'Dogs claim state crown

FENTON, Mo.-- For the Notre Dame Bulldogs this week was a week of firsts.

First state quarterfinal, first state semifinal and on Saturday, at the Anheuser Busch Conference Sports Centre, the Bulldogs capped off the week with their first state soccer championship.

It took them nearly 120 minutes, but the Bulldogs emerged with a 1-0 victory over St. Francis Borgia in four overtimes. Borgia (19-7-4) had come into the Class 2 championship game on the heels of four straight one-goal victories, including a 1-0 win over Duchesne, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch number one team in the small schools poll, in the quarterfinals.

"We're all on top of the world," Notre Dame goalie Travis Siebert said.

Notre Dame completed its season with a 20-5 record.

"We're just all amazed," said Bulldog defender Jeff Brosey, who kicked in the game-winner.

Brosey scored with less than three minutes left in the fourth overtime. Midfielder Blake Urhahn was able to get a head on a Josh Essner cross just before Borgia's goalie could pull it in, and Brosey was able to kick the loose ball in.

"The ball just fell straight down at my feet and I knocked it in," Brosey said.

Borgia controlled the possession for much of the first half, but Notre Dame had the better scoring chances. The Bulldogs were denied by the post five times.

"We had some really awesome scoring chances," Bulldog coach Brad Wittenborn said.

As the game went from regulation to overtime Borgia began to slow, while Notre Dame just kept getting stronger.

Brosey said the team was still fresh at the end of the game.

"I think we played harder the last couple of minutes than in the first part of the game," he said.

Wittenborn said the team's depth showed throughout the tournament.

"The key to the whole thing was the depth of our team," he said. "When we brought fresh players off the bench you could really see a lift in our play."

Wittenborn said Brosey's game-winning run from the backfield exemplified his team's effort.

"For our defense to make runs like that and still shut them out says a lot about our effort," he said.

The Bulldogs swept through the playoffs without allowing a goal, recording five straight shutouts.

"Our defense was unbelievable," Siebert said. "It's all about the defense."

Siebert said Saturday's win was a culmination of years of hard work and heartbreak.

"We knew we had to take it one game at a time," Siebert said of season. "Once we got up here, we wanted to take care of some unfinished business."

Wittenborn said the team's performance in the state tournament was simply amazing.

"It's awesome to come up here and play as well as we did," he said.