When Jeremy Beshirs took over the Paris boys soccer program 7 seasons ago, he adoped the slogan of “Family” for his Wildcat teams. The Cats have taken the call phrase to heart at the Kennedale Invitational and it’s earned them a repeat appearance in Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. championship match against Ferris.
It’s a rematch of last year’s Kennedale tournament finale won by Ferris, 1-0, on a free kick with 12 minutes remaining in the match. Saturday’s rematch features the region’s No. 2 (Ferris) and No. 5 (Paris) ranked teams.
The Cats (5-6-1) reached the championship round by earning a perfect 20-point score in their two preliminary matches. They beat Mineral Wells, 5-0, on Thursday as Beshirs’ freshman son Kyler made his varsity debut with two goals and an assist.
Then on Friday, Paris shut out Brownwood, 3-0, as all three Wildcat Mitchell brothers netted goals. Junior Christian Mitchell picked up the first goal on an assist from Beshirs. Senior Justin Mitchell made it a 2-0 score before halftime with a dead ball goal. Sophomore Nick Mitchell picked up the final goal in the second half off an assist from sophomore Felix Vasquez.
It was Justin Mitchell’s third goal of the tournament.
The tournament has 12 teams with random pairings in their first two matches, so bracketing for Saturday’s final round depends on points earned. Paris earned a maximum of 10 points per match for a win (6 points), goals (up to 3 points), and shutout (1 point). Ferris earned 19 points with a 3-0 win over Kennedale and 3-1 win vs. Gainesville to reach the title round.
Meanwhile, the Ladycats (3-6-2) had a tough turnaround at the Highway 5 Cup in Melissa on Friday. They lost to the McKinney JV, 1-0, despite 12 saves recorded by sophomore goalie Emily Williams. Then they faced host and state title contender Melissa in back-to-back matches and were routed, 7-0.