The boys will play in Austin at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16, against St. Peter.
Two big wins have propelled the Tri-City United (TCU) boys soccer team into the Section 2A Championship match.
The Titans (14-5-0) will play St. Peter (9-6-3) for the third time this season on Thursday, Oct. 16, at Austin for the right to advance to the Class A State Tournament.
TCU is 2-0 this season against the Saints, winning 3-2 in September and 5-0 in October.
The Titans advanced to the Championship after defeating Butterfield-Odin United, 12-1, Thursday, Oct. 9 and defeated No. 4 seed Albert Lea, 4-2, Saturday, Oct. 11.
In the opening win, Gio Perez, Christ Gutierrez, and Guilherme Tsuha each scored a pair of goals.
Scoring single goals were Angel Ruiz Gomez, Gio Ruiz Gomez, Alex Mendez, Chase Miller, Carson Flicek, and Brayden Siebsen.
Angel Ruiz Gomez had a pair of assists. Also delivering an assist were Siebsen, Miller, Perez, and Keith Sexton.
Coaches' Defensive Man of the Match was Erik Hernandez.
“This was a great way to start the playoffs. We got minutes for everyone on the team and managed to avoid accumulating any new injuries,” head coach Darren Iverson said. “It was nice to see Christ Gutierrez get his first two goals of the season after all of his terrific defensive exploits. Carson Flicek scored his first of the season, which was well-deserved after impacting play all over the field.”
In the semifinal win over Albert Lea, the four goals were scored by a Ruiz Gomez. Both Angel and Gio scored two goals each. Angel also added an assist as did Siebsen. Two of their four goals were scored after the 72nd minute.
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Coaches' Defensive Man of the Match was Christ Gutierrez.
“Albert Lea is young and talented and they were flying high after drubbing Fairmont in the first round. I thought the guys did a great job of matching their energy,” Iverson said. “We held a one score lead for nearly all of the match and I was very impressed with how focused and composed we were in taking charge of a tight game.”
When asked about the Section Championship, Iverson said the following:
“This will be our 6th match against St. Peter in the past two seasons. We've had some success against them in recent matchups, but we know them well enough to understand that they are loaded with talent at every position.” he said.
