Towson's Jocelyn Paul had waited a long time for the chance to play in the state field hockey championships. Yesterday, she made sure it finally happened.
The senior forward scored both goals to lead the No. 5 Generals to a 2-0 victory over No. 3 Hereford for the Class 2A North regional championship.
The Generals will be making their first trip to the state tournament since 1997 when they head to Goucher College for a semifinal at 12:30 p.m. Monday with No. 15 Centennial, a 1-0 winner over Howard in the South regional.
"I've waited four years for this. I'm so excited I can't breathe," Paul said. "After we lost to [Hereford] in the county championship, our mindset totally changed. We worked so much harder and we were so much more focused."
Talk about revenge. The Generals (15-1) not only made up for their 2-1 loss to the Bulls in the Baltimore County title game, but they also avenged three straight regional final losses, including last year's shootout.
"They wanted this more than they wanted the county championship," said Hereford senior Sarah Tracey. "This was their goal. They double-teamed and they pushed a lot harder."
Paul scored both of her goals in similar fashion, reeling in rebounds and hammering them into the far corner. Her first one, with 14:35 left in the first half, came after her initial shot hit Bulls defender Sarah Heaton's feet and bounced back to Paul, who drove her second effort 15 yards into the cage.
For her next goal, Paul took a rebound off goalie Amanda Polley's pads from a Kelly Ball shot and nailed it from 8 yards.
"I'm always trying to hit the opposite corner," Paul said, "and that's where they went today. All that practice really paid off."
The Bulls, who outshot Towson 11-10 and had a 15-4 edge in penalty corners, could not finish, largely because of the inspired play of Generals defender Sam Merrick, who made several saves on the goal line. Merrick, Alley Firey and Hayley Mershon thwarted every move the Bulls made and clamped down on their catalyst, Tracey.
Towson's victory ended a run of six straight state tournament trips for Hereford, which shared the 2A state title with Bethesda-Chevy Chase a year ago.