Leonardtown beats Cougars in girls soccer final for second time
A lot of things can happen in 2 minutes: driving two miles at 60 miles per hour, 100 sit-ups or even a total eclipse.
It's also how long it took for the Quince Orchard girls soccer team's hopes of successfully defending last year's Class 4A state championship to slip away.
Quince Orchard and Leonardtown battled for the title for the second time in three years Saturday at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Just as it did in 2006, the St. Mary's County outfit hoisted the winner's trophy at the end, this time with a 3-1 victory.
Leonardtown senior forward Emily Gehrig's goal 2 minutes into the second half of Saturday's contest opened the floodgates for the Raiders. The win clinched the Leonardtown's first-ever undefeated season at 17-0-1 and its third state title, while the loss snapped a 10-game win streak for the Cougars (14-3).
Laurie DeWitt/The Gazette
Yvonne Latour (left) and Quince Orchard lost the state final to Leonardtown and Jessica Cooke (right) for the second time in three years Saturday, after winning it all last season.
When Quince Orchard met Leonardtown two years ago, the Cougars were overwhelmed by the Raiders' speed and skill. That was not the case Saturday, though.
"Obviously it was a difficult night for us," Quince Orchard coach Peg Keiller said. "It's funny, because we came here two years ago and they beat us up and down the field and ended up winning 1-0 on a last-minute goal. Tonight was the other way around. It was a better fought game, but they won 3-1."
Quince Orchard matched up well in the first half, stifling an explosive Raider offense that's scored 66 goals to its 39. But it seemed only a matter of time before the Raiders' attack, helmed by Gehrig (10 goals, 11 assists) - who is slated to play at Towson University next fall - and junior Teresa Paz, broke through.
After a scoreless first half, Gehrig, who scored the last-minute winning goal in the teams' previous meeting, lofted junior forward Johanna Rambo's well-placed pass into the upper left corner of the net to put Leonardtown ahead, 1-0, in the 42nd minute.
Senior midfielder Jessie Schaller pushed the lead to 2-0 after coming off the bench to finish a pass from Gehrig in the 53rd minute, while junior midfielder Rachel Lynn subbed in and made it 3-0 late in the second half.
"We knew Quince Orchard had a really good keeper [four-year starter Amanda Whitney]," said Gehrig. "In the locker room during half time, Coach [Jennifer] Henderson was just like, 'You guys have got to start taking shots.' After my goal everyone started taking shots. And everyone has a good foot and the ability to score."
Quince Orchard junior leading scorer Ele Margelos put the Cougars on the board in the 77th minute. But they'd dug themselves too deep a hole. The Cougars' penetrating balls weren't making it into the box.
Nevertheless, Saturday marked Quince Orchard's third-consecutive state-final appearance. And the Cougars are set for 2009; they return nine starters, including all four of their offensive leaders: Margelos, junior forward Leah Prentice and junior midfielders Yvonne Latour and Kayla Clarke.
"At the beginning of the season we talked about how winning this year would be twice as hard as winning last year, being the defending champions and having that target on our back," Keiller said. "We're disappointed we didn't win, but these girls have a lot to be proud of."
No comments:
Post a Comment