The 2025 Nebraska High School Soccer State Semifinals begin Friday with the Class A girls followed by the night session of Class A Boys.
Here is a look inside the Class A semifinal matchups.
Class A Girls
No. 1 Lincoln Southwest (16-1) vs. No. 5 Elkhorn South (14-4), 12 p.m.
Top-seeded Southwest survived an upset bid from the eighth-seeded Monarchs of Papillion-La Vista on Monday, winning in a shootout. The Storm finished off Kearney with a 2-0 win in the tournament’s opening round.
The two teams haven’t played against each other in 2025. Southwest will look to advance to the state championship game for the third season in a row, while Elkhorn South is looking to advance to the finals for the first time since moving to Class A.
No. 2 Omaha Marian (15-3) vs. No. 3 Bellevue West (19-1), 2 PM
Omaha Marian is a staple at the girls state tournament. At the same time, Bellevue West recorded not just its first goal in state tournament history, but also its first win in the quarterfinals against Lincoln East on Monday.
Marian hasn’t been to a final since 2019 and Bellevue West will look to continue its school record-breaking season with the first final in school history. Two of the Crusaders’ three losses this season have come in close matchups against the T-Birds. The first was a shootout loss and the second was a 1-0 loss after a penalty kick with under 10 minutes to play in the match on April 12.
Class A Boys
No. 1 Creighton Prep (17-1) vs. No. 4 Omaha Westside (12-4), 5:30 p.m.
One of the most heated rivalries in the state on a Friday night at Morrison Stadium for a berth in the state championship is a good way to start the night.
The Junior Jays took some time to get going in their physical quarterfinal win over eighth-seeded Papillion-La Vista South on Tuesday. Westside took the lead early and never really got pushed in its 4-0 quarterfinal win over Lincoln Southeast.
Prep dominated the matchup this season, winning 4-2 and 6-1 the two times the teams have played. Prep has the most state championship appearances in state history with 31. Should they reach the final, the Junior Jays will look to make history by winning their third consecutive Class A championship, something that has never been done. Westside’s last title game appearance was in 2022 and its last championship came in 2004.
No. 7 South Sioux City (15-4) vs. No. 3 Omaha South (14-2), 7:30 PM
This game has a chance to be the best of the tournament if you like scoring and electric players. South Sioux City advanced with a 2-1 upset over No. 2 seed Millard North in the quarterfinals, while Omaha South exploded for three second-half goals in its 5-2 win over Lincoln Southwest in the quarters.
The two schools have a rich soccer tradition and fan bases to match. The stands should be packed and the berms full for this matchup. Both teams have made 15 state tournament appearances and South Sioux City will look to make its first state title appearance as a Class A school. Omaha South was last in the state championship game in 2021, its last state title.
Class B Girls (Saturday)
No. 1 Gretna East (18-0) vs. No. 5 Blair (16-2), 12:00 PM
The Griffins haven’t lost a state tournament game in school history, albeit one year. The Griffins core seniors started at Gretna High and have lost just one game (58-1) in their high school careers. While Blair got their first win at the state tournament since 2001 with their quarterfinal shootout win over Skutt Catholic.
The two teams have played twice this season with Gretna East winning 4-3 in the regular season and 4-0 in the EMC Conference championship game.
No. 2 Lincoln Pius X (13-3) vs. No. 7 Norris (13-5), 2:00 PM
Pius cruised through to the semifinals with a 4-0 win over Omaha Mercy. Norris got both of their goals from freshman Ize Tidball to secure the upset win over the previously unbeaten Scotus Central Catholic Shamrocks.
The two teams met early in the season (March 29) with Pius winning 1-0. Should the Thunderbolts win they will reach the state championship for the second year in a row and first time with back-to-back appearances since 2004-2006. Norris has never won a state title and is looking for their first title appearance since 2007.
Class B Boys (Saturday)
No. 1 Bennington (19-1) vs. No. 4 Lexington (16-4), 5:30 PM
Bennington had a bit of a slow start and needed to hang on to win 4-2 over Gretna East in the quarterfinals. Lexington cruised to a 4-1 win over Mount Micheal in their quarterfinal matchup on Thursday.
Both teams have been battle tested this season with each playing five teams that qualified for the state tournament. The Minutemen have made the championship game in three of the previous four seasons and Bennington’s last title appearance was in 2023.
No. 2 Hastings (18-1) vs. No. 3 Schuyler (17-2), 7:30 PM
Hastings advanced to the semifinals with a comeback win (4-3) over Elkhorn North while the Warriors scored the most goals of any team (A&B) in the tournament in the 8-2 quarterfinal win over Crete Thursday night.
The two teams haven’t faced each other this season but their fast paced styles should make for an entertaining game. It’s been a while since either has advanced past the semifinals, Hastings (2010) and Schuyler (2011).