It's all coming together for Mt. Hebron at the perfect time.
On the heels of a pair of shutout victories to close out the regional playoffs, the Vikings came out Saturday in the 3A state semifinals and kept the ball rolling against Chopticon, 4-0.
It's the team's seventh consecutive win dating back to the regular season and earns it a shot at the program's fourth-ever state title next week.
"It's not really been anything special, we've just worked hard all season and it's finally paying off," Mt. Hebron coach Mike Linsenmeyer said. "We've had some great teams the last couple years that have been close, but this year the ball is bouncing our way and the kids have really come together."
It took just slightly more than two minutes for the Vikings to get on the board in the game at CCBC-Essex, as Emmanuel Wright collected a ball that bounced off Chopticon goalie Kyle Flannagan and finished it into the right corner of the net. It was Wright's fifth goal of the season and the second time in as many games the junior had staked his team to an early 1-0 advantage.
"We've all been really motivated to come out (hard) right away," Wright said. "I saw the ball there and I was like, 'No time to waste.' The goal was open and I went for it."
The Vikings kept peppering the Braves' net with shots for the majority of the first half, but didn't see any immediate rewards because of some outstanding play from Flanagan in net.
The senior goalie, who finished with 21 saves, had 13 of those stops in the first half.
"The crazy thing is that he's actually the back-up's back-up. He's been playing the field for us the last two years and if not for the one getting hurt and the other getting sick, he's not even in there," Chopticon coach Butch Sullivan said of Flannagan, who was the team's starter in goal as a freshman and sophomore.
"He is an awesome goalie, though. He makes reflex saves that are amazing and he was one of the kids that came to play tonight."
Eventually, though, the Mt. Hebron pressure paid off.
With 2:01 left before halftime, Justin Morgan headed home a long throw from Will Rice on the near post to make it 2-0.
"We were having a hard time getting that second one, but to get it like that was a huge confidence boost," Rice said. "Their heads were down and ours were up going into halftime."
Flanagan again did his best to keep things manageable in the second half, making a diving stop on a penalty kick by Josh Palin eight minutes after intermission. But, similar to the first half, the Vikings simply wouldn't be denied.
Andrew Tucker converted a break-away chance with 29:17 left in regulation and then Rice fired one home off a pass from Brian Shade in the 63rd minute to create the final four-goal margin.
It was all more than enough for Mt. Hebron's defense, which surrendered just four shots on its way to its 10th shutout of the season. Drew Staedeli finished with two saves for the Vikings.
"Our defense is just so solid … they really are," Linsenmeyer said. "The guys are stepping to the ball and Drew is an absolute beast in goal. It's been three games since we've been scored on and hopefully that continues."
Mt. Hebron now advances to face the winner of Saturday's nightcap at CCBC-Essex between Watkins Mill and Hereford. That 3A championship game will be played at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County on Thursday, Friday or Saturday of next week.
"We've got one more and we've worked too hard and come too far to stop now," Rice said.