The Fallston Cougars boys soccer team is headed back to the state finals, following Saturday's 3-2 overtime win against the Patuxent Panthers at Bel Air High School. Havre de Grace does not advance after losing, 2-1, to Mountain Ridge, the defending Class 1A state champion.
The Cougars will face two-time defending state champ Marriotts Ridge for the Class 2A state title next week at UMBC. Day and time had not been confirmed as of Saturday. Marriotts Ridge won the 2009 Class 2A state championship over Fallston, 1-0, in overtime.
For the Cougars, Saturday's semifinal win was eerily, yet happily similar to last week's region title win in which the Cougars won by the same score after falling behind, 2-0.
"Quite honestly, we've been playing really well and just not getting any early finishes, but the one thing that we have is, we really believe in each other," Christopher Hoover, Fallston's head coach, said after the game.
From the start, it seemed like a case of when, not if, for the Cougars, whose attacking, well -rilled and skilled passing game dominated the play.
Despite that, it was the opportunistic Panthers who struck first at the 24:08 left in the half mark.
Panthers senior midfielder Dale Echoles ripped a left–foot shot from 35 yards out that Cougars' goalie Robbie Kansler got his hands on.
The ball glanced upward off Kansler's hands, inside the crossbar and down, just across the goal line.
The Cougars, meanwhile, watched shot-after-shot never reach the goal, or miss wide or high. A few did make it to Panthers goalie Mike Frawley, a JV kid called on to make his first varsity start in place of injured starting goalie Corbin Jones.
Frawley held the Cougars in check for the entire first half with seven saves.
Down at the half, 1-0, the Cougars continued to dominate play in the second half, but a counter attack by Patuxent, that produced its only true second half shot, cashed in. Jacob Hayden, the Panthers leading scorer, fed the ball to Scott Maratta, who sent a ground ball shot just inside the right post and out of the reach of the diving Kansler. The Panthers led, 2-0.
The Cougars continued to press and the 'if' appeared to become 'when' with 27 minutes left. A goal was denied though by a offsides call.
It did become when some 10 minutes later as a corner kick was pushed out and Tyler Andrus blasted the free ball into the back of the net.
The Cougars drew even at the 9:53 mark when sophomore defender Aidan O'Donnell one-timed a left foot laser into the net from the top of the box.
Despite the 29-6 final shot advantage, Fallston needed overtime to finish the job. With 7:52 left in the first sudden death period, Andrus put the Cougars in the win column. Junior Luke Skinner lofted a high shot toward the far post. Goalie Frawley got his hands on it, but the ball slipped through, where Andrus dove and put the ball away with a header.
Kansler finished with four saves and Frawley had 12.
"They (Patuxent) were a team of hard workers," Hoover said about Patuxent. "I thought they played above their level. They came into the playoffs with not a great record, but they did absolutely fantastic. A great game scheme by their coach."
Fallston improved to 13-5-1 with the win. Patuxent finished 7-9.
HAVRE DE GRACE falls to Mountain Ridge
Havre de Grace's bid for a state championship in boys soccer ended Saturday night at North County High School in Glen Burnie.
The Warriors were beaten, 2-1, by defending Class 1A state champion Mountain Ridge in a state semifinal. A penalty kick with 2:25 to play decided the outcome in a physical game that seemed to have a player from either team on the ground every time there was a challenged ball.
Some drew a call, others did not. One of the final challenges did as a Mountain Ridge player went to the ground and the referee ruled it was by foul.
Senior defender Andy Ferree took the shot, shooting left, while Warriors goalie James Antonoplos guessed and dove the other way.
The Warriors were in trouble from the start as the Miners worked themselves a corner kick just 20 seconds into the game.
Nothing came of it, but a few minutes later, Chris Ranker, the Miners leading scorer with 25 goals, scored on a beautiful shot. Ranker worked left along the 18-yard line and then fired a left-foot shot back into the upper right corner, leaving Antonoplos with no chance.
Ranker had a chance with 14 minutes left in the first half with an open goal, but hit his shot off the left post.
The Warriors, who had few true scoring opportunities, cashed in on one with 22:32 left in the game. Senior David Amici played a free kick in toward the box and, after a brief scramble, Gabe Larrimore punched one into the net to tie the game.
Antonoplos finished with 11 saves, while Miners goalie Connor Eberly had two. The Warriors season ends at 11-5.