Southwest rallies to beat North Star, claim city title

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BY BRENT C. WAGNER / Lincoln Journal Star

It seems city championships aren’t only for parents to talk about and newspapers to report.

“I think it’s a big deal,” said Lincoln Southwest senior Seth Neben. “That was one of our goals we set as a team at the beginning of the year, and we accomplished it.”

With a 3-2 victory against Lincoln North Star on Wednesday at Abbott Sports Complex, Southwest won its first city title in boys soccer. The Class A fifth-ranked Silver Hawks were unbeaten in five city games, and for the first time in five seasons, somebody besides Lincoln East won the city title.

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The city title didn’t come without some drama, though. If North Star had won Wednesday, North Star and Southwest would have had identical city records, and the Navigators would have earned the city title.

Things were exciting early, after North Star scored two goals in the opening 20 minutes of the game and had the Silver Hawks on their heels.

Southwest gradually came back, though, and Neben scored the game-winning goal midway through the second half. Southwest was awarded a free kick, and ran a set play it had been practicing all week in practice.

“We ran it perfectly,” Neben said. “Tyler Swartz hit a nice shot and it ricocheted off two guys and I was just there to finish it.”

There were some tense moments after North Star led early, Neben said. North Star (7-6) already has the most wins in program history, and was energized to be playing for a city title at a school that hasn’t been around that long.

“They were tougher that I thought they would be,” Neben said. “We usually pound North Star, but they had a good squad this year.”

North Star scored first when Nguyen Nguyen headed in a shot by Michael Vooraska. The Gators soon led 2-0 when Wahad Ali scored on a penalty kick. The goal was his ninth of the season, setting a school record for goals in a season.

But Southwest then began its comeback. First, Aaron Mulgrue headed in a pass by Neben. A few minutes later, Mulgrue was denied by an initial penalty kick, but rebounded his own shot to tie the game.

Playing with the wind at its back in the second half, Southwest controlled possession, including Neben’s winning score.

North Star had two scoring chances in the final 10 minutes, but couldn’t convert.

Mulgrue had two goals and an assist, and was key to the Silver Hawks’ attack, North Star coach Andrew Ferguson said.

And while Neben and Mulgrue are a big reason Southwest is 11-2, others have played their roles well. Swartz had his best match in four years Wednesday, Southwest coach Dan Carpenter said, and Taylor Quandt and Chad Baily were good in the midfield.

Neben says if Southwest remains focused, the success should continue in district and state tournament play.

North Star, too, is hopeful its postseason won’t be short-lived.

“I finally got the kids to believe, and they’ll give me the effort,” said Ferguson, whose team entered Wednesday with a four-game winning streak. “We’re excited, and we talked about this being our first championship game for the season, and then hopefully we’ll have a district championship game.”

Reach Brent C. Wagner at 473-7435 or bwagner@journalstar.com.