2026 NSAA boys soccer championships recap

– For the Nebraska School Activities Association

One was enough Wednesday night for Lincoln Southwest. But just barely.

The Silver Hawks got a goal early in the second half and made it stand up for a 1-0 win over Omaha South in the Class A boys state championship match at a packed Morrison Stadium. The official attendance of 7,529 was the second most ever for a state title game.

It was the first state title for Southwest since 2014, and a bit of revenge for a loss to the same Packer side in the 2021 final.

"It’s just an incredible ending to the season," Silver Hawks coach Derek Scheich said.

A scoreless opening 40 minutes may have lacked goals, but it wasn’t without chances.

Both teams hit the frame in the first half – first South’s Dylan Holden on a shot from in tight in the 14th minute, then Southwest’s Noah Schroder on a free kick just before the break.

It took less than a minute in the second half to end that drought, though.

Southwest forward Miguel Solano opened the scoring just 57 seconds in, sticking with a run forward through some traffic before depositing a shot past Packer keeper Joshua Orea.

It was the sixth of the state tournament – and ninth of the postseason – for the senior Solano. He had just four in the regular season.

"It was kind of going in with a mindset (that) any game could be my last game," Solano said of his late-season surge. "I wanted to leave a legacy, and I feel like that’s what I did, so it feels great."

South had a handful of quality looks at an equalizer. The first, a blast off the foot of defender Hugo Hernandez, beat Southwest keeper Brentyn Ebeler over his head, but rattled off the crossbar and out of danger.

A free kick from a good angle just outside the box tailed wide left with 10 minutes to play. A corner into the mix produced a header at goal, but right in the direction of Ebeler.

The Packers put plenty of pressure on over the last few minutes, with a number of quality touches in danger. But a Southwest defense that was ravaged by injury for most of the season held up to close out the win.

"We had so much adversity this whole year," Scheich said, "and these boys always found a way to just move forward and roll with the punches."

South held advantages in shots (16-8) and corner kicks (7-2) on Wednesday, but couldn’t get one past Ebeler, who notched his ninth shutout of the season.

"When things get difficult, we build each other up," he said.

Both teams were in the championship round after wild semifinal wins that ended with 5-4 scorelines.

Southwest struck a final blow in the second overtime of a win over top-ranked Papillion-La Vista South to book its ticket to the title match. That came after the Silver Hawks had netted three in overtime of a 4-1 opening-round victory over Elkhorn South earlier in the week.

Not to be outdone, South outlasted defending state champion Omaha Westside in their semifinal – a replay of last year’s title tilt – in a match that stretched over two days due to weather delays and eventually went to the 10th round of the shootout.

Dragons dominate Lexington for Class B crown

Early, then often.

That’s how top-seeded Gretna capped off its run to the Class B boys state title Wednesday night at Morrison Stadium.

The Dragons had three players with at least two goals, took their first lead less than three minutes in, and then smothered Lexington late in an 8-2 win.

It’s the fourth state title all-time for Gretna, and first in Class B since 2011. The eight goals matched the state championship match record set by the same Dragon program in the 2022 Class A final.

"I knew from the beginning that this was going to be a special group," first-year head coach John Cover said. "I knew these seniors were going to take care of business, and they did."

His side grabbed the earliest of leads when Elijah Fulton beat a defender to a deflected ball hanging in front of goal and made something out of nothing. Fulton’s header beat Lexington keeper Alexis Alvidrez for his second goal of the tournament.

Alexander Barraza leveled things just over four minutes later, finding the back post with a strike from an angle to the left.

Nate Thiellen swung the momentum back to the Dragons in the 11th minute, crushing a cutback ball from teammate Evan Lafferty into the top of the goal to restore the Gretna lead. It was the first at the state tournament for the standout freshman – but not his last.

A bent free kick from the top of the box by Alex Sowinski doubled the cushion later in the half. His right-footer – the third of the tournament after scoring both goals in a 2-1 semifinal win – got around the defender and tucked just inside the right post to make it 3-1.

Lexington wasn’t done, though. The Minutemen pulled within one shortly after the break when Jose Navarrete took a perfect centering ball from Kendrick Marroquin on the doorstep, settled himself, and calmly deposited his 16th of the season. It was the senior’s fourth straight postseason game with a goal.

But it was all Gretna from there.

The Dragons racked up five goals in just over 12 minutes down the stretch to turn a tight match into a rout.

Sawyer Hehn’s volley of a bouncing ball near the top of the box started the surge in the 64th minute. Thiellen added his second of the match – and team-leading 28th of the season – a few minutes later.

Just 60 seconds after that it was Sowinski getting his brace on another perfectly placed free kick.

Fulton put the cherries on top, pouncing on a pair of defensive miscues to notch goals 12 seconds apart. It was the fourth hat trick in Gretna’s last six matches for the senior.

"I’m so glad I could make my mark on this field," Fulton said. "As a senior it’s just great – you don’t get a better atmosphere anywhere. This is just a great environment, and to be able to score a hat trick it’s amazing."

After going 7-9 a year earlier, Fulton called it "awesome" to be able to win a state title for Cover, a former Dragon player himself.

"It means everything," Cover said.