ND sails to second shutout of Sikeston

~ The Bulldogs posted a 3-0 road victory.

SIKESTON -- The Sikeston boys soccer team found out Tuesday night that it still has some ground to make up on Class 2 District 1 favorite Notre Dame.

For one, Sikeston will have to limit Notre Dame's chances against keeper Scott Droddy. And Sikeston will have to find a way to generate some offense if it's going to knock off the defending state champions.

Ryan Willen scored on a header, and Ty Williams had a goal and an assist in the second half as Notre Dame beat Sikeston 3-0.

"They put a lot of shots on our keeper," Sikeston coach Derrick Long said. "We've had a tough time finding the net and teams are starting to figure that out and moving people up on us. We have to find a way to counter-attack and move people up."

Notre Dame, ranked No. 3 in the Class 2 state poll and the defending state champion, has that figured out. Averaging 3.57 goals per game, the Bulldogs (12-2-1) posted their second shutout this season against Sikeston (6-11), having won an earlier meeting 4-0.

The Bulldogs controlled possession, but led just 1-0 at halftime.

Willen, a 6-foot-7 senior, scored a little more than 10 minutes into the match on a header. He was assisted by John Unterreiner, who had two assists in the match.

Notre Dame scored five minutes into the second half with Brock Dirnberger assisted by Williams. Unterreiner set up Williams for the game's last goal with six minutes remaining.

Ryan Bass made seven saves for Notre Dame, whose players were rewarded for the shutout with a trip to Lambert's Cafe.

"I thought we moved the ball very well," Notre Dame coach Brad Wittenborn said. "Our crossing passes could have been better. We put it too close to the keeper too many times."

Droddy, an all-conference, all-district and all-region selection last year, also uses his athleticism to get to a lot of balls. The senior has Sikeston's single-season school records for saves (417) and shutouts (8). And Notre Dame fans remember him from his play in Sikeston's upset wins in district championship games in 2004 and 2005.

"Their goalie is good," Wittenborn said. "He's going to make some saves; we just have to create good chances. You might score on one shot but it's not likely. To get three goals, you might have to create 30 opportunities, and that's what we did tonight. We have a lot of ways we can score."

Notre Dame returns to action Thursday at Jackson, which defeated the Bulldogs in their earlier meeting this season.