Late goal sends Notre Dame soccer to fourth final four in a row

~ Notre Dame scored the final two goals and defeated Bishop DuBourg 3-2 in the Class 2 quarterfinals

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- Jacob Pewitt threw both arms in the air and started to run toward his bench with them extended like airplane wings.

The Notre Dame senior wasn't sure what to do after scoring with 4 minutes, 39 seconds left in Thursday's Class 2 state quarterfinal soccer game.

"I couldn't describe it," Pewitt said of his emotions. "It was just amazing. I was speechless."

Pewitt's goal punched the Bulldogs' ticket to their fourth consecutive final four with the 3-2 win against Bishop DuBourg.

Notre Dame celebrates its 3-2 Class 2 quarterfinal win against Bishop DuBourg on Thursday in Farmington, Mo. (Kit Doyle)

"It feels a whole lot better this year because last year was a pretty good year and everyone expected it," Notre Dame senior Ke-Ke Kellum said. "This year was one of our down years and we weren't expected to go."

Joe Froemsdorf, another senior, earned an assist on Pewitt's game-winner. Froemsdorf saw Pewitt trolling for action in the middle of the field and decided to offer the ball.

"I saw Pewitt, and he was coasting in the middle of the field at first," Froemsdorf said. "Then he split off wide. I created a little space and I hit the gap, and he was lucky enough to finish it. It was a nice finish.

"He's so fast, he gets so many opportunities a game. He finishes a lot of them."

Pewitt streaked just past the defenders and wound up one-on-one with DuBourg goalie Evan Westcott. Pewitt delivered a low shot into the corner to hand the Bulldogs their first lead of the game.

Notre Dame senior Jack Mocherman hurdles Bishop DuBourg's Kyle Portwood.

"Joe made it really easy for me," Pewitt said. "All I had to do was tap it in. I didn't really think about it. I just wanted it more than the keeper did. I just wanted to put it in real bad."

But the Bulldogs couldn't celebrate too much because the Cavaliers still had more than four minutes to score the equalizer. Notre Dame clamped down on defense and didn't allow a serious threat to seal the win.

"There's almost no way to stay calm," Pewitt said of the final four minutes. "You've just got to keep playing hard until the last whistle blows. I had to play defense for the last four minutes. I hadn't played there since junior year. That was hard for me."

It was Kellum who gave the Bulldogs a chance to win it when he evened the score with 18:10 left in the second half. Pewitt popped a pass over the defense and Kellum got a foot on it to steer it past Westcott.

"I saw the ball go up and Jake's pretty good at flicking the ball," Kellum said. "So I thought if I could get in behind them, he could flick it to me. If I could get my foot on the ball, hopefully it goes in and it went in.

Notre Dame sophomore Jonathan Lynch scores the Bulldogs' first goal during the Class 2 quarterfinals.

"I didn't really have enough time to aim. I just stuck my foot out and poked it over toward the goal and got it in. Man, it was probably the best feeling in my life."

Kellum's goal came after DuBourg had a goal waved off about seven minutes earlier. The Cavaliers celebrated a two-goal lead, but the officials disallowed it because it hit the crossbar on the football goal post first, which is out of bounds.

The game did not start well for the Bulldogs. DuBourg scored 2:29 into the game after goalie James Holloway couldn't corral a long shot on a free ball and the Cavaliers stuck in the rebound for the early 1-0 lead. Kellum said the Bulldogs refused to let the deficit rattle them.

"I felt like when they came out and scored the first goal, we stay composed and I didn't feel any pressure," he said. "If we kept pressuring them we could get the win."

Jonathan Lynch evened the score late in the first half, but DuBourg went ahead early in the second half. The Cavaliers enjoyed the one-goal lead until Kellum beat Westcott.

"We started to feel the pressure a whole lot," Kellum said about the team's attitude before his goal.

Notre Dame managed to limit the touches for DuBourg leading scorer Patrick McCaffrey in the second half. Bulldogs senior Ethan Huber was charged with defending him.

"We'd always try and step in front of the ball if it was coming toward him," Huber said. "And if I had to make a long run, we'd always have somebody going to guard him."

Now the Bulldogs will turn their attention to their fourth consecutive final four. Notre Dame (15-12) won the state title in 2006 and 2007 and finished third last year. It will face Bolivar, a 2-1 winner on penalty kicks Thursday, in the semifinals at noon Nov. 20 at the Anheuser-Busch Center in Fenton, Mo.

Kellum said another trip to the final four took a little pressure off the soccer team since the volleyball and softball teams already earned trips to the final four this season.

"Everyone was like, 'We don't want to mess up the fall season and not go,'" he said. "We wanted to prove everyone wrong."