For over 62 minutes in the Class 3A state semifinals Monday night at Franklin High School, Huntingtown held like a stonewall, turning back Mt. Hebron and forcing the Vikings to put the ball anywhere but in the goal.
Mt. Hebron spent most of the game on attack, but could not finish. Twenty-two corners resulted in nothing.
How many ways can you miss?
"A lot, I've learned," said Mt. Hebron's Tianna Wallpher. "Every corner, every angle, in the air and on the ground, just everywhere. We got a lot of opportunities, but in the end we got that one goal."
The game-winner came off Wallpher's stick nearly two and a half minutes into sudden victory overtime. The play was started by Kelly Jones who got the ball to Sam Brookhart on the right wing. Brookhart and Wallpher worked the give-and-go with Wallpher slipping the ball in a narrow gap between the Huntingtown's keeper's feet and into the back right corner of the goal.
The shot sends Mt. Hebron into Saturday's state championship game against Westminster, a 2-1 winner over North Harford. The game is set for 1:30 p.m. at Washington College, in Chestertown.
Huntington withstood a determined Mt. Hebron squad, which forced 22 offensive penalty corners. Huntingtown only had two offensive penalty corners.
"We knew once we walked on to this field, it was our game," Jones said. "We were not giving up."
"We had girls covering post and the stroke mark and we tried to push the ball to the side whenever it came in the circle," said Jessica Weimert of Huntingtown's determined defense.
Weimert, along with Stephanie Athens and Kara McClain, anchored the Hurricanes' circle play.
Huntingtown, located in Calvert County, plays on "pasture grass," said coach Shannon Persetic. Franklin has a turf field, which is a faster, smoother surface.
"These girls came out and played a phenomenal game. They stepped it up. They played great defense," Persetic said of her team. "Playing on the type of field that we play on and to come and play like tonight is remarkable. The girls stepped up to the task. I'm proud of the whole team."
"I feel like we played our hardest," Weimert said. It was the Hurricanes' first trip to the state semifinals.
While Wallpher got the game-winning goal, she wanted to put her shot in perspective.
"The whole team played hard. It didn't come from that one play that we won, it was the whole game and it was a whole team effort."
Mt. Hebron coach Jeannette Ireland acknowledged that it wasn't her squad's best game.
"I told them that if we were going to play an off game, this is the one to play a bit off, you've (just) got to win it. It wasn't all bad, we've just got to finish. …When we did connect on the post (Taylor Rhoads, Huntingtown's keeper) made a good save."
Mt. Hebron lost in the state semifinals in 2009. Jones and Katie Schaaf, who has been injured most of the season, played in that game. Fellow senior Emily Bishop was also on the team.
The Vikings, who have never won a state field hockey championship, haven't been in the state final game since 2001.
Goals: MH - Tianna Wallpher. H - none.
Assists: none
Saves: MH - Maddy Fisher 2. H - Taylor Rhoads 13.
Halftime: tied, 0-0.