Gabe Zurek's first penalty kick of the 2021 season barely snuck by the Bunnies goalkeeper Saturday afternoon at Omaha Benson High School.
“It was a close call,” the Blair boys soccer senior said. “It went right under the goalie. Not exactly how I planned it.”
Zurek's second, however, was a no-doubter. The boot was true, capping a 5-3 shootout victory for BHS over the Class A Bunnies. Regulation and overtime ended in 2-all ties, but the Bears left 1-0 in Curt Scott's first match as head coach.
“That was a fun one to start on,” the coach said. “Absolutely.”
The game had a little bit of everything, too. Penalty kicks, own goals and a shootout victory for a first-time goalkeeper — Mark Donner — included.
“Our team did a good job of sticking it out,” Zurek said. “It was a super long game, especially for the first one.”
And it ended with Bears and Benson soccer plays getting 1-on-1 opportunities, one after another. Blair junior Elias Cortez started the shootout with a make and watched as Zyler Wyman, Victor Dufau and Andres Iniquez followed suit.
Scott was not surprised by his players' success.
“To be honest, I think we probably have 10 guys out of our 18-19 suiting up that would be good in that situation,” he said. “There wasn't much concern.”
Benson, meanwhile, made its first, second, and third penalty kicks before a wide-left boot on the fourth. The miss — that may have been stopped by Donner had it been inside the posts — set up Zurek with a chance for the winner. He'd scored two first-half goals, including the first PK of the season, prior to the game-ending attempt.
“It was great moment to be in,” Zurek said. “You've just got to take a deep breath, clear your mind and just take it.”
The Bear found the back of the net and raced to midfield, meeting his teammates for a season-opening celebration. His coach was happy with what he saw from the BHS club.
“I thought our team got better as the game went on,” Scott said, 1-0 in his BHS career.
