending state champion Bulldogs (19-4-1) scored two goals in the opening 30 minutes and turned away a wind-backed De Soto early in the second half.

"In the second half, De Soto played with more energy, and we lost our focus for a little bit," Notre Dame coach Brad Wittenborn said. "Our defense was solid all night."

Notre Dame's Ryan Willen went around a De Soto defender during their Class 2 District 1 championship game Wednesday in Farmington. (Andrew Jansen/Special to the Southeast Missourian)

Bass, a junior, agreed. He was credited with 11 saves on a fairly busy night for him. It was his 10th solo shutout of the season.

"The more dangerous stuff was kept away" by the defenders, he said.

Not all of it though.

De Soto's Clint Carder had a run less than 15 minutes into the second half, which Bass came out to deflect. After he made a sliding save and blocked the shot with a resounding thud, Bass was shaken up and the game was stopped briefly.

"Something hit me in the chest, and I kind of went black," Bass said. "Next thing I remembered, I was standing in front of my goal and they had a goal kick. I didn't know how I got from Point A to Point B."

Notre Dame's Brock Dirnberger chased down the ball during the Bulldogs' 2-0 win over De Soto in the Class 2 District 1 title game Wednesday in Farmington. (ANDREW JANSEN/Special to the Southeast Missourian)

The game was halted for about 20 minutes after another collision on the other end of the field with 8 minutes remaining. Notre Dame's Ty Williams chased a ball sent in on De Soto's goal and managed to get off a header before De Soto keeper Cody Polly came out to make a play. While the ball bounded wide of the net, Polly collided with De Soto defender Ethan Keller, who was briefly knocked unconscious and was taken from the field by a stretcher and transported to the Parkland Medical Center across the road.

"I looked once and thought it was in," said Williams, who also was shaken up briefly and had a bloody nose. "Then I looked again, and it was wide."

It was one of the chances Notre Dame missed to extend its lead after it took back control of play midway through the second half.

The Bulldogs controlled the first half.

Williams had scored Notre Dame's second goal on a header with an assist from John Unterreiner. That came with 12:33 to play in the first half.

Joda Holloway had scored in the opening 5 minutes, knocking a shot past Polly not long after a corner kick by Williams.

With the win, the Bulldogs head to a quarterfinal game 6 p.m. Tuesday against Clayton (11-11-2), which beat Lutheran South on Wednesday night. The quarterfinal will be played at the Anheuser-Busch Center in Fenton.

Notre Dame has beaten Clayton, but it was just 1-0 in double overtime earlier this month. That should be enough to maintain the Bulldogs' focus.

They came into Wednesday's game having beaten De Soto 8-1 earlier this season.

"I thought that would be an obstacle," Wittenborn said. "We had played tremendously [on Oct. 13] and we shot very well, and I knew De Soto was a better team than that. It was one of those games when everything we did wound up in the net. Soccer is not always like that."

De Soto coach Tony Kuster, whose team finished 14-8, said injuries and other factors kept his team from being sharp in the first meeting. But he also knew the Dragons, who like Notre Dame plays several juniors and sophomores, were up against it Wednesday.

"He's got more experienced players than I have," Kuster said. "I still only have a couple of players playing club soccer."

The Bulldogs would like to do this year what they did last year.

"We've got to take everything one step at a time," Bass said. "There are going to be some big games and we've just got to take it to the next level."

Williams doesn't call that pressure, however, for the state's second-ranked Class 2 team.

"It's not pressure, it's just the desire to get back there," he said.