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Girls soccer: Atholton, Reservoir pull stunning upsets

Reservoir's Michelle Viegas, third from right, is swarmed by her teammates after she scored the game's only goal in the Gators' 1-0 win over No. 7 Centennial.
Reservoir's Michelle Viegas, third from right, is swarmed by her teammates after she scored the game's only goal in the Gators' 1-0 win over No. 7 Centennial. (Baltimore Sun photo by Gene Sweeney Jr.)

A day after Halloween Atholton dressed up as winners and played the role perfectly to knock the top-seeded River Hill Hawks out of the Class 3A playoffs with a 3-2 win.

Not to be outdone, Reservoir ousted Centennial, the second seed in the East Region, with a 1-0 win on a goal by Michelle Viegas. Mt. Hebron also won in the same region.

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Atholton's combination of a potent offense and a tight-marking defense gave the visitors a 3-0 lead before River Hill scored twice in the last 16 minutes of the game. But Atholton's defense just wouldn't allow River Hill to get the tying goal.

"This proves to the county and to the state that we are not a team to be taken lightly," said Atholton sweeper Emily Pattillo. "We can come out and beat an undefeated team (in the county) and we can beat anyone in the state."

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It is the first time since 2005 when Brian Song took over the River Hill program that the Hawks have been eliminated in the quarterfinals and won't reach the regional championship game. The Hawks were unbeaten (10-0-1) in the county and 12-3-1 overall.

"I knew it was going to be a tough game," said Song. "I told my girls the motivation is not on our side. Everyone is going to come out and try to knock us off. It's not like we didn't have chances. We had tons of chances. I've got to give (Atholton) credit."

After handing Hammond a 6-0 loss in the first round of the playoffs, Atholton had a goal for this game.

"We wanted to be up three goals and we made it happen," said Katrina Macadoff, who scored on a penalty kick 10 minutes into the game. That goal "meant everything. We knew the first goal would get us pumped up.

"This is huge for us," added the junior. "This is one of the best teams we've had since I've been here and I know this is a squad we can win states with."

Selena Chin, who along with her twin sister Natalie was celebrating her 16th birthday, left-footed a pass from Desiree Bodziony into the bottom right corner to give Atholton a 2-0 lead before halftime.

But River Hill dominated the second period from the beginning. "They had more shots than we did. They blew us away but we came back with another goal to take a 3-0 lead," said Jenna Brewer, who got that goal off a pass from Macadoff.

Michaela Hennessy scored River Hill's first goal. With four minutes left, Liz Bamber got the second goal.

The Raiders had an extra motivation for winning. They were playing for senior goalkeeper Amy Weinberg, whose season ended when her collar bone was broken during a county game late in the season.

"Ever since Amy got hurt we've played 100 times better because we are playing for her. We know she wants us to win. Our intensity has picked up since then. We've been scoring nonstop," said Pattillo.

Atholton coach Stephanie Stoutenborough said the team executed its defensive game plan perfectly.

"Our defensive strategy today was to mark tight and not rush in. We knew they liked to play down the line and we tried to take that away from them and push them into the center where we have more support and it worked well for us. I think this is one of the best games our defense has had without," she said.

"Our offense knew what they had to do and got it done," Stoutenborough added. "I think playing Hammond last week was kind of a boost for us."

Atholton had 23 shots on goal in that victory, with Sarah Renehan, Macadoff and Brewer each scoring two goals. Desiree Bodziony (two), Macadoff, Sarah Benecky and Renehan had assists.

"We've grown as a team through the season and into the playoffs and we're playing exactly how we want to play right now," Stoutenborough said.

The loss stunned the River Hill fans, who sat in silence after the game. Brian Song's disappointment was evident.

"I give credit to Stephanie (Stoutenborough)," he said. "I think we were prepared but I think they wanted it a little more than we did. You could see it. Finally, when they scored the third goal, a lightbulb went off" and River Hill picked up its intensity.

Atholton advances to the regional semifinals where they will meet Mt. Hebron.

The comeback continues

Reservoir, the defending state Class 3A champion, took another huge step toward getting a chance to defend that title by upsetting No. 2 Centennial, 1-0.

Michelle Viegas collected a long clear near the 35-yard line and hit a shot that just skimmed under the cross bar for the winning goal with about 13 minutes left in the game.

"Tonight we played extremely well," said Reservoir coach Josh Sullivan. "I am very proud of how our team had to adjust and play off of our game plan and really did just execute it all extremely well.

"It took awhile to figure out, but all in all, we are just playing well right now," added the coach. "We have everybody healthy and are connecting on what it takes to win for our team."

Keri Rager missed a penalty kick for Reservoir in the second half.

Reservoir (7-8 overall) has struggled most of the season with injuries and regrouping after graduation losses but had a convincing 3-0 win over Northeast of Anne Arundel County in the opening round of the playoffs to earn the matchup with Centennial.

Amy Armstrong, Amanda Jackson and Paola Rosa all scored in the first half to set Northeast on its heels.

"Congratulations to Reservoir," said Centennial coach Steve Baxter. "They came out and played hard and deserved to win the game. I felt like Reservoir was the toughest team we would play in the regional section of the playoffs. When it counted most, we didn't get it done."

Reservoir had lost, 1-0, in its first game against Centennial (12-2-2) during the county season

Megan Fowler had four saves for Reservoir and Katie Donegan had nine for Centennial.

Reservoir will play Stephen Decatur on Friday.

Shutout advances Vikings

Mt. Hebron beat J.M. Bennett, 3-0, to advance to Friday's semifinal matchup with Atholton.

"It was a great game for Hebron," said coach Tim Deppen.

Kelsi Folch scored on a penalty kick and Susie Halper scored twice in the win. Folch and Jen Giles had assists.

"The whole team really came together and played a fantastic game," Deppen said. "We started out the first five minutes a little sluggish after the almost-three hour bus ride and allowed one shot in the first half. After that, it was just dominant Hebron soccer. We had beautiful possession and solid scoring opportunities."

Mt. Hebron ousted Annapolis, 3-1, in the first round of the playoffs, as Halper, Folch and Nia Crump scored and Kelly Richards had two assists.

Deppen called the game "a little disappointing from the finishing perspective. It could have easily been 6 or 7 to 1. We had a lot of really great opportunities offensively."

Howard outs Wildecats

Howard lost to No. 3 Stephen Decatur (Worcester County) in the Class 3A East quarterfinals, 2-1. In the first round, Howard beat Wilde Lake, 2-1.

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Taylor Gant scored in the first half on an assist by Caitlyn Whitford. Near the end of the second half, Howard was "awarded a questionable" penalty kick and Carli Sokoloski scored, said Howard coach Nick Zaron.

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Wilde Lake junior midfielder Maria Pascale had scored in the first few minutes of the game but her goal was called back.

Howard scored the next two goals before Gillian Sawyer, with her 52nd career goal and her eighth this season, cut the margin.

"We came back pretty well. We dominated the last 10 or 15 minutes but couldn't get the equalizer," said Wilde Lake coach Robin Sawyer, whose team finished the season with a 2-8-1 county mark and a 2-10-1 overall record.

Class 2A North

Glenelg, seeded second in the Class 2A North region, and Marriotts Ridge both won their quarterfinal games while Oakland Mills and Long Reach were eliminated from the playoffs.

Marriotts Ridge (7-3-3) tried to hold down the scoring but rolled over Owings Mills, 15-0.

"Tonight, it was a collective effort," said coach Robin Grey.

Taylor Hensh had a hat trick in the win and Morgan Crable and Maria Plano scored twice each. Nicole Grote, Zoe Stukenberg, Melanie Tresnak, Gabby Rouse, Alexandra McKay, Alexis Zadjura, Laura Fratta and Maria Laureno also scored.

Crable (two), Zadjura (two) and Rouse had assists. Keepers Jenna Bergquist and Emily Wolf shared time in the goal. Neither had a save.

Marriotts Ridge now meets No. 2 seed Glenelg in the semifinals. Glenelg shut out Long Reach, 2-0, in its quarterfinal game on goals by Kayla Renehan and Kathleen Mensing.

"It was not very eventful" compared to the upsets registered by Atholton and Reservoir, said Glenelg coach Dean Sheridan.

Glenelg controlled most of the play "but did not finish particularly well," he added.

Mensing and Christina Kaminsky had assists in the win and Kelly Geist started in goal for the Gladiators. The junior had two saves in her debut.

Courtney Glaser had eight for Long Reach.

Melissa Goodman and Gaby Vincent had "great games" said coach Christina Bleivik, but Oakland Mills lost to Loch Raven, 2-0, in its quarterfinal game. Oakland Mills had a bye in the first round.

"We came out flat and didn't have much offense in the first half," said Bleivik.

Loch Raven scored in the first half and late in the second half. "We played much better in the second half but couldn't put the ball in the back of the net," she added.

Rematch set in IAAM

Chapelgate and Glenelg Country School are on a collision course after both won their quarterfinal games in the C Conference of the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland Tuesday. They will meet Thursday in the semifinals, with the winner advancing to Saturday's championship game.

Chapelgate beat Beth Tfiloh, 11-0. Kristin Thomas and Molly Carlson both had four goals and an assist in the win. Jennfer Yahiro (two goals, assist), Jordan Williams (goal, assist) and Emma Ruffolo (assist) also contributed offensively.

Chapelgate, a league's defending champion, entered the playoffs without Lydia Frierson, who set a school scoring record this fall. She is out the rest of the season with a back injury, said coach Christen Gjeldum.

Glenelg Country beat Baltimore Lutheran, 4-1, to extend its winning streak to seven games. Deja Hursey had three goals. Christina Horne had a goal and assist and Sabrina DeLeonibus had an assist.

Shayna Keller had six saves for the Dragons, now 9-3 overall.

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