Eighty minutes of soccer separates the Columbus Wildcats boys’ soccer team (8-6 overall) from a return trip to the state tournament. The Wildcats advanced to the finals of the Class 1A Substate 5 tournament after upsetting No. 16 Holy Trinity 2-0 on Thursday. Columbus squares off in the substate championship game against the No. 6 Danville Bears (14-1 overall).

The two teams met three times on the pitch this season with Danville winning each matchup. The Bear’s first win was by a 3-0 margin in Columbus City on April 10. The Bears won the meeting in Danville 6-2 final on April 21. Finally, Danville eliminated Columbus from the Southeast Iowa Super Conference soccer tournament with a 4-0 semifinal win on May 16. Junior Adrian Santos and sophomore Ruben Paz scored the Wildcat’s only goals this season against Danville.

Paz leads the team with 20 goals this season, four behind Highland senior Bryan Garcia for top marks in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference.

Danville’s lone loss this spring came against the Fort Madison Bloodhounds, a 2-1 setback on May 19.

Today’s Class 1A Substate 5 boys’ soccer final kicks off at 12 p.m. at South Park in West Point. Tune into KCII’s sports page on Monday to see if Columbus advances to the state tournament.