The shot heard round the county!
It was fired by Michelle Clawson Oct. 5 at 8:30 p.m. at Liberty High's stadium and changed the face of girls soccer in Carroll County this season.
It not only lifted Liberty to a 1-0 upset victory over powerful South Carroll but gave the Lions the Central Maryland Conference soccer championship and a share of the county title with the Cavaliers.
It also touched off talk that Liberty, unranked early in the season, had significantly closed the gap on South Carroll, which has been ranked as high as No. 6 in the Baltimore Sun metro top 15 poll.
Some people were even willing to jump on the Lions' bandwagon enough to say they were a better team than South Carroll.
Those claims have not yet been substantiated, and the Cavaliers (No. 9) remain one notch ahead of Liberty (No. 10) in this week's poll.
South Carroll beat Liberty, 4-0, in the season-opener. Liberty scoring standout Shanna Ziegenfuss did not play in that opener but the outcome can't be ignored.
All of the discussion over which is the better team is interesting, but let's return to the booming shot by Clawson, which has fascinated soccer buffs throughout the county.
Just how far did it travel?
Was it a lucky shot against a strong goalkeeper -- South Carroll's Kendra Pulis?
Could Clawson, a junior stopper, do it again?
With each passing day, the Clawson shot grows in magnitude and someone else adds a yard or two to its distance.
Five or 10 years from now, people probably will say it traveled at least 40 yards.
The first accounts of Clawson's ringing shot from the right side of the field with 6:34 left in a scoreless duel had it going 25 yards.
The next day, that distance rose to 30 yards and now a lot of people are saying it was at least 35.
Was it luck or skill?
Some say it doesn't really matter because Clawson came through when she had to.
But in fairness to Clawson, it should be said that this was a calculated shot by a talented soccer player who is unsung because of the position she plays.
If Clawson were a forward, she would be one of the most celebrated players in the county. She likes to play up front but realizes she is needed more in the back.
To understand just how good Clawson is one only has to look at her record in club soccer.
She plays on the same team -- Baltimore Football Club Glyndon United -- that South Carroll's All-America candidate, Amber Clutter, plays on.
The Glyndon team competes in the Washington Area Girls Soccer League and traveled to Blaine, Minn., last summer for a 47-team tournament.
The fans in Blaine who saw Clawson play will tell the people in Carroll County that the shot against South Carroll was not luck.
Clawson hit one of those blistering 35-yard shots into the net in Blaine.
"I've made a couple shots in tournaments like the one against South Carroll," said Clawson. "It's not something I practice a lot but I guess I'm capable of doing it because I have to cross the ball a lot from my position."
Clawson, a quiet girl who lets her strong right foot do most of the talking, has taken all the hubbub over her shot in stride.
She said it was a great feeling to beat neighborhood rival South Carroll but she did have some mixed emotions because she and Clutter are good friends.
Clawson and her mother, Adrean, believe Clutter and South Carroll deserved a better fate than having their season end last Friday with a loss to unbeaten Centennial, 1-0, in the opening round of the 3A-4A West region.
Due to a blind draw for seedings, Centennial and South Carroll were matched in the first round instead of down the road in the region final.
Adrean Clawson said: "Amber Clutter deserved a better finish to her career. It was a fantastic game that should have been in a championship setting, not just another opening-round game."
Greenberg shows discretion
South Carroll athletic director Fred Baker said that Centennial girls soccer coach Dave Greenberg used good judgment and possibly prevented a lot of trouble last Friday night after his team had beaten South Carroll at South Carroll.
Baker said the Centennial girls were in the mood to rub a little dirt in the faces of the South Carroll players but Greenberg told his players not to do it.
According to Baker, the Centennial girls were ready to wear copies of a Baltimore Sun article around their necks while they went through the traditional hand-shaking line with the Cavaliers. In the article, South Carroll coach Jim Horn had predicted a victory over the Eagles.
"Who knows what one of our players might have done if they had to face those articles after such a heart-breaking loss," said Baker.