Lexington downs Columbus Scotus to punch ticket to state soccer semifinals

Lexington punched its ticket to the state semifinals in a 3-2 win Wednesday night over Columbus Scotus in the opening round of the boys state soccer tournament at Morrison Stadium.

The Minutemen will now take a swing at the same Omaha Skutt bunch that have knocked them out each of the last two seasons, both in championship matches. The SkyHawks won 9-0 over Elkhorn North in a quarterfinal match earlier in the night.

“I’m going to smile from here to the bus, and then as soon as we load up my mind shifts to Omaha Skutt,” Lexington coach Joel Lemus said. “They had a spectacular showing today. They’re the team to beat in my opinion. They’re the team that’s knocked us out the last two years. So we’re looking for another fun one.

“You couldn’t write it any better than to see them again, so we’ll see what happens.”

His side will get that chance thanks to a first-half flurry and a bell that saved them late.

Antonio Moro scored in the fourth minute, taking a pass from Edin Lima-Miranda on the run and burying it to the left of Scotus keeper Joshua Bixenmann for a quick lead.

Just when it looked like Scotus was settling into things, Lexington struck from a pair less than six minutes apart later in the half.

The first – a shot from a tough angle to the left by Fernando Casillas — doubled the lead before Alexander Perez-Tunay’s blast from the top of the box made it 3-0.

The Shamrocks showed life late in the frame, getting a goal from Trenton Cielocha in the 40th minute to take some momentum into the break.

And the senior wasn’t done.

Cielocha battled through traffic to get a flick on a ball in the 68th minute, putting enough on it to go off the left post and across the line for his second of the match and seventh of the season.

An equalizer wouldn’t come for the Shamrocks, which seemed to come out of their shell as the game moved along.

“We complicated things a little bit, but I don’t want to win 8-0. I want to win 3-2 every time,” Lemus said with a smile. “Man, that was a fun one. Scotus is a good team.”

His team’s ability to possess the ball early created its offense, Lemus said. It was also what helped keep the lead late.

Lexington has now won tournament openers in four consecutive seasons, matched by only Skutt’s current streak of six straight.