As March winds down and students enter the end of their school year, spring sports are in full swing. After back-to-back state championships, head coach Tom Hoover and the top-ranked varsity soccer team will have a target on their back throughout the season.

Due to snow storms postponing the first two games, the Junior Jays ended up playing four games in five days, including three games against ranked opponents. This made this week an early test for the Junior Jays.

The Junior Jays opened their season with a 4-0 win over #7 Elkhorn South. The Junior Jays dominated both sides of the ball, outshooting the Storm 18 to 6. Last year’s points leader forward Jordan Igwenma led the way with the opening goal and an assist, while Louis Tokporo, Matthew Daly, and Evan Kirchofer all found the net as well. Alec Sibbernsen and Shane Borman both made two saves in the shutout effort.

After taking down the Storm, the Junior Jays struggled in their home opener against Millard North, falling 2-1.

Set pieces were the key contributor to this loss. Both of the Mustang’s goals came off set piece opportunities. 20 minutes into the game, Millard North opened the scoring, as a corner kick from midfielder Connor Robbins bounced around the box before forward Brayden Schwinck sent the ball into the bottom corner. In the second half, Schwinck scored off a deep free kick, doubling the Mustangs’ lead. Junior Jay goalie Shane Borman lept up to try to corral the ball, but mishandled it, resulting in the goal.

In the final minute, the Junior Jays got on the board, as Igwenma scored off of a pass across the box from midfielder Connor Lodes, but the Junior Jays couldn’t find the net again. This loss went deeper than the box score, as both Sibbernsen and Borman were lost to injuries. Forward Evan Kirchofer took over after Borman’s injury against the Mustangs. 

Following the loss, the Junior Jays proved they could respond, getting two big-time wins over longtime rival #3 Omaha South and #2 Lincoln Southwest over the next two days.

The Junior Jays’ used a pair of first-half goals to take home a 2-1 win over Omaha South. Forward Gabe Vaughan opened the scoring, sending a corner from Connor Lodes into the back of the net. Minutes later, Jordan Igwenma scored for the third time in three games, scoring off a deflection from Packer goalie Brian Franco.

Early in the second half, Packer forward Jesus Gonzalez cut the Junior Jays’ lead in half off of a pass from midfielder Julian Rodriguez. Outside of this lapse, the Junior Jays’ defense was phenomenal, helping goalie Luther Harrington get a major win in his first career start. The Packers were held to four shots and were swarmed all evening, as the Packers were unable to find the back of the net again.

The Junior Jays followed their win over Omaha South with a 3-1 win over Lincoln Southwest. Despite the wet and rainy conditions, the Junior Jays’ offense stepped up in a major victory. The Junior Jays unleashed 11 shots on goal against a Silverhawk squad that hadn’t conceded all season. Jordan Igwenma scored the lone goal in the first half off a rebound that Silverhawk goalie Brentyn Ebeler couldn’t corral.

Following Igwenma’s goal, neither team could find the net until late in the second half. The Silverhawks knotted the game at one via the head of Eli Riese, who scored off a corner kick from Noah Rakowsky.

After Riese’s goal, it was all Junior Jays. Just a minute later, Dowd ended a series of shots with a counter-attack goal. The Junior Jays followed up this goal with a rocket from Jacob Szatko, who Jude Van Bell found open in the box. Szatko’s goal sealed a victory for the Junior Jays, who advanced to 3-1 on the season.

Despite the loss to the Mustangs, the Junior Jays gained three ranked wins in the first week of the soccer season, cementing themselves as a top team in the state. While stopping set-piece opportunities have been an early weakness, the Junior Jays have allowed only one goal a game. On the offensive end, Igwenma has been on fire, scoring four times in the first four games for an offense that has scored nearly three goals a game. All this while playing top competition in Nebraska has the Junior Jays in a position to fight for a top seed in the state tournament, and hopefully, another state title.