Senior goalkeeper Ryan Foo made a huge save late in overtime and then stopped two spot kicks as Archbishop Mitty advanced to the finals on penalty kicks over fifth-seeded Leigh in a Central Coast Section Division II semifinal match Wednesday night at Pioneer High School. The teams played to a scoreless deadlock through two overtimes before the Monarchs (17-1-7) defeated the Longhorns, 4-2, on penalty kicks.
Foo was the primary reason the match made it that far as his tremendous diving save late in the second overtime kept his team in the match. Leigh sophomore forward Matt Vargas connected on a side volley from near the penalty spot that appeared ticketed for the left corner, but Foo made a diving save to his right to keep it at 0-0 with five minutes left in the second period.
While his teammates Kyle Cook, Eric Espinoza, Shane Luna and Connor Kurze converted on all four of their penalty kick attempts, Foo was able to make two saves. The final Leigh attempt was knocked over the bar by a diving Foo and the Mitty celebration ensued.
Overall, the match had a cup final feel to it as neither team generated much in the form of clear-cut scoring chances. Leigh took the initiative at the start of the match, but Mitty was able to establish control through the latter part of the first half and into the second half. Luna had a good chance roll just wide of the post in the 54th minute.
Mitty had Leigh on its heels throughout most of the first overtime period, but the Longhorn defense, despite the absence of senior center back Brian Sweeney, held tight. In addition to the volley by Vargas, Leigh had another great chance with three minutes left in the second overtime when a shot by Logan McNerney glanced off the upper side of the crossbar.
Next up for Mitty is a date with Lincoln in the Division II final Saturday morning (10 am) at Oak Grove. Lincoln advanced with a 1-0 overtime win over Los Gatos on an own goal in the second overtime period.
