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Boys soccer: Mitchell, Hillsborough stave off upsets

 
Published Jan. 21, 2016

TAMPA — They endured plenty of drama along the way, but top seeds Mitchell and Hillsborough advanced to the finals of the Class 4A, District 8 tournament with 3-2 victories Wednesday.

Top seed Mitchell's came in overtime on a Brady Friedman goal five minutes in, after the Mustangs overcame a 2-0 halftime deficit against host Leto. No. 2 Hillsborough jumped ahead of Sickles 3-1 before holding on.

A year after crashing out in the first round against bottom seed Freedom, Mitchell (18-6-1) looked headed to the same fate Wednesday when Leto got goals from Delf Claussen and Davinson Mera. Mitchell had no shots on goal in the first half.

"When you play as bad as we did, there's no need to scream and yell. I had to immediately fix the problem," Mitchell coach Oscar Ubillus said. He switched to a more aggressive 3-5-2 alignment and the Mustangs came out storming.

Michael Smith sailed one in from distance after 90 seconds, and Viraj Patel brilliantly took in a pass from Friedman in tight space before ripping the net and it was 2-2 after just six minutes. A go-ahead goal looked inevitable, but Mitchell missed a vacated net three times, and Leto goalie Daniel Aristizabel made two tough stops on Austin Anahory blasts.

After having hardly any possession, Leto (7-9-2) regrouped after the water break and almost got the winner. But twice Mitchell goalie Patrick Cooney made big saves on Mera, one on a dramatic counterattack late in regulation.

Mitchell took control in the overtime, with Friedman getting the winner after knocking the ball loose from Aristizabel.

"I thought they would blow the whistle on me," said Friedman, who has 24 goals. "It's incredible how much energy we played with in the second half."

Hillsborough (6-7-1) had the higher standing but Sickles the better overall record (7-5-2) and a 6-3 win over the Terriers during the regular season. Cade McCurdy, who had only played goalie at the rec level, was persuaded to try out for the Terriers after that game and came through with a key save in the closing minutes of Wednesday's first semifinal.

"After how the game started I didn't think it was going to be that close. We couldn't quite seal the deal," McCurdy said.

After his save on standout Sickles forward Marzuwq Bholai's free kick, McCurdy let out a loud "Let's go!" and sent the ball upfield, leading to a foul and putaway penalty kick attempt. But Sickles junior Trevor McCarron, plugged in at halftime himself, stopped Nikhil Saligame's shot and point-blank rebound try.

It was Saligame's perfect free kick that put Hillsborough up 2-1 in the first half, followed by a loose-ball score from Lawrence Dawsey for a two-goal lead. Despite the Terriers dominating play for the first 20 minutes after halftime, Sickles struck when Bholai pounced on Livan Calvo's long ball.

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Jake Kennard had the game's first score, taking the ball in after collecting it a full 50 yards from goal. Calvo answered by heading in Stefano Illnaes' free kick.

Mitchell and Hillsborough play for the district championship Friday at 7 p.m.