Bel Air junior midfielder Bethany Peck said it wasn't a pretty goal.
Effective? Yes.
Timely? No question.
Peck's goal with four minutes left completed a late second-half rally that gave No. 11 Bel Air a resilient 2-1 win over Calvert in a Class 3A state girls soccer semifinal at Annapolis High last night.
The Bobcats (13-4) will play in their second championship game in three years at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, looking for their first crown against Severna Park at UMBC.
As for Peck's big goal, from less than 6 yards on the right side: "Brittany [Rothenbach] passed it in to me, and it was actually a toe ball - nothing pretty. It got in between [Calvert keeper Heather Moe] and the near post. It just snuck in."
The win was nothing new to the Bobcats on two fronts this postseason.
In taking the North regional title, they came back from a two-goal deficit to defeat Franklin, 3-2, in overtime, and Peck got that game-winner about the same way.
Bethany was only half of the Peck story last night, because freshman sister Michelle also had a role: marking Calvert senior striker Jennifer Corken, who came into the game with a whopping 33 goals and nine assists.
Corken did score her 34th goal to give the Cavaliers (16-2) a 1-0 lead early in the second half, but Michelle - with only occasional help needed from senior sweeper Rene Pope - proved up to the task.
"Michelle's our toughest ball player," said Bel Air coach Bill Zimmerman.
No. 4 Severna Park 0, Walter Johnson 0 (Severna Park wins shootout, 4-2): Severna Park senior goalkeeper Brooke Shinaberry tries to be patient on penalty kicks, waiting to see where the shooter will aim.
When fellow senior Leah Hackmann is taking them, she likes to take a look at which way the goalkeeper may be leaning.
Last night against Walter Johnson, both guessed right - literally.
Shinaberry made a diving save to her right to turn away a shot by Sarah Calderone, and then Hackmann clinched a trip to Saturday's Class 3A state final game against Bel Air by getting by Walter Johnson, 4-2, in a penalty shootout after 100 minutes of scoreless soccer.
Katie White, Kiley Williams and Shannon Hadaway scored to give the Falcons a 3-2 lead. Shinaberry and Hackmann handled the rest.
"We've been working on it all year. I worked all my life for this, and our team has worked so hard all season," said Shinaberry. "I just wait until she kicked it and had good timing."
The save gave Hackmann the opportunity to wrap it up, and she wasted no time finding the right corner past Walter Johnson keeper Alison Readler, then racing to the middle of the field and falling to her knees as her teammates piled on.
"Coach [Gary Lam] told me right after overtime that I would take the fifth shot. I was a little surprised because our whole team shoots penalty kicks well," said Hackmann. "I was calm and went to the right side because I saw [Readler] leaning to the other side."