CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Grant Ellis spent the first 40 minutes of Bradford Prep’s fourth-round match hammering away at Bishop McGuinness goalkeeper Asael Guzman.

54 seconds into the second half, he finally broke through the wall to help the Bears punch their ticket to Tuesday’s 1A western regional final with a 3-0 victory.

Bradford Prep will host Mount Airy who earned a 5-3 overtime win on Friday night at Piedmont Classical and instantly turned around to defeat 1-seed Highland Tech 3-0 on Saturday afternoon.

The Bears’ first-half attack produced a half dozen quality chances to find the back of the net. Guzman turned away two shots in the opening 20 minutes before Ellis rung the left post with a free kick.

Minutes later, Logan Grasso found Ellis in stride with nothing but Guzman and clean air ahead of him. When Ellis got his foot to the ball Guzman lunged forward and caught the ball with his legs for a crucial stop.

In the final minute of the opening frame, Guzman stonewalled Ellis again before Cullen Campbell sent a shot that narrowly missed the cage.

Bradford had momentum but nothing to show for it. That was until the game’s 41st minute.

Ellis broke free down the left side and buried a shot past the final line of defense.

With a 1-0 lead in hand, the junior worked his way past a Bishop McGuinness defender and ripped in a 48th-minute tally to erupt the home crowd.

Grasso added a goal in the final 10 minutes of the match to put a bow on the 3-0 victory.

The Bears have gone from 9-10-2 a year ago to a 17-3 and a win away from a state championship appearance.