An opportunistic River Hill team made the most of its chances and beat a dominating Severna Park team, 2-1, in the District V championship game.
Sheridan Street scored midway through the first half and assisted Katie Arensmeier on an early second-half goal, but the Hawks had few good looks at the net. Severna Park controlled the first half and big chunks of the second half but couldn't get on the scoreboard until late in the game, played at River Hill Oct. 25.
"I think they dominated us first and second half," said River Hill coach Brian Song. "Fortunately, the couple opportunities we had, we put the ball in the net. I think Severna Park was flat, too, but they dominated us and played well and we didn't. We are in the win column but we were lucky."
Severna Park was led by Jennifer Vance, a quick and fast forward who played a role in just about every scoring opportunity for the Falcons. Finally, with seven minutes left in the game, she got a pass from Morgan Torggler, took a couple quick steps to break free from her defenders and put the ball into the net.
The goal was a result of a miscommunication, said River Hill keeper Carly Brunett, one of four seniors on a young team that has now won a county title and a district championship as well.
"It's something we can fix," Brunett said.
But, she added, Vance "had intensity the whole game. She deserved it. She was out there and working hard."
"Callie Allen stepped up and marked (Vance) and if not, Colleen McKenna slid in and took her," said defender Haily Emrick about the attention the River Hill paid to Vance.
Severna Park "had some pretty intense moves up top but we held our own," added Brunett.
Vance's goal was "too little, too late," said Severna Park defender Amanda Ross. "I thought at the end we were going to get another one but they held us off."
Brunett had three saves. Severna Park keeper Rachel Vander Kolk had six saves.
Arensmeier's goal came eight minutes into the second half. Alex Hamer dribbled down the left side of the field and cut to the middle. She passed to Street, who turned and sent the ball into the right corner. Arensmeier shot from a sharp, nearly impossible angle but curved the ball over Vander Kolk's fingertips and into the far corner.
"That goal got us into a comfortable position," said Hamer. "To be able to win and have a title means a lot to us."
The district game matched the county champions from Howard and Anne Arundel counties. The two teams won't meet again this season. River Hill is the top seed in the Class 3A East bracket and on Nov. 1 will host the winner of the Hammond vs Atholton game, set for Oct. 28. Severna Park is a larger school and the top seed in the Class 4A East bracket. Both teams entered the game with 11-2-1 regional records.
Other playoff games
The first round of the regional playoffs begin Oct. 28, with the second round set for Nov. 1. For a complete up-to-date schedule, go to http://www.mpssaa.org. At press time, the following games are scheduled:
In the Class 2A North bracket, Glenelg hosts Long Reach at 7 p.m. on Nov. 1. Glenelg is seeded second in the bracket. Chesapeake has the top seed.
Marriotts Ridge is seeded third and hosts Owings Mills on Nov. 1 at 5 p.m.
No. 5 Oakland Mills travels to Loch Raven in the second round.
In the Class 3A East, Centennial is seeded second and has a first-round bye. The Eagles will play the winner of the Reservoir at Northeast (Anne Arundel County).
No. 5 Mt. Hebron hosts Annapolis in the first round on Oct. 28. Game time is 4 p.m.
Wilde Lake, seeded sixth, hosts Howard in the first round.
Friends stop Chapelgate
Chapelgate was handed a rare loss today but it took a team in a higher classification to do it.
Friends, in the B Conference of the Interscholastic Athletic Association, beat the C Conference Yellowjackets, 5-3. Friends is in third place in the B league with a 6-3 record.
Chapelgate won the C Conference with an 8-0 mark.
Molly Carlson and Kristin Thomas (two) scored for Chapelgate in the loss. Casey Bigelow (two saves) and Andelyn Smith (four) split time in the net.
In an Oct. 24 contest, Chapelgate beat Park, 3-0, to finish undefeated in the league. Lydia Frierson had all three goals and Thomas had two assists. Bigelow had one save; Smith had two.
Chapelgate is the top seed in its conference and has an opening round bye in the IAAM playoffs, which begin this week. The Yellowjackets will host the winner of the Beth Tfiloh vs Oldfields game on Nov. 1 in the quarterfinals. Chapelgate has beaten both teams this fall.
Chapelgate and county-rival Glenelg Country School could meet in the semifinals. Glenelg Country has to get past Baltimore Lutheran in the quarterfinals at 3:45 p.m. on Nov. 1 to set up the rematch in the semifinals on Nov. 3. Chapelgate won the first meeting, 3-0, in September.
Glenelg Country and Key finished tied in the C league; Key got the number three seed in the tournament and Glenelg is fourth.
Chapelgate won the C Conference tournament championship last season.
Other games
Hammond beat Edgewood, 1-0, on a goal by Molly Albano to end its regular season on a high note. Julia Reed had 15 saves for Hammond, which was outshot, 15-8.
Glenelg also ended its regular season with a win, 1-0, over Archbishop Spalding. Sammy Creese got the game-winner in the second half on an assist from Amanda Lyons.
Brooke Carey had four saves. Archbishop Spalding's keeper also had four saves.
In an Oct. 22 game, Howard beat Chesapeake, 2-1. Goals came from Caitlyn Whitford and Taylor Gant.
A day earlier, Oakland Mills shut out Long Reach, 2-0.
"Long Reach outhustled us in the first 20 minutes and was dominating us in the midfield," said Oakland Mills coach Christina Bleivik. "We finally got a break when Fern Peters gave a great diagonal ball to Nicole Twardowicz toward the end of the first half to go up 1-0.
"I was very pleased with the way our girls came out in the second half," she added. "Courtney Rapp was able to knock in a loose ball midway through the second half. We started winning more balls in the midfield, led by Mary Grace Grandfield, to give us more offensive opportunities. Defensively, Jessica Lampron and Gaby Vincent worked hard keeping a lot of pressure on their forwards."
Goalkeeper Erin Yarn got the shutout for the Scorpions.