There wasn't anything pretty about it, but for a River Hill team that hadn't beaten Marriotts Ridge since 2007, style points weren't necessary.
It was all about the result.
Zach Riso converted a penalty kick, Nick Voyton made 10 saves and the Hawks held off a spirited second half from the Mustangs to earn a 1-0 victory at home Monday evening.
"At this point, it didn't matter how we got it, we just wanted a win against these guys," River Hill coach Matt Shagogue said. "Being honest, they were better than us tonight and they had a lot of chances …But if we win, I'll take the result. I'm not looking for moral victories here.
"I'd hate to have to go over there and say 'hey guys, it was a great effort tonight,' like I have had to do the last three years."
For some guys on the Hawks the win was especially meaningful. Senior Nick Voyton, who has been the starter in goal each of the last four years, knew this was his last shot at the Mustangs before graduation.
"I can't even describe this feeling," Voyton said after the final whistle blew. "We've played them six times now since I got here and the first five times they had our number. It feels great that we were able to play well enough tonight to get them."
Getting the victory this time around took some great play by River Hill's defense. Roughly 18 minutes in, the Mustangs had a great chance to get on the board first when Brad Martinelli had a shot right in front of the goal deflected by Voyton into the far post. The ball ended up caroming wide and Marriotts Ridge just missed on the rebound opportunity.
"(Brad) came up, struck it out of the air and I was lucky to get to it. It turned out to be a pivotal point in the game," Voyton said.
The game was still tied in the waning minutes of the first half when River Hill was awarded a penalty kick for a Marriotts Ridge push in the back at the top of the box. Riso stepped up and fired one off Marriotts Ridge goalie Pat Moore's hands into the right corner of the net for a 1-0 River Hill lead.
Marriotts Ridge amped up the pressure in the second half in search of the equalizer. Three minutes after intermission, the Mustangs had a header in front that glanced off the crossbar. Voyton later had to make several stops on Marriotts Ridge headers off free kicks. Then, finally, in the last two minutes, the Mustangs had a goal nullified because of an offside's call.
Ultimately, the game ended and the scoreboard read 1-0 River Hill.
"The effort was there and we created a lot of opportunities. We were just a little unfortunate to not finish one or two of them," Marriotts Ridge coach Kevin Flynn said. "I told the guys afterward that was one of our best games of the year, just not the result."
River Hill improves to 8-1 in county play, while Marriotts Ridge falls to 6-3. The Hawks are currently tied for first place in the standings with Reservoir (8-1) entering the final two games of the regular season.
Other scores:
Reservoir 5, Hammond 0
Goals: Re - Bonner 3, Sheriff, Basdeo.
Assists: Re - Britton, Memon, Akuffo, Zometa.
Saves: Re - Dooley 3, Dearden 1; Ha - Sandish 4, Lastova 1.
Half: 1-0 Re.
Atholton 1, Glenelg 0
Goal: A - Burns.
Assist: A - Aykereko.
Saves: A - Forbes 4; G - Haussler 6.
Mt. Hebron 7, Long Reach 0
Goals: MH - Rice 2, Chen, Beatty, Palin, Rose, Shade.
Assists: MH - Palin, Staedeli, Tucker.
Saves: MH - Staedeli 2; LR - N/A.
Half: 3-0 MH.
Howard 1, Wilde Lake 0 (Friday)
The Lions got the game's only goal with a minute left in the first half, as AJ Wall tracked down a ball in the open field and buried his first goal of the season. Wilde Lake had its chances to tie the game late, but Jake Spalding (9 saves) and the Howard defense held strong.
"We didn't get a ton of chances, but when we got that opportunity at the end of the first half we buried it," Howard coach Nils Schroeder said.
Centennial 3, Oakland Mills 1 (Friday)
Max Yarosh had a goal and two assists in the Eagles' two-goal victory over the Scorpions that improved the team to 6-2-1 in county play.
Centennial had a 1-0 lead at the half thanks to a goal from Andy Budimirovic off a header-feed from Yarosh. The lead increased to 2-0 midway through the second half when Ward scored on a shot from roughly 20 yards out. After Oakland Mills pulled within one, Yarosh officially sealed things with five minutes left off an assist from Mooney.
Jackson Bicknell had six saves for Centennial, while Hassan Mustaga had five saves for Oakland Mills.