As Towson High closed its season on Halloween with a 3-0 loss to Winters Mill, of Carroll County, in the Class 2A playoffs, it's still easy for coach Holly West to look to a future in which the Generals return most of their starting lineup for 2012.
Only forward Emma McDonald and defender Julia Muhl graduate from a club that will be built around two-year sophomore starters Audrey Chesser, Casey Ryan and Maddie Tribbe.
"Now they are veterans," said West, whose program won county championships in 2005 and 2007. "We are looking at last year and this year as rebuilding years. The big thing this year is that they were getting used to playing with each other. We won't have that problem next year."
After an 0-3 start — with losses to Rising Sun, Centennial and Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference contender Bryn Mawr — the Generals finished the 2011 campaign with a respectable 9-5 record.
The program faced a new challenge in the playoffs, which started Oct. 27.
While all of the other varsity teams at Towson competed in 3A this fall, West's squad had to join the 2A tourney, which boasts some of the state's best teams.
"There is a special alignment for hockey," West said. "I think its because there are too few teams down in 1A and two many up in 4A. So (state athletic official) spread 2A and 3A out. We ended up down in 2A."
"That's where defending 2A state champion Glenelg, state runner-up Century and 3A defending state champion River Hill all play," she added. "They are three powerhouses. In 2A, no one beat Glenelg, as far as I am concerned."
Towson started the playoffs off with a 9-0 victory over visiting Dundalk on Oct. 28 in a Class 2A North quarterfinal.
The Generals jumped out to a 3-0 advantage against the Owls in the first 11 minutes, as Paige Burkett found the back of the cage twice and McDonald added another goal.
They pushed their lead to 6-0 by halftime on goals from Maggie Coccagna, Tribbe and Marissa Feldman.
West said her team could have scored more, but that's not what she wanted to do.
"That's been kind of an issue that has bothered me," West said. "If you look at some scores, you are seeing them in the high teens and 20s. We have always kept our scores in the single digits. We don't want to humiliate other teams."