Brian Song
River Hill
The path to a third straight Class 3A state championship was difficult, and Song's Hawks managed to stay on course.
A challenging early-season schedule led to losses to perennial national powers Good Counsel and McDonogh, but it primed River Hill for a tough Howard County league and a string of one-goal wins through the East region and state tournament.
In finishing the season 17-2, the No. 2 Hawks went 11-0 in Howard County to capture the county championship and then had to beat three league foes — Reservoir, Wilde Lake and Centennial — to advance out of the East region.
Trailing Bel Air 1-0 at the half in the state semifinals, River Hill rallied for a 2-1 victory. Then, heavy traffic and unexpected inclement weather caused the Hawks to arrive only 20 minutes before the start of the state championship game against Linganore, but their poise and experience showed up as they scored two goals early in the first half and held on for another 2-1 win.
All five postseason wins were by one goal. In 10 years as head coach, Song is 158-21-5 with six state championships. During the season, he was inducted into River Hill's Athletic Hall of Fame.