Marriotts Ridge got the proverbial monkey off its back Tuesday evening.
For the first time in three years, the Mustangs walked off the field against Wilde Lake with a victory, as Jon Muth and Matt Ryan each scored twice to lead the way to a 4-2 win on the road.
"We talked about how they are the team that's beaten us the last couple years and I told them how much I wanted it," Marriotts Ridge Kevin Flynn said. "Most of these guys weren't here two years ago, but a lot of them were here last year. We try to take every game seriously, but there was a little bit of history there with this one."
Marriotts Ridge had lost only a combined three games the last two years and two of them were against Wilde Lake. It was obvious early on, however, that this time was going to be different.
Roughly 10 minutes in, Muth took a feed from Amir Najib and put the Mustangs ahead 1-0. Wilde Lake ended up pulling even with 19 minutes left in the first half on a penalty kick by Zach Johnson, but again Marriotts Ridge showed its resolve.
"We were looking to respond as fast as we could, get ourselves back in control," Ryan said. "We didn't want them to get any momentum."
Thanks to Ryan, the tie only lasted a mere 20 seconds. Off a feed from Andrew Preschel, Ryan found the right corner of the net with 18:42 left in the opening half to make it 2-1.
"Any athlete can tell you how deflating that is, let alone a coach," Wilde Lake coach Matt Pickett said. "We scored and then we just took a nap for whatever reason."
Less than three minutes later, Ryan and Preschel hooked up again to make it 3-1. Ryan took the pass on a breakaway and finished under Wilde Lake goalie Kiho Park (3 saves).
"I don't get a lot of minutes, so I try to make the most of them when I'm out there," Ryan said. "I was fortunate that my teammates put me in great position to finish and I did my best to take advantage."
Down 3-1 at the half, Wilde Lake did make things interesting in the second half when Quinn Gornto found the net off a corner kick. That goal with 30 minutes left on the clock made it 3-2.
But that was as close as things would get. Ryan actually had a great chance at a hat trick immediately after Wilde Lake's second goal, but his shot from the top of the box glanced off the crossbar.
Marriotts Ridge eventually did get that insurance goal, though, as Muth took a pass from Nick Applegate and finished with 6:20 remaining.
Marriotts Ridge 4, Wilde Lake 2
Goals: MR - Muth 2, Ryan 2; WL - Johnson, Gornto.
Assists: MR - Preschel 2, Applegate, Najib.
Saves: MR - Shepherd 6; WL - Park 3, Alligood 3.
Half: 3-1 MR.
Mt. Hebron 2, Reservoir 1
One day after losing to Wilde Lake, the Vikings bounced back to hand the Gators their first county loss of the season. Andrew Tucker and Will Rice provided the goals for Mt. Hebron, while Drew Staedeli came up with five saves to preserve the win.
Curtis Kosmowski provided Reservoir's lone tally.
Goals: MH - Tucker, Rice; Re - Kosmowski.
Assist: Re - Akuffo.
Saves: MH - Staedeli 5; Re - Dooley 5.
Half: 1-1.
Centennial 1, Atholton 0
Andrey Pavlov scored off a rebound three minutes into the second half and that was all the Eagles needed to hand Atholton its first loss of the season. Jackson Bicknell had four saves and Teddy Sylvia had two for Centennial in preserving the shutout.
Goal: C - Pavlov.
Saves: C - Bicknell 4, Sylvia 2; A - Forbes 7.
Half: 0-0.
River Hill 3, Oakland Mills 0
With its shutout win over the Scorpions, River Hill now sits as the only remaining undefeated team in county play. The Hawks got all three of their scores in the second half, two of which came courtesy of David Kaiser.
The Hawks defense did the rest, with Nick Voyton making two saves in goal. Through eight games, River Hill is 7-1 and has allowed only two goals against.
"The defense is playing great right now," River Hill coach Matt Shagogue said. "Tonight we protected the goal well on their set pieces … we knew that's where they're most dangerous."
Goals: RH - Kaiser 2, Riso.
Assists: RH - Turney, Smith.
Saves: RH - Voyton 2; OM - Mustafa 11.
Half: 0-0.
Glenelg 2, Hammond 0