Defending Anne Arundel County champion:
No. 3 South River
The Baltimore area's best rivalry this season is in Anne Arundel County, where defending Class 4A state champion South River will once again try to fend off No. 5 Arundel.
Both teams are stacked with returning talented players and each have difference-makers.
South River senior forward Kacie Longo, who scored 29 goals to earn All-Metro Player of the Year honors, was the biggest last season. Arundel counters with All-Metro first-team pick Clarissa Kirsch-Downs, who finished with 19 goals and 12 assists.
Both standouts have plenty of quality talent around them, with both teams bringing nearly all of their starters back. Last year, Arundel had the first say with an overtime win late in the regular season that propelled the Wildcats to a perfect 14-0 regular season. But the Seahawks won when it counted most, avenging that loss a week later with a 3-0 win for the county championship and then coming back from a 2-0 deficit in the 4A East regional title game for an epic 3-2 win in double overtime.
No. 10 Broadneck, Chesapeake and Severna Park are all formidable and capable of making their own noise in what could be considered the area's deepest county.
Check back over the next couple days for breakdowns on girls soccer in Baltimore County, Carroll County, Harford County, Howard County and the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland.