Bobcats break out in 2nd half to top Huskies
Sophomore defender Lexi Roloson has enjoyed the challenge of keeping balls out of the net in her first varsity season for the Bel Air girls soccer team. Lately, she has enjoyed scoring goals, too. In Saturday’s Upper Chesapeake Bay Athletic Conference game against No. 13 Patterson Mill, Roloson scored for the second straight game.
This time, it proved to be the gamewinner for the No. 6 Bobcats, a header off Lauren Asher’s corner kick with 9:44 to play.
The Bobcats added an insurance goal from Autumn Dougherty a couple of minutes later to claim a 3-1 win over the visiting Huskies.
The victory puts Bel Air, defending Class 3A state and UCBAC Chesapeake Division champion, at 6-3-1 overall and 5-0 in division play.
Patterson Mill, which came into the game with five straight wins, including a 2-1 victory over defending Class 2A state champion Fallston on Wednesday, fell to 8-2 and 3-1.
Roloson scored her first career goal in Thursday’s 3-0 win over Rising Sun, but she scored an even bigger one Saturday.
With the game tied at 1 late in the second half, the Bobcats earned three straight corner kicks taken by Asher.
After her first two went to the near post, she lofted her third one across the goal for Roloson to run on to and head home at the far post.
“I didn’t really think I’d get it, to be honest — it kind of surprised me,” she said. “When it went in I didn’t actually believe it, but running back was just amazing.”
The game was scoreless at the half, and the Bobcats were first to score early in the second half when Grace Wehland, a sophomore defender, finished from 12 yards out on the left side off a feed from Haley Seabolt.
The Huskies’ answer came from sophomore Bethany Bruck, who hit a free kick from 20 yards just over the Bobcats wall and past goalie Jill Kozak (four saves) with 28:40 to play.
After Roloson broke the tie, the Bobcats did well to defend one corner kick from the Huskies before Dougherty provided the insurance goal with Seabolt recording her second assist.
With plenty of games left in the regular season and expecting to have an extended playoff run, Patterson Mill coach Mike Parker said Saturday’s loss can help his players learn for the future.
“I told them when we were playing well it was going well, but it only takes a couple mistakes, and good teams are going to capitalize. Bel Air is a good team, we knew that coming in, and on a better day that comes out a different way,” he said. “I thought the game may have been closer than the score indicated, but they deserved the goals they got.” Goals: PM—Bruck; BA—Wehland, Rolosn, Dougherty. Assists: BA— Seabolt 2, Asher. Saves: PM—Claire 6; BA—Kozak 4. Half: 0-0.