When Bryn Mawr coach Tina Steck and her players looked at the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland B Conference trophy the morning before the title game against Severn on Nov. 6, they noticed a lot of repeat champions.
But no school had its name inscribed on the cup three times in a row.
The Mawrtians had to turn the trophy back into conference officials before the title game started.
They got it back only hours later, however, after edging Severn, 2-1, at Gerstell Academy in Finksburg to make it a three-peat.
"The girls did a great job of accomplishing it," Bryn Mawr coach Tina Steck said. "It's pretty special to do it. Rarely do teams get an opportunity to repeat three times."
Ellie DeGarmo and Riley Barger scored for the winners.
It should come as no surprise that Barger, a senior defender, scored for the Mawrtians (14-5) in the their biggest game of the year.
Barger has scored so many clutch goals in her four years as a starter and three years as the team's leading scorer. She will be attending the University of Maryland on a soccer scholarship next fall.
"Riley is a program changer," Steck said. "When she came in, it was my second year and we noticed it was my second year. She has a great supporting cast around her as well. She does it unselfishly, but she steps up when she needs to."
Barger made a standout play to set up the Mawrtians first goal in the first ninth minute.
She raced down the left side for about 30 yards and crossed a ball to DeGarmo, who easily beat goalie Emily Gibbons with a shot from the 6-yard goal box.
About 14 minutes later, Barger made it 2-0 when her left-footed kick from 25 yards went to the right corner.
"We wanted to come out here as strong as we could, get some quicks goals and hold them off," Barger said
The Mawrtians just couldn't celebrate a championship.
After a lackluster first half, Severn picked up its play in the second half. The Admirals outshot Bryn Mawr 6-2 in the period and finally broke through in the 57th minute thanks to a goal from Abbey Ritter, redirected Delia Repasky's free kick.
In the final 10 minutes, Bryn Mawr's defense of Abby Del Guercio, Kassandra Bowling, Nancy Dunbar and Tess Moran in front of goalie Zoe Derrickson tightened up.
The Admirals didn't get a shot on goal during that stretch as the ended up just watching the Mawrtians celebrate winning another championship.
"We gave it a good effort in the second half, but we couldn't find the back of the goal," Severn coach Adam Ritchie said. "We have been one of the top teams in the B Conference for quite some time. We know how hard it is to get to the championship, let alone win the championship. It's a great feat for them."