Towson's boys soccer team spent nearly two hours before last night's Class 2A state semifinal on a school bus, trying to find the way to Arundel High. It was a bad sign, but the Generals' luck changed during the game.

Jeff Routh's penalty kick with just under three minutes left in the first half and an own goal by a Bethesda-Chevy Chase defender midway through the second half were enough to earn Towson a 2-1 victory over the defending champs in a game played in a fog during the second period.

Routh's goal, his 19th to go with eight assists, came after teammate Mike Novotny was dragged down in the box. Routh placed his shot into the net's upper right-hand corner, freezing B-CC keeper Nick Reifschneider.

"We were trying to play it wide and they were fouling Mike, and that time they pulled on his shirt," said Routh. "I tried to pick a spot and just place it and didn't worry about what the goalie was going to do. It went into the corner and he had no chance."

Towson keeper Tom Franklin (nine saves) recovered nicely after giving up only his eighth goal against 10 shutouts on a header by David Rowan with 22 minutes left in the game. And the No. 10 Generals (15-1-2) had the lead again 61 seconds later, when a throw-in by Tyler Kohler was deflected into B-CC's goal.

Towson's 13th straight win earned it a berth in its first state final since winning the title in 1991. It will meet Stephen Decatur, a 1-0 overtime winner over Hammond and last year's runner-up to B-CC.

Stephen Decatur 1, Hammond 0: Hammond was definitely energized for its Class 2A semifinal rematch with Stephen Decatur of Worcester County last night at Arundel High.

"We played our hearts out," said Bears sweeper Dan Slaughter. "But we've never won in overtime."

Slaughter led a defense that bent but wouldn't break until the sixth minute of overtime, when Stephen Decatur's Alex Sananikone, running a diagonal route from the right, took a short pass from Joe Pino that drew out Bears goalkeeper Kyle Weber and allowed Sananikone to score the game's only goal on a kick to the far post.

Weber, a 6-foot-5 junior who didn't start until midway through the season, made 13 saves, some of them sensational, until that goal. He broke up a two-on-one breakaway only minutes before the goal with a sliding tackle.

The Seahawks (11-1-1) outshot the Bears 26-7 and sent such a barrage of shots toward the Hammond goal early in the game that it was amazing that none went in. Two were kicked off the line - one each by Slaughter and Rahel Singh.

"They took a lot of dangerous shots after dribbling through our defense in the middle," said Weber. "I kept thinking I just have to make the next save and we would eventually score. We just needed one goal."

Stephen Decatur returned most of its team from a year ago, while the No. 15 Bears (10-7-1) lost some key players.

- Rick Belz

Class 4A

Churchill 2, No. 6 Old Mill 0: A fine season that included their first Anne Arundel County championship and second-ever East region crown came to an end for the Patriots, who ran into a quality side that had too much finesse and firepower.

The Bulldogs (10-2) got goals in each half in the game at Thomas Johnson High in Frederick, while effectively containing the Patriots' countering ways with possession and poised play in the back. The Patriots closed out their season at 14-3-2.

"It's been a great year and this can't take anything away from that," said Old Mill coach Jeff Martin. "Nobody expected us to be here, but we fought all year to get better and we did.

"I think we were kind of in awe how they came out and took the ball down the middle like they did. We didn't use the sides of the field like we've done all year and also didn't get any 50-50 balls, which hurt us defensively."

Churchill, the West region champ from Montgomery County, put the pressure on from the start and didn't let up in taking a 1-0 halftime lead on a goal by Shohei Kawasaki in the 28th minute. The freshman striker carried the ball straight to the goal and then, using two open teammates on the right as decoys, cut left and softly chipped a ball over Tim Carrier from 12 yards.

Justin Mayo, who had quality chances turned aside by Carrier early and late in the first half, scored an insurance goal five minutes into the second half, finishing off a long run on the right with a shot from the 18-yard mark.

- Glenn P. Graham

High Point 3, No. 14 Perry Hall 2: When the second half turned into a feast of goals - four in a 10-minute stretch - the Eagles from Prince George's County proved one better.

The Eagles (14-1) showed exceptional ball skills, while Perry Hall (9-3-1) countered with persistence and resourceful play. It added up to an entertaining 80 minutes of play at Thomas Johnson High.

Daydrian Givans provided the game-winner in the 56th minute, just two minutes after teammate Ferdy Calderon had tied the game at 2 and four minutes after the Gators had taken their first lead at 2-1.

Perry Hall trailed 1-0 at the half before rallying with the first two goals of the second period. Stephen Pirerra scored on a direct kick from 30 yards to get the game even and then Jason Cromwell took advantage of an errant clear, one-timing a shot from 25 yards for a 2-1 lead in the 52nd minute.

High Point (14-1) then quickly found the answers to move on to the championship game against Churchill at UMBC.

- Glenn P. Graham