Westside students and fans piled into Morrison Stadium in their pajamas yesterday morning to support our Boys Varsity Soccer team as they competed against sixth-ranked Kearney High.

Kearney High soccer coach told Omaha World-Herald writer Nick Rubek, “You’ve just got to give Westside credit. Their defense, it bent but it never broke.”

Junior forward Hunter Kruse scored his thirteenth goal of the season in the seventh minute to put the Warriors ahead 1-0. Kruse’s shot from outside of the 18 yard box bounced right over the top of Kearney Goalkeeper Jacob Hardy. The team held onto the lead for the rest of the game, with senior goalkeeper Sam Arnold keeping Westside in the game with big saves in the second half.

“We came out with a lot of energy and it contributed to that early goal,” Kruse said. “Our possession sets us apart from other teams and that is our most important attribute on this team.”

After a hard fought first round in the tournament, Westside may face some challenges in Saturday’s second round semi-final, due to injuries of three starters- sophomore midfielder Peter Novoa, sophomore defender Brady Fehr and junior defender Ethan Wolter. Novoa was escorted off the field in the first 10 minutes of Thursday’s match due to a broken ankle. Novoa is tied for second on the team in goals scored. Due to a stress fracture in his foot, Fehr may also be inactive for Saturday’s game. Wolter tore his MCL in April, during a match against Papillion-LaVista South.

“Even if Peter and I can’t play on Saturday, we have a lot of players that can step in and fill any role,” Fehr said. “I hope that losing a few starters can motivate the team to do even better.”

Although the team may have a few setbacks, sophomore Marvin Ramirez and senior Caleb Siemer returned to play Thursday after being injured, and were impact players. Both Ramirez and Siemer connected passes and helped create chances to score for the Warriors.

With Omaha South also advancing to the semi-finals, they will play Westside to determine who is sent to the state finals.

“South will play a lot like we do. They will play with possession and go forward effectively,” Kruse said. “We know they are a talented team, but there are areas where they slack in- we have to focus on that.”

The Warriors will take on second-ranked Omaha South in the semi-finals this Saturday, May 14 at 1:00. Go Warriors!

Watch Kruse’s game-winning goal here: https://pbs.twimg.com/tweet_video/CiTIqbFUoAACRd3.mp4 (via KETV)

View photos from Thursday’s game here: https://www.westsidewired.net/28101/photo-galleries/boys-state-soccer-championship-tournament-vs-kearney/

Read The World-Herald’s recap of Thursday’s game here: http://www.neprepzone.com/soccer/early-goal-the-difference-in-omaha-westside-s-win-over/article_dbfb964e-1857-11e6-bbd2-fb815f03ff99.html