St. Mary's thwarts ND again in OT

ST. LOUIS -- St. Mary's got the best of Notre Dame again.

The Bulldogs fell to the two-time defending state soccer champions 1-0 in overtime Saturday night in a Class 1A-3A sectional contest at Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park.

Notre Dame (17-5-2), which has fallen to St. Mary's (14-6-5) in sectionals for four straight years, probably had more opportunities to score than St. Mary's did, but the game was evenly played.

St. Mary's midfielder Rob Brown ended the game when he controlled a loose ball in the penalty box and rifled it into the right side of the net for an unassisted game-winner.

As with any close soccer loss, Notre Dame coach Brad Wittenborn was left playing the what-if game following the heart-breaker.

The Bulldogs had many scoring chances, but two in particular.

With about 4 minutes remaining in the first half, Notre Dame's Scott Wittenborn scored on a rebound, but had his goal called off on a penalty.

"Their keeper was sliding and our guy slipped and ran into him," Brad Wittenborn explained. "The state chooses to play these games at night when the grass is wet. Our guy got to the ball first. To wave that goal off was unbelievable to me."

St. Mary's also had a goal waved off just minutes earlier on an off-sides call.

Notre Dame's other golden opportunity came 10 minutes into the second half. The Bulldogs blasted four consecutive shots from point-blank range, but every rebound was deflected.

"We did everything right in that situation," Brad Wittenborn said. "They were just in good position. We certainly put a lot of pressure on them, but they're a good team."

The game featured two teams with drastically different styles.

St. Mary's played more of a ball-control game, while the Bulldogs played with a fast-break approach. So while Notre Dame had more scoring opportunities, St. Mary's possessed the ball more.

"I really like the way they play," said St. Mary's coach Jeff Robben, whose team fell to Notre Dame 1-0 earlier this year. "They have great size, they play with discipline and work hard as a team. They gave us everything we could handle. I knew it would be a hard-fought game."

Hard-fought games are something St. Mary's is accustomed to.

"When you've been in two state championship games, you learn to handle pressure," Robben said. "I had no question that we'd be up to the challenge."

Meanwhile, Notre Dame fell just short again, another so-close defeat in sectional play. And the final high school game of 10 players.

"This one probably hurts more than any loss I can remember," said Brad Wittenborn, who coached his son for the last time. "A lot of these kids I coached in the second grade. But we did a lot of good stuff out there. I'm so proud of the kids."