Mitchell got a huge left from goalkeeper Josh Berres on Wenesday night, as a crucial save in the 95th minute, midway through the second overtime, and then a pair of stops in a penalty shootout allowed the Mustangs to advance to the first boys soccer state championship game in school history with a 3-1 shootout victory after it had played Pembroke Pines Charter to a 0-0 tie through 100 minutes of regulation and overtime.
The Tampa Tribune's Mike Camunas writes that at the beginning of the season, Berres wasn't a sure thing to be the Mustangs' goalkeeper, with Coach Oscar Ubillus selecting him over Robbie Wallace, now a starting defender for the side. The St. Petersburg Times' Izzy Gould references Berres new nickname "Spider Monkey" and the brilliant manner in which Berres made his stops, including pulling the Mustangs back into the shootout with a second round save after his side trailed 1-0 after the opening round of shots.
The Mustangs will face Jacksonville Stanton Prep in Thursday night's final, the Blue Devils also needing a shootout to defeat Palmetto 4-1 after a 0-0 tie through regulation and overtime. As the Florida Times-Union's Francine King writes, winning shootouts has become a habit for the Blue Devils.
If you can't get to Pepin Stadium for tonight's game, TBO.com will be broadcasting a live gamecast of all the action, which can be found here.
Earlier on Thursday, Tampa Prep will aim to reach the Class 2A state final as it faces Tallahassee Maclay at 12:45 p.m. As I wrote for this morning's Tribune, the turnaround to the Terrapins' season came at just the right moment, with the side appearing to be playing its best soccer of the season as it enters the final four.
As with Mitchell's game later in the day, TBO.com will be providing a gamecast of the Terrapins match against the Marauders, which can be found here.
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