Inver Grove Heights U19 Heat Soccer Team Falls Short in State Title

The Inver Grove Heights Heat Under 19 soccer team came up short of an unbeaten season in a 2-1 loss to Shakopee at the U19 Classic 2 Level State Soccer Tournament on Thursday.

“Today was a story of two halves,” Heat coach Dennis Tatarek said. “We didn’t play well in the first half. The second half was ours. We dominated, but we couldn’t get another goal.”

The Heat fell behind 2-0 against Shakopee in the first half at the Coon Rapids Soccer Complex. However, the Heat turned the tables in the second half with aggressive play.

“We were right on the edge of scoring multiple goals,” Heat player Nate Bitterman said about the second half. “We had four shots right in front of the net.”

Bitterman scored the lone goal in the second half when he got out ahead of the pack on offense and maneuvered around a diving Shakopee goalie for the goal. Michael Ward of the Heat passed the ball to Bitterman to set up the goal.

The Heat also held Shakopee to one shot on goal in the second half. Heat player John Atkins substituted in at goalie for his second game in place of the team's regular goalie, who had a broken hand.

“He kept gaining confidence throughout the game,” Heat player Jack Kessler said. “He really stepped up.”

Atkins had plenty to live up to with the Heat having allowed only six goals during the entire regular season. They went unbeaten in the regular season, but it did not come easy.

“It took a lot of guys filling in at different positions,” Ward said. “We had injuries and people gone on vacation.”

Heat assistant coach Oleg Dinero even stepped up to coach many of the practices. Dinero formerly starred for the Simley High School soccer team.

“He really grew into that role,” Tatarek said about Dinero’s coaching. “He knew when to push guys and when to lay-off.”