KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.com Notre Dame's Joda Holloway, right, tries to take the ball from a Pembroke Hill player during the Class 2 third-place game. [Click to enlarge]

The Notre Dame boys soccer team went scoreless for more than 145 minutes of play in the Class 2 final four last weekend, which doomed their bid for a third straight state championship.

But senior midfielder Joda Holloway broke the drought with a header for a goal late in the first half of the third-place game that helped get Notre Dame started in a 2-0 victory against Kansas City Pembroke Hill.

"We knew we were going to have to finish the job in regulation," Holloway said. "We didn't want to go out with a loss or a tie. We wanted to win this."

Notre Dame had lost in PKs to Jefferson City Helias in Friday's semifinal after the teams played 110 scoreless minutes of regulation and overtime.

Holloway, who will continue his soccer career at St. Louis University, finished his season with nine goals and 11 assists.

He was a part of two state championships and a third-place finish in his career at Notre Dame.

"Those seniors are a very, very special group," Wittenborn said. "I went out and said something to the center official after regulation, and he said, that No. 17 [Holloway] is probably as hard-nosed as any kid he's seen this year and maybe the politest he's seen. My gosh, it makes a coach feel pretty good to hear something like that."