The North Harford Hawks, last year's Class 3A field hockey state runner-up, came up a goal short in their bid to make a second straight championship game appearance as they lost, 2-1, to the Westminster Owls in the state semifinal round Monday evening.

The Hawks earned their spot in the semifinals by beating top-seeded Hereford, 2-1, last Wednesday in the Class 3A North title game. Westminster took top honors in the 3A West bracket, beating Urbana, 2-1, in the regional final.

Monday's state tournament match was back and forth through the first half, with Westminster earning three penalty corners, while North Harford was awarded two before the break, but neither side could find the opposing net. The best opportunity of the opening half for the Hawks came seven minutes into the game, when Emily Eline ripped a shot from 10 yards out following a penalty corner, but her attempt went wide by a foot.

After four minutes of play in the second half, the Owls struck the first blow when Maddy Walsh tucked a shot into the North Harford goal.

With 18 minutes left before the final whistle, North Harford evened things up when Kara Parks scored on a short shot following a North Harford penalty corner.

The game would stay knotted until the 11-minute mark when Westminster's Meghan Macera scored the game-winner on a long-distance attempt.

Needing at least one tally to stay alive, North Harford pressured throughout the final 10 minutes, earning two penalty corners and putting a number of shots on goal, but the Owls kept the Hawks from scoring the equalizer.

With the loss, North Harford ends its 2011 campaign with an 11-7 record.