ND buries long shot, Sikeston

When Notre Dame senior James Dively prepared to drive a long free kick toward the goal during the second half of Tuesday's Class 2 District 1 soccer championship game, he didn't dream that his boot would drive a nail in the coffin of the Sikeston Bulldogs.

Dively's 50-yard shot in the 63rd minute sailed over the outstretched arms of a leaping Sikeston goalkeeper Michael Gipson and into the net, giving Notre Dame a 2-0 lead. That score held up as host Notre Dame captured the district championship for the fifth consecutive season.

"I was trying to kick it to the back corner," said Dively, a sweeper who scored only his third goal of the season. "I turned around and I was looking at the bench and I was like 'I can't believe this went in.'"

Notre Dame coach Brad Wittenborn agreed that Dively's boot wasn't intended to be a shot on goal.

"He was not shooting that ball," said Wittenborn, who was hoping that some of his attackers in the box could get a head on the ball. "The wind was blowing that way and it just kept carrying."

KRISTIN EBERTS keberts@semissourian.com (Notre Dame's Luke Mocherman jumps over Sikeston's Chris Daniel Sanders to head the ball during the first half of the Class 2 District 1 championship game Tuesday at Notre Dame. Notre Dame won 2-0.)

Gipson, who made several outstanding saves to keep Sikeston in the game to that point, came out of the net to try to pull down the kick before an opponent could get to it but seemed to mistime his leap for the ball.

Gipson's play in goal was praised by Wittenborn.

"I've seen that happen to very good goalies," Wittenborn said.

Notre Dame junior goalie James Holloway had to come up big several times to keep Sikeston off the scoreboard and preserve the shutout and district title.

One play in particular symbolized Sikeston's futility. Hunter Williams nearly put a header off a corner kick behind Holloway that would have tied the game. Holloway, playing a few yards off the line, had to dive back toward the goal and made a fully-extended grab only a yard in front of the goal line.

of the Class 2 District 1 boys soccer championship game against Sikeston on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010, in Cape Girardeau. Notre Dame won 2-0. (Kristin Eberts)

"I made it harder on myself than I should have," Holloway said. "I took a step out when I should have stood on the line, and I had to dive to the back."

Williams, who is the place kicker for Sikeston's district champion football team, was robbed from close range on a bicycle kick in the second half. A shot by Sikeston's Blake Angle whistled just wide of the left post later in the contest.

"He's a stud back there," Sikeston coach Doyle Noe said about Holloway. "When you can have that many shots on a team and he can come up with that many saves, it's tough to beat him."

Notre Dame got on the scoreboard early in the first half on a beautiful give-and-go play. Senior midfielder Tyler Buelow fed Jonathan Lynch in the box then split two defenders before taking the return pass and sending it into the net in the eighth minute.

The victory pushed Notre Dame's record to 16-10 and sent it into a sectional game Nov. 9 against the District 2 champion. Notre Dame has reached the final four in the last four seasons.