Dulaney senior goalie Alisa Jordan casually called it a busy afternoon. "And late in the game, it got really hectic," she said.
Her Lions were holding a one-goal lead over visiting Chesapeake-Anne Arundel with under four minutes to play when she first turned aside a hard shot from the top of the circle for her 15th save. Off the rebound came save No. 16, another clear shot, point-blank from the right.
The defense took care of the rest yesterday afternoon as the Lions claimed the Class 4A South region championship with a 2-1 win over Chesapeake, which deserved better.
Dulaney (11-2-1) will make its fourth appearance in the state tournament at Goucher College, starting at noon Monday in the semifinals, still in search of its first state crown.
Jordan's two late saves -- the first off a shot from Colleen Plitt and the second against Megan Skiles -- played big in getting the Lions there.
"Luckily, they were both directly at me. The hard part was getting back over to the other side [on the second shot]," said Jordan. "I have a lot of faith in my defense. They are there for me, and I'm there for them."
Chesapeake, which knocked off perennial state power Westminster in the region semifinals on Tuesday, dominated most of the way.
At the half, the Cougars (9-4-3) had a 14-2 edge in shots and an 8-1 advantage on penalty corners but found themselves trailing PTC 1-0. Dulaney's Jean Sneeringer scored off a feed from Sarah Creighton 10 minutes before halftime.
The game-winner came midway through the second half, when Christine Trader scored on a penalty stroke after Chesapeake goalie Valerie Bryant was called for covering the ball with three Dulaney attackers in front.
"My favorite spot is the back right corner," said Trader, who converted on her only other penalty stroke chance during the regular season. "If you shoot it fast, it's hard for the keeper to get there."
Emma Bryson finally ended the Cougars' frustration, scoring with 5: 30 left to make it 2-1. But Jordan and the Lions defense -- led by Ericka Lundell, Melissa Shilling, Anna DuVal and Becky Gerkins -- had the last word.
"We just couldn't find the goal," said Skiles. "It was pretty frustrating, because I thought we controlled the game. I thought our team played very well."
Added Chesapeake coach Jerry Taylor: "It's very disappointing. It took until the last 15 minutes for us to wake up, but I'm proud of them. We've had problems scoring all season and just couldn't come up with the scores."