Two Md. boys teams reach national finals

Thomas Walker scored in the 77th minute to help Pipeline Black defeat Maryland rival and defending national champion Baltimore Celtic 98/99, 1-0, on Saturday in Frisco, Texas, to advance to the Under-17 boys final at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships. Pipeline will play for the title today against Loudoun 98 Red of Virginia, which defeated Seattle United 98 Copa of Washington on penalty kicks after a scoreless overtime and a 1-1 tie in regulation. The final will be a rematch of the 2016 Region I final, in which Pipeline defeated Loudoun, 4-1. In Under-14 boys, Baltimore Darby 01/02 is headed back to the final for a second straight year after defeating Raiders City of Illinois, 2-1. Age-group leading goal scorer Theodore Ndje scored in the 14th minute and Richard Nichols made it 2-0 in the 33rd. The Raiders scored in the 35th minute. Darby will face Valparaiso United FC 02 JG of Arizona, which won, 3-2, in overtime against LVSA 02 Red of Nevada. The title match is today. College in Rockville as well as at Delaware State and Bowie State. He received his bachelor’s degree in marketing education from Virginia Tech and a master’s degree in sport management from Tennessee-Knoxville. Interim AD Alecia Shields-Gadson will continue to serve as associate AD. MARYLAND FOOTBALL: The Terps picked up their third commitment of the day for the Class of 2017 when three-star Page (N.C.) running back Javon Leake pledged to attend the school. Leake is a consensus three-star recruit across the four major recruiting services. In the 247sports.com composite rankings, he’s the No. 6 all-purpose back nationally, No. 17 player in North Carolina and No. 526 overall prospect in his class. Earlier in the day, three-star Gonzaga (D.C.) offensive lineman Johnny Jordan and three-star Potomac running back Tayon Fleet-Davis committed.