Glenelg was pushed around, knocked down, bruised and beaten to the ball, but the Gladiators held their ground, fending off the powerful defending state champions from Middletown for 100 minutes.
But a sophomore who was having a subpar evening hit her penalty kick in the sixth round to give Middletown a 1-0 win over Glenelg in the Class 2A girls soccer state semifinals held at Bel Air High School Saturday, Nov. 12.
Middletown, which beat Glenelg, 2-1, last year in the state championship game, now advances to the title game against Southern (Anne Arundel County) next weekend while Glenelg tries to put its season into perspective.
Amanda Lyons said the loss was "devastating. We wanted it so badly. We lost to them last year and for them to take states away from us again sucks."
Glenelg had taken a 3-1 lead in the penalty kicks, but Middletown hit its next two to tie the score, setting the stage for Mary Pritts' game-ending shot.
"She'd be the first to tell you she was having an off night," said Middletown coach Heather Kline. "We sat her down a good bit in the first half because she couldn't find her feet. But for her to step up as a sophomore and just bury that shot speaks volumes.
"We have been practicing PKs because we heard that Glenelg was even better than we saw last year and the possibility (the game would be decided that way) was always there," she added.
"It's always unfair to come down to penalty kicks but our coach always says one team has to win. Both of us deserved to win," said Glenelg keeper Brooke Carey, who saved two penalty kicks and had nine saves in the first 100 minutes.
After the physical battle, Glenelg coach Dean Sheridan said it was important that "we put ourselves in a position" to be in the penalty kick situation. "And we practiced, but for whatever reason, it was not to be."
Middletown (14-3-1) dominated Glenelg for the first 40 minutes, pounding the Gladiators' defense with shot after shot. But Glenelg's defense, led by Danielle Burris, Amanda Kordenbrock, Casey Vantucci and Megan Pawtowski, just kept blocking and rejecting the shots and protecting Carey. "I'm so proud of my defense," Carey said.
"That's just what I expected them to do," said Sheridan, about his defense. "They did their job."
Kline said that "if you'd asked me in the first half, I would have said we would win it in regulation" because of the pressure the Knights were putting on Glenelg.
Glenelg's first serious penetration did not come until 30 minutes into the game, when Vantucci dribbled down the right sideline and took a shot — it was wide left — from 30 yards out.
Middletown missed a big opportunity with nine minutes in the first half. Kordenbrock cut off Kelly Hohl 20 yards out to stop her long run, and Mackenzie Noel took the shot for the Knights. It was blocked by Glenelg's wall, and Hohl's rebound shot was tipped over the cage by Carey.
The second half was a little more even, but the physical, powerful Knights still dominated.
"It's ironic, but those are the same words I used to characterize Glenelg — strong, powerful, quick off the ball," said Kline. "We talked about that before the game. They were a tough team, quick off the ball, a physical team, and we had to step up."
Glenelg's Sammy Creese was knocked to the ground inside the box with 15 minutes left in regulation, but Glenelg didn't get the call it wanted from the officials.
Carey made a huge save with 1:57 left in the second overtime period, diving on the shoes of Alizah Johns-Boehme and trapping the shot to keep her team in the game.
Kordenbrock said the Gladiators (12-3-1) were playing for a teammate who was just diagnosed with lymphoma. "We shouldn't be disappointed in ourselves. We gave it all we had," she said.
"We thought we had a chance," added Pawtowski. "We lost by a penalty kick. I don't think that shows who's the better team. We played our hearts out."