The run to a State championship began on Monday night for the Meridian High School boys’ soccer team, after beating William Monroe 6-0 last Thursday to capture the Region 3B crown. Their opponent would be the Tigers of Yorktown’s Tabb High School, a perennial force to be reckoned with, but the Mustangs – who haven’t lost since their fifth game of the season in early April – figured to be up to the challenge.

Both teams appeared to be evenly matched in the early going, as Meridian goalkeeper Addison Turner made a sprawling save about seven minutes in and Henry Brown had two quality chances that did everything but find the back of the net. Finally, Fletcher Saaty was able to put one in on a feed from Zach Miller just past midway into the period, and that 1-0 advantage would last into the intermission.

Despite holding the lead, Meridian was determined not to let the opposition come out of the break as the hungrier team, and the Mustangs were immediately buzzing in front of the net when play resumed. A few minutes later, Brayden Mellon set up Amin Shams to make the score 2-0, and as the period rolled on, the Tigers began to run out of gas. Shams drove in his second of the night, this one unassisted with 17 minutes remaining, and Meridian would hold on for the 3-0 victory.

The Mustangs (15-2-2) will now travel to Fluvanna County, just south of Charlottesville, for the remainder of their State playoff run. They’ll face either Christiansburg or Turner Ashby on Friday at 1:00 P.M., and should they win that, they will compete in the State Finals on Saturday.