When opportunity knocked for No. 12 Old Mill in last night's Class 3A-4A East Region semifinal, the Patriots' Alicia Curran didn't bother to politely answer the door.
The junior instead knocked it right off its hinges.
After nearly 34 minutes of Old Mill domination with nothing to show for it, Curran scored into an empty net to give her team a lead it would never relinquish en route to a 3-1 victory over Glen Burnie.
When a slow shot rolled through the hands of Gophers goalie Amy Shacklock, the midfielder raced to the ball and found no one standing between her and the goal. It was a situation that every offensive player dreams about.
"All I saw was the back of the net," said Curran, who along with teammate Carina Sonberg (two goals) accounted for all the Patriots scoring.
"It was just like it was lit up with a spotlight. I knew the ball was going in."
The win sets up Tuesday's 5 p.m. matchup against host and No. 15 Chesapeake for the regional championship.
The Patriots (11-4) who will be making their eighth regional final appearance in nine years, defeated the Cougars, 3-0, in the teams' first meeting in early October.
"I think we can go all the way if we continue to play a controlled game on offense," said Old Mill coach Bruce Sponsler, whose team outshot Glen Burnie, 25-12.
"I think we're a very capable team right now."
Glen Burnie (6-8) missed a golden opportunity to score midway through the first half.
After midfielder Courtney Lemon got held in the box, forward Yalisa Perez shot the ensuing penalty kick high over the crossbar.
That, combined with Old Mill's first goal, was enough to take some of the life out of the young Gophers according to coach Jon Van Orden.
"I think we played them real tough in the first half, but we got down a little after that goal," said Van Orden, whose team beat Old Mill, 2-0, during the regular season.
"There were a lot of reasons to get down in this game."
Sonberg doused any hopes of a Glen Burnie comeback by scoring two second-half goals with under 20 minutes to play.
The Gophers got their only score from forward Marianne Ogle, who broke up the shutout with under five minutes left.