Mt. Hebron sneaks one in
Staunch Towson defense denies Vikings until Namie scores late for 1-0 victory
FREDERICK — It took a dozen shots and more than 60 minutes, but the Mount Hebron boys soccer team finally solved Towson’s seemingly impenetrable defense in their Class 3A state semifinal Saturday at Linganore.
Jared Simowitz won a ball on the right side with just under 20 minutes left in the second half, then played a perfect cross to Trevor Namie on the far post for the deciding goal in a 1-0 Vikings victory.
It was the first goal scored against Towson (14-3-2) in almost 300 minutes of game action. The Generals came in having posted back-to-back double-overtime shutouts in the region semifinals and finals.
“So much credit to Towson. They really came out and played us perfectly and lived up to everything we had heard about them,” Mount Hebron coach Mike Linsenmeyer said. “They forced us to make adjustments, change some things, and fortunately, we eventually were able to get behind their back line for the goal we needed. Jared and Trevor made a play, and sometimes that’s what it comes down to — who can make that one big play.”
Mount Hebron (16-1) advanced to play Urbana in the state championship game this week at Loyola Maryland. It’s the program’s first trip to the finals since 2011, and the Vikings will be trying to win their first state title since 2006.
Towson, meanwhile, saw its first trip to the state semifinals since 2008 come to an end.
“It’s what you love and hate about soccer, all in a nutshell,” Generals coach Jon Becker said. “You can play your tail off, both teams, and one team wins and one team loses. Sometimes it comes down to the bounce of the ball, and tonight, it didn’t bounce our way. But I couldn’t be more proud of our guys. I don’t think there was anyone in Baltimore that thought Towson High School was going to be playing in the state semifinals this year outside of the 22 guys that are suited up for us.”
Towson had the game’s first chance when Joe Weir took a shot from the right side that went just wide two minutes in.
Mount Hebron settled in with several quality opportunities after that, but Generals goalie Austin Wenck (eight saves) and the defense in front of him had an answer for everything in the first half. The Vikings were able to get the ball into their offensive third, but finishing was another story.
“Adam Coplai and Jack Baker have been on varsity for three years now and they are kind of the anchors, and then throw in Brooks Benassi over on the left and then Sam Edwards on the right — it’s just a really solid group,” Becker said. “They knew what it was going to take today and they came out focused right from the start.”
The game was scoreless at the half, and the near-misses continued to pile up for the Vikings to begin the second half as well. But Simowitz said there was no panic.
“It happens a lot, where we have great service from [Alex] Simak or Johnny [Linsenmeyer] on corners, throws or free kicks,” and no one can convert, Simowitz said. “But we just have faith that if we get it in enough times, one of those times, we are going to score.”
That persistence ended up paying off in the 61st minute, as Simowitz played his cross to the far post and Namie was there to deflect it off his body and into the goal for a 1-0 lead.
“I play with Jared a lot and I trust him, and I know that he works so hard and he won’t stop until he gets that ball in,” Namie said. “I went back post. … He did an amazing job putting the ball in, and I just got to tap it in.”
From there, Mount Hebron’s defense did the rest to secure the shutout victory. Torey Jones made several big saves, including one with five minutes left in which he prevented a goal by punching the ball off the crossbar to keep the Vikings ahead.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Mount Hebron secured its first shutout of the playoffs and stormed the field to celebrate.
“Obviously, our back line did a great job, our midfield, too, and to shut them out was a great effort. It was a great accomplishment,” Linsenmeyer said. “We have really been looking for that shutout because we’ve gotten scored on at least once in every game of the playoffs until today. And we obviously needed it, because Towson really played well.” Goals: MH—Namie. Assists: MH—Simowitz. Saves: MH—Jones 5; T—Wenck 8. Half: 0-0.