With a talented crop of juniors joining the varsity ranks for the 2003 season, high expectations were abound for the boys’ soccer team at Lindbergh Senior High School.

The Flyers (10-10-2, 3-4 Suburban West) had their share of growing pains this season with a Jeckyl-and-Hyde personality. Lindbergh defeated the likes of Oakville and Lafayette while suffering a four-game losing streak right before the district playoffs.

“We came in with some pretty high expectations and ended up starting a lot of guys with very little experience,” Lindbergh head coach Dan Dorsey told the Call. “We played a pretty tough schedule with a young squad.”

Lindbergh got itself back on the winning track during the final game of the regular season with a 3-1 win over Rockwood Summit. The Flyers’ winning streak continued during the first round of the district tournament last Monday evening, with a 3-1 win over Saint Mary’s.

“St. Mary’s was a good win for us,” said Dorsey. “To be quite honest, you would have to give St. Mary’s the nod at halftime. Our defense kept us in the game in the first half.”

The Flyers jumped onto the scoreboard with a goal by Nick Bigogino. The junior midfielder scored again for Lindbergh giving it a 2-0 lead at halftime.

“Those two goals were big goals for us,” said Dorsey. “Nick’s a solid presence in the middle of the field for us. He makes it tough for the opposing team to penetrate us in the middle of the field.”

Lindbergh’s third goal came from junior midfielder Mike Hanna, which was, more or less, the icing on the cake for the Flyers.

“Mike started off the year not getting much playing time,” said Dorsey. “After the first few weeks, he really began to give us some good quality minutes.”

The Flyers season came quickly to a close the following evening with a disappointing 2-0 loss to Webster Groves.

“The Webster Groves loss was disappointing,” said Dorsey. “I was pleased that even down 2-0, I had 11 guys that were still fighting. That was one positive thing to take away from that game.”