Manchester Valley registered a number of shots on goal against Watkins Mill before one finally found the back of the net — one, plus 16 more.
Grant Boerner, a Mavericks senior attackman/midfielder, scored three goals in one minute to kick-start the host team’s offensive surge against the Wolverines in a Class 3A West Section 1 quarterfinal Wednesday.
The Mavs defeated the visiting Wolverines 18-0 to advance to a 3A West sectional semifinal against Magruder on Friday.
“At the start, we didn't really come out very strong,” Boerner said. “When we put it together, we really tried to get a lot of players in there to score and move the ball around to keep the defense moving and getting those shots.”
The Mavs continued to dominate the playing field after Boerner’s run, much like the girls team did earlier in its 23-0 romp over Magruder.
It was a similar pattern for the Mavs — win the face-off, sprint to goal, find a cutter, and score. Senior midfielder Cody Upman notched two helpers in the first half and Boerner added three straight assists in contribution to two of Upman’s goals and another from junior attackman/midfielder Connor Trump.
The Wolverines called a timeout once Man Valley (8-6) took a 10-0 lead with 8:18 left in the second quarter.
The Mavericks didn’t let up. Six different players scored to rack the score up 15-0. Colin Adams, a sophomore midfielder scored his second goal of the night with 12 seconds left in the second quarter to give the Mavs a 16-0 lead. Credit Trump with the assist, his third of the evening.
The final quarter remained scoreless.
Man Valley remained as energized as ever on the sidelines and cheered for their teammates on the field when they did just about anything, whether it was intercepting a pass, picking up a loose ball, or scoring.
Senior Tyler Ewell, one of Man Valley’s goalies, entered the field and scored with 2:06 left in the third quarter to close out the team’s scoring at 18.
“When guys get to play, it builds depth and keeps the morale high as well, everyone stays excited,” Piper said. “What’s nice is that we always talk about the team as ‘We’ and not ‘Me’ and it’s nice when the starters can be on the sideline and cheer for the guys who have been cheering for them in tough games.
“It’s nice to see that the guys that come in every day and don’t always get to play understand they’re part of the team and get to do that.”
Goals: MV-Grant Boerner 4, Cody Upman 3, Connor Trump, Colin Adams 2, Tyler Prell, Chad Schaffer, Dehon Saunders, Garrett Boerner, Ethan Mitchell, George Bowser, Logan Ziegenfuse, Tyler Ewell.
Assists: MV-Boerner 8, Upman 6, Trump 3, Gabe Eichler, Saunders 2, Mitchell.
Saves: WM-4 (Edwin Delgado); MV-4 (Kevin Connor).
Halftime: MV, 16-0.