Maize South survives triple OT thriller to advance at State Soccer

MAIZE, Kan. (Catch it Kansas) - Facing their stiffest test of the season so far, the Maize South Mavericks moved on to the state soccer final four, winning a three overtime thriller over Andover 2-1 Tuesday night.

This was the third matchup of the season between the Trojans and Mavericks, the season opener ended with a 5-1 Maize South win and they met again in tournament play the next week, that also a 2-1 Maverick victory, but those two could not compare to what we saw Tuesday night.

Buoyed by a stellar performance in goal from senior Braden Rupp, the Trojans kept things scoreless for much of the first half before Brayden Figueroa connected after teammate Junior Quezada was tripped in the box, using the advantage to find the back of the net.

A corner kick a short time after the start of the second half led to the equalizer for Andover off the foot of Grayson Anderson, and the game remained scoreless the rest of regulation.

Rupp continued his strong play in goal, blocking what would have been the match winner on a penalty kick taken by Quezada late in the first OT.

But it was Quezada that finally broke through in the third extra period, beating Rupp to clinch Maize South’s spot in the state semifinals Friday in Topeka. The now 19-0-0 Mavericks are set to face St. Thomas Aquinas at 5:00, with the winner there facing either Newton or Blue Valley Southwest for the state championship Saturday.

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