WOODS CROSS — Surprise, surprise. Olympus shut out another opponent.
None of the previous 10 were as big as Tuesday's though — not even close.
Against a Mountain View team that many thought was the 4A team to beat, Olympus wasn't intimidated and simply did what it's been doing for the last month. It possessed the ball very well and played outstanding defense.
And when Mountain View did break down the Titans back line, keeper Ethan Cash was there to bail them out with several clutch saves to lift his team to the 1-0 victory in the 4A semifinals at Woods Cross High School.
"Our team, we're peaking at the right time, we're doing really well. I think we did great in possession-wise today," said Olympus striker James Webb.
The shutout was Oly's third straight in the playoffs and seventh in the past eight games. The final score in six of those seven shutouts was 1-0.
"This team just has such good possession and the defense stays so organized. Yeah I'd love to score more goals, but we get chances," said Olympus coach Chris Sonntag.
With the victory, Olympus advances to Thursday's 4A championship at Rio Tinto Stadium against Region foe Murray at 4:30 p.m. The teams split the season series with Murray winning at Olympus 3-1 on April 17 and Oly returning the favor with a 1-0 win on May 4.
Webb provided all the scoring the Titans needed with a bizarre goal off a throw-in midway through the second half.
Mountain View's defense seemed to be caught off guard when Blaze Nelson quickly threw the ball in to Webb in the box. The Oly senior was in a great spot to receive the ball, and with only one defender on his back he quickly turned to free himself up for a shot on goal. Webb calmly tucked it just inside the far post to give his team the 1-0 lead in the 60th minute.
With the lead, Olympus knew exactly what needed to be done over the final 20 minutes.
"I feel we're an experienced team enough to be able to keep that 1-nil lead. Our defense plays smart when we're up a goal," said Cash.
Without the heroics of Cash though, the Titans could've easily been the team scrambling over those final 20 minutes.
Following a fairly even first half, Mountain View came out on the front foot in the second half and put the Titans under heavy pressure. In the 42nd and 46th minutes, Bruins' striker Chris Reyes used his speed to get behind the defense for one-on-one opportunities with Cash, but he was denied both times.
"Huge. Because for one thing he's not a striker that just sees an open net and blindly kids it. He's picking his spot," said Sonntag. "You don't score 22 goals just blasting away."
Shortly after the second save, Reyes appeared to finally solve the Oly defense following a deflected shot, but the linesman called offsides.
Email: jedward@desnews.com