After No. 11 Friends and No. 13 Hereford outscored their early opponents by a combined total of 11-1, yesterday's meeting figured to be a defensive showdown.

However, Hereford's backfield outshone a hesitant Quakers defense en route to a 3-1 Bulls victory.

Although the Bulls' defense cracked first, allowing host Friends an early score off a penalty corner, the Bulls regrouped for 42 shutout minutes. Most notably, Bulls defenders Molly Adams, Melanie Schwarzmann, Erin Woods and Kelly Harris made several exceptional goal-line stands late in the game.

For Hereford (3-0), two-time defending Baltimore County champion and state Class 1A semifinalist, the victory over Friends (2-1) marked another milestone in the growth of their program. This win was their first over an Association of Independent Schools team.

"Our program has been working toward this," said coach Tammy Mundie, whose team lost to the Quakers 1-0 in double overtime last year. "It took us until last year to be brave enough to play them, but if you want to be the best, you've got to play the best."

Bulls captain Sarah Warner said her younger teammates were nervous going into the game, but the nerves wore off soon after giving up the early goal.

"This win says a lot for Hereford," said Warner. "You don't have to be a private school to beat a private school."

The Bulls, who had allowed only one goal this season on a penalty stroke, nearly stopped Friends' well-executed corner play seven minutes into the game. Bulls' goalie Jen Kostick stopped Maron Deering's powerful drive down the middle, but when the ball slipped through her feet, Molly O'Connor was there to tap it in the cage behind her.

Warner tied the game with 7: 05 left, but the decisive goal came just four seconds before the half. After Lizzie Cusak and Edith Swain cleared away successive Hereford shots, Warner drove a ball down the middle that Tracy Kessler redirected to Amanda Colman for the score.

Hereford's final goal came on a second-half breakaway when the Bulls again got behind Friends goalie Liz Yeager. Julia McKibbin caught up with a long ball and slipped it to Jodi Anderson to finish.

The Bulls defense handled the rest, denying several intense Friends scoring surges. The Quakers outshot the Bulls 9-7 and had a 9-6 edge on corners.

"We certainly had enough chances," said Friends coach Carol Samuels. "Molly and Maron put the ball where we needed it to be, but we didn't capitalize."

Pub Date: 9/15/98