By BRITTANY OCHTINSKY

Special to The Oakland Press

FARMINGTON HILLS — If the key to winning the state championship is to endure a grueling overtime game, then Birmingham Marian’s girls soccer team took a step in the right direction Wednesday night, knocking off Fenton, 1-0, in a Division 2 state semifinal.

“We talked before the start of overtime that every Marian team who has won a state championship has had to go through overtime,” Marian coach Barry Brodsky said. “You have to play tough games to win, and this is about as tough of a game as you want to get.”

Martha Stevens helped the Mustangs advance to the state finals for the first time in five years, scoring the game-winning goal 5:38 into the overtime frame.

“When I kicked it, I didn’t even realize it went in,” Stevens said. “I knew I had to turn and shoot and the next thing I knew, my whole team was on top of me and I couldn’t breathe.”

The Mustangs will play East Grand Rapids in the state finals Saturday at 2 p.m. at Troy Athens.

Marian dominated play throughout most of regulation, but the Mustangs were unable to crack Fenton goalkeeper Lauren Wing. They fired shots high, wide, off the crossbar and right at Wing, but couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net.

The Mustangs thought they had broken a scoreless tie with five minutes left in the first half, but the goal was called back because the referee ruled that Wing had possession of the ball before it was kicked out and into the net.

Brodsky is a firm believer everything that happens is to his team’s advantage. And although he still isn’t sure how ruling worked to their advantage, he knew they had to put it behind them and focus on the rest of the game.

Despite outplaying the Tigers, Brodsky admitted he was out-coached by Fenton’s Matt Sullivan.

“We were befuddled as to how to score. We couldn’t get it inside, we came close a few times but couldn’t get it on frame. When you miss those chances, you worry if that’s going to cost you the game, and luckily it didn’t cost us,” Brodsky said. “Their goaltender played tremendous. We scrimmaged them early in the season and she was not as solid as she was tonight, she cleaned up everything. As the game wore on, I wondered if we were ever going to score.”

While Mustang goalkeeper Whitney Sarkis didn’t see half the action that Wing did, she came up big for her team, making key saves in her 11th shutout of the season. Most notably was a shot by Tori Bailey halfway through the second half. Bailey is small, but uses her speed to her advantage and causes her opponents to hold their breath when she gets the ball, hoping she doesn’t score.

Now the Mustangs have to put the game behind them and focus on winning the state championship. It has been a realistic goal for Marian all season, having been ranked No. 1 in Division 2 most of the year, but can finally come to fruition with a win this Saturday.

It will be a new experience for the players, but Brodsky has been there twice before, winning titles with the Mustangs in 2003 and 2004.

“It happened so long ago, I can’t even remember it,” he said. “We have to get over (this game) and put it behind us. We can celebrate, but as great as they feel now, it’s even greater at the next level. We’ve still got one more to go.”