Centennial's players had not forgotten last year. The feeling of a 6-1 loss to a close rival like Howard has a way of sticking with you.
"We were pretty invested in this game," said Centennial's Zahaara Hotait, one of the goal scorers in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Lions.
"Normally, we play Howard the first game of the season," said the Eagles' Mar Mar Baldy.
The afternoon game was the fifth of the year for Centennial, and it has had ample opportunities to work out early season kinks.
By contrast, it was just the second game of the year for a young Howard squad. The Lions only have one senior — Annette Jarosz.
"It is always a good game when Howard plays Centennial," Jarosz said.
All of the scoring came in the first half, but that doesn't mean the second half wasn't exciting.
Howard refused to quit, and midway through the half Lions managed to get four consecutive corners.
Centennial keeper Jenna Dietrich was up to the challenge, making four saves during that stretch. She had 12 stops in all.
"Jenna had a really good game," said Centennial coach Tara Carr.
Dietrich gave her defensive teammates — Charlotte DeCarlo, Bella Brillante, Annabel Baldy and Bridget Israel — a pat on the back as well.
"They marked up really well in the circle and prevented a lot of shots from taking place," she said.
Dietrich had to rely on her defensive in the closing moments of the game.
Howard was awarded an offensive corner with less than second remaining. That scoring opportunity multiplied into two other chances when the Lions were awarded two additional corners with no time on the clock.
"Toward the very end, I was afraid [Howard] would tie it up and we would go into overtime," said Olivia O'Connell. "Those last couple of corners were so intense."
It was Mar Mar Baldy who brought the game to a close when she got the ball out of the circle.
"We played all out until the end," Jarosz said. "We got corners, we just need to capitalize on them."
Centennial 3, Howard 2
Goals: C — Julia Grable, Zaharra Hotait, Olivia O'Connell. Ho — Emily Taylor, Jamie Tsao.
Assists: C — Olivia O'Connell, Maggie Sullivan. Ho —Jamie Tsao, Ashley Kuttler.
Saves: C — Jenna Dietrich 12. Ho — Casey Lawlor 11.
Halftime: Centennial, 3-2.
Other scores:
South River 2, Atholton 0
South River, the home team, put Atholton on its heels in a 2-0 win. The Raiders' defense absorbed 26 shots on goal and senior keeper Adira Colton had 20 saves.
With 11 shots on goal, Atholton did have offensive opportunities but was not able to turn them into goals.
Atholton is playing without starting midfielder Rachel Foster, who suffered a knee injury in last week's game against Arundel.
Goals: SR — Kassidy Bresnaiton, Mala Cheeks. A — none.
Assists: none
Saves: SR — Paige Ford 9. A — Adira Colton 20.
Halftime: South River, 1-0.
Arundel 3, Mt. Hebron 2
Mt. Hebron fell to Arundel, 3-2.
The Vikings need to adjust their playing pattern, coach Jeannette Ireland says.
"We tend to pin a team in their defensive circle and then we don't score," she said. "It's very frustrating."
Missing early chances to score, Mt. Hebron found itself down, 3-0, at the half. The Vikings put in two second-half goals but could not get an equalizer.
Goals: A — Partilla, Keane, Devan. MH — Ellie Miller, Isis Groot.
Assists: A — none. MH — Denise Linn.
Saves: A — German 3. MH — Julia Cargiulo 3, Jen Schaaf 2.
Halftime: Arundel, 3-0.
Mount de Sales 1, Glenelg Country 0
Libby Rehkemper scored the game's only goal as host Mount de Sales defeated Glenelg Country School in an Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland B Conference game. The game-winner in the evenly matched contest came on an offensive penalty corner with 7:47 left to play.
Glenelg Country saw strong play in goal by Ishika Kathuria (13 saves). She was supported defensively by Ally Brown and Avery Dyer.
TK Olaniyan, Julia Sheehan and Bobbie Haney were solid at midfield for the Dragons.
Goals: MdS — Libby Rehkemper. GCS — none.
Assists: MdS — Gianna Antone.
Saves: MdS — Hannah Andrews 0, Olivia Gretz 1. GCS — Ishika Kathuria 13.
Halftime: tied, 0-0.
Meade 6, Wilde Lake 2
Wilde Lake scored first in each half but visiting Meade answered each time with three goals.
Goals: M — Erin Heritage 2, Alicia Mitchell, Kristi King, Ashlee Shepherd, Maggy Taylor. WL — Carla Spooner, Gabby Christopher.
Halftime: Meade, 3-1.
River Hill 3, Reservoir 0
Goals: RH — Cristina Scolaro 2, Gaby Hamburger. Re — none.
Assists: RH — Bailey Schwab 2, Quinn Kindbom.
Saves: Caroline Kral 5. Re — not available.
Halftime: River Hill, 1-0.
Glenelg 3, Severna Park 0
Goals: G — Lindsey LeTellier, Gabby Rachuba, Kathryn Hoffman. SP — none.
Assists: G — Gracy Olson, Jenny Giampalmo.
Saves: G — Kaylin Craine 4. SP — Taylor Guilar.
Hammond 9, Glen Burnie 0
Goals: Ha — Rachel McClanahan 4, Sam Mesol 2, Claudia Rodriguez, Bethany Hewitt, Caitlin Pettingill.
North County 2, Long Reach 1
Southern 5, Oakland Mills 2
Broadneck 2, Marriotts Ridge 1
Standings (as of Sept. 13 and arranged by county standings)
River Hill, 2-0 county, 4-0 overall
Centennial, 2-0, 4-1
Glenelg, 0-0, 4-0
Hammond, 0-0, 2-0
Marriotts Ridge, 0-0, 2-1-1
Mt. Hebron, 0-0, 2-2
Long Reach, 0-0, 1-1
Atholton, 0-0, 1-2
Oakland Mills, 0-0, 0-2
Wilde Lake, 0-0, 0-4
Reservoir, 0-2, 1-4
Howard, 0-2, 0-2
Glenelg Country, 0-1 (IAAM B), 1-1