A father's reflections

In place of the normal blog entry recording the details of tonight's game against Tuscarora HS, I would like to try to capture my feelings about watching my senior daughter's last high school game. I always knew this night would come, whether it was in the quarter finals last week or all the way until next weekend at UMBC. I wondered how I would feel, well now I know. It is a mixture of profound sadness for my daughter playing with her team mates for the last time mixed with an overwhelming amount of pride in the way the team has performed for these past four seasons. Although I knew the last game would come I guess I wasn't really ready and I struggle to think now, as I sit here with my wife, "What will we worry about now?" It is really funny thinking how wonderfully stressful it has been watching our children play together these past years. This is an amazing group of young women who have joined together to represent their school and play the beautiful game they love. Soccer is not just a game for them, but for some a way of life. Some will still play together on their club teams, some even together in college, one thing is certain their love of the game and our love of watching them play will never die.

Congratulations Quince Orchard Girl's Soccer: 2009 Division Champions and 3A West Finalists.

Well done ladies!

QO advances to 3A West regional final

Quince Orchard defeated Seneca Valley HS for the second time this season to advance to the Regional Final game on Tuesday. The final score was 2-0 on two very nice run of play goals in the second half. QO opened the game very dominant with good forward pressure and aggressive movement to goal. The Seneca Valley keeper made several key saves early denying scoring opportunities by both Shannon Dwyer and Sami Slonim. The half ended tied at 0-0.

The second half opened with QO on fire and scoring an early goal in the third minute of the second half. A Kayla Clarke throw in found the feet of Shannon Dwyer who turned and dribbled a few steps toward the goal and poked the ball past the sprawling SV keeper for the 1-0 lead. Fourteen minutes later QO scores again this time as Allie Solomon finds the back of the net after a super pass from Yvonne Latour to put the Cougars ahead for good 2-0.

Go Cougars!

QO wins Regional QF playoff game over Blake

In rematch of the Cougar's last home match, and in fact our last match of the regular season due to a rained out game versus Northwest High School, the girls again defeated Blake High School this time by the score of 8-1. This chilly early November evening saw a balanced QO attack and defense as usual, however, the Cougars seemed to be much more offensively minded this evening with plenty of quality possession and some of the best passing through the midfield and to the forwards I have seen all year. The back line continues to be nearly impenetrable and just a slight miscue lead to the Bengals only goal. The Cougars generated some incredible offense this evening with multiple shots from multiple players and multiple goals from multiple players as well. A recap of the evening's scoring:
First half-
5th minute of play, Shannon Dwyer with the assist from Kayla Clarke
8th minute of play, Leah Prentice from a Shannon Dwyer assist
24th minute Yvonne Latour corner kick with a volleyed goal from Kayla Clarke
3-0 at the end of the half.
Second half-
9th minute Shannon Dwyer with the assist from Leah Prentice
13th minute Kayla takes corner kick with a Blake OG
16th minute Yvonne Latour from Kayla Clarke
40th minute Kayla Clarke unassisted
40th minute Yvonne Latour on a Leah Prentice assist
Final score QO 8 Blake 1

The Regional semi final will be at the Cougar Dome on Thursday the 5th at 7p.

Maryland Playoff Details

Can be found here including the brackets.

Bengals fall to Cougars on Senior Night 5-0

The Cougars defeated the visiting Blake Bengals Wednesday night 5-0, a special Senior Night treat. The class of 2010 players were escorted out onto the field tonight by their families while announcer Mike Cuthbert read each player's "future plans for college and careers!" They were all very funny!

The game was one of the most beautiful games I have seen the girls play in quite a while. Blake, while clearly outmatched by their hosts, did not give up and gave their all against a superior team. The Cougars demonstrated beautiful passing and possession and were dominant from the opening whistle.

The Cougars opening goal came from a shot taken by Allie Solomon that the keeper blocked away only to have the rebound tucked away by Shannon Dwyer for the goal.

The second goal could be one of my favorite goals I have seen the team make this year. Kayla Clarke delivered a beautiful cross from the right side that gracefully arced across the goal mouth and the onrushing Shannon Dwyer deftly one-touched past the sprawling Blake keeper. 2-0 Cougars.

The Cougar's third goal came as Clarke again delivered a great ball up the right side to a running Kelsey O'Conner who dragged a cross on the ground in front of the Blake keeper and onto the foot of Leah Prentice who also one-touched the ball into the back of the net, 3-0.

In the second half the scoring continued when Shannon Dwyer crossed the ball to Leah Prentice, who scored her second goal of the game from a close range shot.

Leah completed her hat trick when she received the ball yet again from Dwyer, and she settled the ball and blasted a left footed long range shot into the upper corner of the Blake goal. A great shot that had to be seen to truly appreciate! Beautiful!

Well done girls a great cap off to a wonderful senior night celebration.

The Cougar's next game is away at Northwest High School Tuesday night at 7:00.


Go Cougars!

Cougars defeat Patriots 2-0

In what was billed to be the hardest of the remaining regular season games, the Cougars took Wootton close to the end of the game scoreless and then scored twice within 8 minutes to seal the victory 2-0. The two teams were very evenly matched and play was well distributed between them. The midfields dominated play on both teams with strong performances from both defenses as well. But in the end it was the offense of QO who prevailed. QO's first tally came from a strong move up the center of the field by Emily D'Italia. Em slotted the ball to Kayla Clarke and Kayla buried the ball into the back of the Patriot's net. Eight minutes later, Allie Solomon and Sami Slonim combined to score the Cougar's second goal of the evening. Allie passed the ball into the 6 yard box and after a few pinball bounces, Sami Slonim shot the ball past the Patriot keeper for the insurance goal.

I overhead Coach Keiller in a post-game interview make some great quotes, which I will share with you. "A gutsy performance." "We were able to correct some things we have been working on." And finally, regarding playing without injured forward Ele Margelos, "It was tough playing without Ele, first time in 4 years we've had to do that."

QO's next game is Wednesday night at home 7pm against Blake High School. It is QO Senior night.

COUGARS!

New Photos: Einstein, SV, Damascus

More great photos of our Cougars in action!

Cougars defeat Titans 4-0

Quince Orchard defeated Einstein tonight by the score of 4-0. The first Cougar goal came in the 7th minute when Shannon Dwyer threw the ball in to Emily D'Italia who slid a great pass through the Titan defense to the feet of Leah Prentice who sent her left footed shot past the sprawling Einstein keeper. Goal number 2 came in the 30th minute when Allie Solomin fed Sami Slonim who slotted the ball across the goal mouth and into the net just inside the far post. The score at the half was 2-0. The second half opened with Leah Prentice feeding the ball to Yvonne Latour who shoots and scores the first of her two goals. Latour's second goal came from a pass from Shannon Dwyer. Yvonne dribbled past the Titan defense and scored in the 14th minute. The entire squad received some quality play time allowing coach Keiller to rest some players and give some extra recuperation time to some injured players. The goal keeper duo of Gabby Paolini and Kelsey O'Conner (celebrating her 16th birthday!) combined to give the Cougar's their 6th consecutive shutout. In the Cougar's last 6 games we have out scored our opponents 28-0. Well done ladies!

The Cougar's next game is Monday night the 19th at 7 p.m. home in the Cougar Dome.

QO clinches Division title with 2-0 win over Damascus.

The Cougars waited until late in the game to score their first goal. In the 27th minute of the 2nd half Emily D'Italia sent a nicely weighted pass through to Sami Slonim who took a few touches and calmly put the ball past the Damascus keeper to put the Cougars up 1-0. Eleven minutes later in the 38th minute Yvonne Latour sent a ball through to Leah Prentice who put the Cougars comfortably in front 2-0.
The Cougars played their normal game, a little slow and groggy in the first half, but came alive in the second half to totally dominate the Hornets and control the game.
The victory clinced the Divisional Championship for the Cougars.

The Cougars next game is Tuesday the 13th, 7pm, away at Einstein HS.

New photos just posted

Once again, Ele's aunt Becky has provided the team many great photos of the BCC, Clarksburg, Poolesville, and WM games. You can view them under "Photos" in the online viewer or by going to my picasa album by pushing "George's" button. There are over 200...

Thank you Becky!!

QO takes it to Seneca Valley 9-0

The Cougars definitely put on a show of how to play the beautiful game last night scoring 9 goals in 80 minutes of play. It was obvious in the first few minutes that the Eagles were going to be no match for the mighty Cougars. The girls totally dominated the game in all offensive statistical categories. We saw a lot of composure and maturity from the Cougars who stuck to their proven possession style. Goals were scored by 5 different Cougar players: (3) from Senior Ele Margelos, (2) from Senior Leah Prentice, including a very confidently struck PK. (2) from Sophomore Allie Solomon and (1) each from Freshman Kelley Whiteis and Junior Sami Slonim.

Sophmore goal keepers Gabby Paolini and Kelsey O'Connor shared the duties between the posts and kept the limited number of shots on goal by Eagles well away from the net.

Well done Cougars!

The girl's next game is this Wednesday night, home at the Cougar Dome against the visiting squad from Damascus at 5 p.m.

QO v. Watkins Mill

The Quince Orchard girls continued their winning ways with a 4-0 win over Watkins Mill on Thursday at the Cougar Dome. Ele Margelos opened the scoring in the 17th minute when she buried a rebound off Emily D'Italia's blast at goal. The Cougars added to the lead in the 39th minute, when Shannon Dwyer sent a diagonal ball over the right side of Watkins Mill's defense. Morgan Dorset made a run from the midfield to get on the end of the cross and put it away for the 2-0 lead.

The second half started off the way the first half left off, with Yvonne Latour feeding Leah Prentice off the kickoff for the score. After playing the first 65 minutes in goal, Kelsey O'Connor entered the game as a forward, and in the 78th minute, made her way to the back post on a Leah Prentice corner kick to knock in the final tally.

Sophomore goalkeepers Kelsey O'Connor and Gabby Paolini combined for the shutout, the team's fourth of the season and third consecutive.

QO defeats Watkins Mill 4-0

Sorry I was not at the game and can provide no report other than the score.

QO's next game is away at Seneca Valley HS Monday the 5th at 5pm.

Cougars defeat Falcons 2-0

The Quince Orchard Cougars defeated the visiting Poolesville Falcons this afternoon at the Cougar Dome by the score of 2-0. The Cougars started out strong with another early press at goal with Yvonne Latour and Leah Prentice making an early run up the left side of the field. QO was their typical dominant patient self in this game and possessed the ball very well in all areas of the field. QO opened the scoring in the scoring in the 19th minute with a great goal from senior Leah Prentice in the 19th minute. The play was set up by soe excellent work by senior Ele Margelos, who carried the ball up the right side and artfully crossed it in to Prentice for the put away goal. Great back and forth play for most of the remaining 1st half with Margelos and Prentice coming very close to connecting again in the 40th minute but the Falcon's keeper comes up with a huge save. The score at the half remains 1-0.

The second half opens with some early great opportunities by the Cougars and strong possession in the midfield. In the 16th minute of the 2nd half senior Kayla Clarke carries the ball into the middle, finds space and buries a long shot into the upper right corner of the Falcon's goal to put QO up 2-0. Poolesville makes a slight formation change later in the half pushing a defender into the midfield and a midfielder up top to try to generate some needed offense. This switch was noticed immediately and handled well by the Cougar's defense.

The Cougar's next game is this Thursday October 1st at 5pm home in the Cougar Dome.

New Photos Posted - Push Georges Button (read on)

There are new photos from Becky from the TJ and Northern games.

You can also view all four (TJ, Northern, Urbana and Rockville) games by going to photos and pushing George's Button (here).

Enjoy

Cougars light up Coyotes 7-0

The visiting Quince Orchard Cougars defeated the Clarksburg Coyotes this Monday night by the score of 7-0.

An attack minded Quince Orchard made the trek north to Clarksburg High School Monday night and unleashed a barrage of goals previously unseen this season. Scoring opened very early with a blistering shot by Senior Yvonne Latour in the 4th second! With the assist from senior Leah Prentice. The shot not only caught the Coyotes napping but many QO parents as well! In the 5th minute of the game senior Ele Margelos was taken down viciously from behind by a Clarksburg player, received a yellow card for her efforts. The resulting direct kick taken by Latour glanced off the Coyote wall and deflected into the back of the Coyote net for Latour's second goal of the evening. In the 11th minute Latour capped off her scoring for the evening with another direct kick goal. Hat trick for Latour! Qo then proceeded to totally dominate play in the midfield and defensive end totally shutting down any and all opportunities the Coyotes attempted to develop. In the 37th minute QO scored their fourth goal of the half when senior Emily D'Italia carried the ball 30 yards up field taking advantage of a nice open space in the middle of the Coyote midfield. 20 yards out she shot the ballinto the lower left corner past the Clarksburg keeper to give the Cougars a comfortable 4-0 lead going into halftime.

The Cougars came roaring out in the second half and continued to apply the pressure to the Coyotes. In the 5th minute in a small series of shots and saves, Senior Ele Margelos found herself with the ball in front of the Coyote net just outside the penalty box and let loose a cannon of a shot to increase QO's lead to 5-0. Play continued on for the next ten minutes in the same fashion as the rest of the game with QO still with unrelenting defensive and offensive pressure against the Coyote defense. Coach Keiller was by now making frequent substitutions including replacing first half goal keeper Gabby Paolini with Kelsey O'Connor for the second half. In the 15th minute of the second half senior Kayla Clarke made an excellent run up the left side and sent a beautful cross to Freshman Kelley Whiteis who calmly put the ball home. More substitutions and players playing in unusual positions followed on the heals of the Cougars's 6th goal of the evening. We got the delight of seeing defenders in the midfield and forwardsand midfielders in the defense and a general display of the versatility and depth of the QO program. In the 36th minute senior Margaret Smith scored during a melee of shots and clearance attempts. She coolly buried a shot that had seconds before arrived magically at her feet.

QO's seven goals and the passing and possession and guts and determination were a thing of beauty to watch tonight. We are looking forward to more of the same in our upcoming games. Next game for QO is Saturday at the Cougar Dome against the visiting Falcons from Poolesville High School at noon.

QO drop a game to BCC

The Cougars lost tonight against the Barrons of BCC by the score of 2-1. However, it was a very well played game by both teams, and a joy to watch. QO got out to a slow start and gave up another early goal, this time in the 5th minute of the first half. The play by the Cougars started to come around in the 18th minute and began moving the ball better and really starting to control the field and the possession. At the half the score remained 1-0 Barrons.

The second half saw a quick shift in QO's favor. In the 5th minute of the second half, Senior forward Leah Prentice played a beautiful ball into the middle and onto the feet of Senior forward Ele Margelos, who slotted the ball past the Barron's keeper to tie the score 1-1. Play seesawed back and forth for the next 33 minutes with both teams having some excellent chances at net and both teams really opened up on the field. In the 37th minute of the second half a BCC player had the ball wide and took a shot from about 20 yds out that skipped off the far post and into the Cougar's net. A heartbreaking end to a well played game by both teams.

The Cougar's next game is Monday the 21st at Clarksburg High School at 7 pm.

Latour's Two Goal, One Assist Effort Sparks Cougar Victory

Click here for report on gamedaymagazine.com

Cougars defeat Rams 4-1

In the opening home game of the 2009 Cougar Soccer campaign, Quince Orchard defeated the Rams from Rockville High School. The Cougars got off to a slow start giving up a early goal to the Rams in the 16th minute. The Cougars totally dominated possession, passing the ball extremely well and remaining in the offensive half of the field for a majority, (nearly all) of the first half. Rockville's main possession was a miscleared ball that found its way onto the feet of the Rockville forward who was then 1 on 1 with Sophomore Goal Keeper Gabby Paolini, Gabby made a great attempt to stop the onrushing player, who slotted the ball past Paolini for Rockville's lone goal. Rockville's keeper kept QO off the scoreboard for the first half making several key saves.

The second was a different story. The Cougars came out with a new found intensity and focus. They continued to dominate possession and kept the ball in Rockville's defensive half. QO's second half scoring opened in the 2nd minute when Senior Midfielder Yvonne Latour took a beautiful cross from Senior forward Leah Prentice and put it past the Rockville keeper. Five minutes later Senior midfielder Kayla Clarke found the ball at her feet from a Rockville clearance, she then took a step forward and buried a 24yd shot into the back of the net. Three minutes after Clarke's goal, Latour scored her second goal of the evening in the 10th minute of second half. Latour's goal was set up by a great assist from Sophomore forward Allie Solomon. Clearly a different QO team was on the field for the second half and was out to prove a point. The Cougars collected themselves very well from the early first half deficit and proved themselves the superior team. The final goal of the evening was a corner kick goal taken by Latour and put past the Ram's keeper by Senior forward Leah Prentice. The final goal came in the 24th minute of the second half.

The Cougar's next game is Thursday night at 7 p.m. against BCC.

Gazette: Urbana girls edge Quince Orchard

Charles E. Shoemaker II/The Gazette
Quince Orchard's Leah Prentice (6) chases down the ball against Urbana's Katie Marshall (10) and Ally Breitsameter (13) Thursday during the Hawks' 2-1 win in Ijamsville.


Urbana girls edge Quince Orchard
Ruhe's 35-yard game-winner lifts Urbana to 2-1 win over Cougars on Thursday
by Jennifer Beekman | Staff Writer


Urbana High senior midfielder Amie Ruhe had been dishing out passes to her teammates up top for the majority of Thursday's home game against Quince Orchard, but with the scored tied 1-1 in the 58th minute, decided to take matters into her own hands.

As the Cougars scrambled to get back and defend her push forward, Ruhe stopped short and launched a perfectly-arched 35-yard shot just under the crossbar to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead for good.

Urbana moved to 3-0 with the win while Quince Orchard dropped to 2-1.

"Lately my shots have been going all over the place but my coach [Chuck Nichols] just said to keep shooting" Ruhe said. "We knew that Quince Orchard would be aggressive. They do not play like most high school teams; they pass the ball around a lot. We just knew we would have to put constant pressure on them."

Thursday's battle played out much like a game between two perennial powers should. It was physical, competitive and laced with frequent momentum shifts.

Urbana got off to a stronger start, controlling the first 10 minutes. Senior striker Julie Ruhe gave the Hawks a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute on a 20-yard breakaway.

After that, Quince Orchard settled in and started knocking the ball around and setting up runs. The Cougars pressured Urbana the latter part of the first half, outshooting it 5-4 in the half.

Cougars sophomore Alli Solomon finished a deflection from about five yards out to even the score at 1-1 at halftime.

Quince Orchard senior forward Ele Margelos nearly tied the game seconds before the whistle was called when she broke through the Hawks' defense and rolled a shot past goalie Katie Marshall. But it bounced off the right goal post and ricocheted out.

Thursday was a good early season test for Quince Orchard. The Cougars returned the majority of last year's state final squad—forwards Leah Prentice and Margelos and midfielders Yvonne Latour, Emily D'Italia and Kayla Clarke form as cohesive a scoring unit as any coach could ask for. But a couple younger players are stepping into more prominent roles this year, and playing time against one of the state's best teams will be beneficial as the season wears on.

Sophomore goalie Gabby Paolini did a superb job blocking the barrage of shots Urbana sent at her in the second half—the Hawks finished with 11 shots on goal to Quince Orchard's 8; Paolini tallied nine saves.

Freshman Isabelle Latour solidified the Cougars' well-crafted backline, helmed Margaret Smith, Jessica Row and Jenny Van Hook.

"I definitely have confidence [in Gabby], I think if she were a little bit taller we would still be playing right now," Quince Orchard coach Peg Keiller said after the game. "[Thursday's] game definitely showed us what we need to work on. The girls are pretty fired up right now about working hard."

Cougars drop a heartbreaker to Urbana

The Cougars lost a very close game tonight by the score of 2-1. The Cougars looked very strong and were moving the ball well throughout the game. We had several excellent chances, including a last minute shot by Senior Forward Ele Margelos that struck the post and skidded just wide.

The lone Cougar goal came in the 30th minute of the first half in a flurry of shots from the Cougars and blocks and clears by the Hawk defense. Sophomore forward Allie Solomon found the ball at her feet and put it past the Urbana keeper to tie the game at 1-1.

The Cougars had the bulk of the possession late in the second half but were unable to capitalize on any of their shots. Margelos' late shot was the closest they came to tying the game. All in all a hard fought battle that could have gone either way.

The Cougar's next game is our Home Opener at QO Stadium Monday the 14th against Rockville High School at 7 p.m.

Washington Post: Girls' Soccer Top Ten

Team
1. Spalding (19-1-3)
2. Good Counsel (13-6-1)
3. Bethesda-CC (17-0)
4. Quince Orchard (14-3)
5. O'Connell (14-5-3)
6. Glenelg (10-7-1)
7. G'town Visitation (15-1)
8. Urbana (8-5-1)
9. National Cathedral (10-3-1)
10. Reservoir (12-4-1)

(Last year's record)

Washington Post: Girls' Soccer Preview

Girls' Soccer Preview
Thursday, September 10, 2009

Quince Orchard, which moves down to 3A from 4A after making the state finals in 2008, returns nine starters, including 2008 first-team All-Met Kayla Clarke, who has committed to play at Maryland.

Player to Watch MF Kayla Clarke Quince Orchard, Sr.
Thursday, September 10, 2009

Though her two goals and 11 assists last season may not indicate a star in the making, the numbers are misleading for this 2008 All-Met. With nine seniors returning from the Cougars' 4A state finals run a year ago, Clarke will be counted on as a distributor, controlling the middle of the field while her teammates get credit for the offensive fireworks. "She's just such a composed player . . . it creates a good mixture," said Cougars Coach Peg Keiller of her field general, who intends to head to College Park next season and play for Maryland.

Tournament of Champions

Well hello there Cougar Soccer fans! The season is officially underway with the Tournament of Champions hosted by Tuscarora High School in Frederick Maryland. The Cougars got off to a great start on the season, winning both their games. In the first game the Cougars defeated the Governor Thomas Johnson Patriots by the score of 3-2. the Cougars second game later that afternoon saw victory over the Patriots of Northern High School from Calvert County, 1-0.

It was a great day for goals from restarts as Senior Midfielder Yvonne Latour scored 1 goal in each game from a direct free kick. The second goal in the Thomas Johnson game came from Senior forward Ele Margelos who had a very well placed shot into the upper corner of the net. Yvonne also had a run of play goal in the game against Thomas Johnson on a lovely cross from Sophomore forward Allie Solomon, which was buried into the back of the net off the right foot of Latour. The Thomas Johnson game was played on a very wet and slow field and at times the passing was a bit untidy. The girls struggled to adjust but by half time and all during the second half looked to have made the adjustments necessary to control the passing and possession.

In the afternoon game against the Patriots (what a coincidence!) of Northern High School the Cougars had much better control of the field and had the majority of possession. The grass was much faster than in the morning and everything seemed to be going much easier for the girls. Play was well controlled by the defense and midfield and there were some wonderful runs and beautiful balls through to the forwards. The lone goal came in the 16th minute of the second half from Latour's second direct strike. A foul just outside the Northern Patriot's penalty box and Yvonne squirted the ball past the Northern keeper.

A great start to the season as the Cougars record stands at 2-0-0. Were have an away game against Urbana High School on Thursday the 10th at 6:30 p.m. The Cougars begin their home campaign Monday the 14th at Quince Orchard Stadium against Rockville High School at 7:00 p.m.

Girls soccer fast facts

Girls soccer fast facts

(...)

Quince Orchard Cougars

2008 record: 14-3-0

Players to watch: Ele Margelos, Kayla Clarke, Emily D'Italia

2009 outlook: "We certainly cannot assume that we are going to go as far as we have gone every year. We have to fight for everything we get. We just try and keep it realistic that way." — head coach Peg Keiller

(...)

Gazette: QO and B-CC swap places, roll on

Girls soccer: QO and B-CC swap places, roll on
by Jennifer Beekman | Staff Writer

(...)

Two-time Class 4A state champion Quince Orchard (2002, '07), which has won the 4A West Region title the last three years, will drop to 3A along with Blake, and Wheaton drops to 2A.

The changes throw a wrench in some of the county's coveted rivalries. But the usual suspects — B-CC, Whitman, Quince Orchard, Blair, Wootton, Churchill, Walter Johnson, Poolesville — are still there with the same intention: Winning the state championship.

"Expectations in our region are going to be tricky," Churchill coach Haroot Hakopian said. "We lost Quince Orchard and as a bonus for losing Quince Orchard, we get B-CC. But we are excited about having B-CC in the 4A, it gives our region even more legitimacy."

(...)

QOHS Class of 2010