South River secures 3rd straight title

C. Milton Wright dethrones Chesapeake-AA; South Carroll caps run to crown

CHESTERTOWN — Getting to Washington College ended up being the toughest part of the South River field hockey team’s day Saturday.

After arriving in Chestertown later than expected due to their bus breaking down just past the toll plaza at the Bay Bridge, the No. 5 Seahawks controlled the game from beginning to end and defeated Dulaney, 2-0, to win their third straight Class 4A title.

Allison Corey had a goal and an assist and Alexis Seidel scored a goal for the Seahawks, who scored both their goals on penalty corners.

“We like to make things memorable,” joked South River coach Megan Atkinson, referring to the bus. “We were very glad it didn’t happen on the bridge. The girls made the best of it at the time. We’re lucky they’re so close as a group that they wouldn’t let it get to them.”

Upon arriving at Washington College, the Seahawks no doubt heard about Chesapeake falling in the Class 3A final to a team the Cougars beat last year. The 4A final was also a rematch of last year’s final, won by South River.

“We heard Chesapeake lost, but we knew we had to keep our heads in it,” said Corey, who opened the scoring off an assist from Morgan Lee 13 minutes into the game. “We just had to come out strong and play like South River.”

South River (16-3) won its third straight state title and seventh overall. The Seahawks improved to 7-1 in state finals.

NO. 3 C. MILTON WRIGHT 3, NO. 11 CHESAPEAKE-AA 0: The Mustangs (16-1) ended Chesapeake’s two-year reign as state champion.

Forwards Samantha Aljet and Arrianna May combined to notch the three goals for C. Milton Wright.

“They came out strong and they came out ready to play,” Mustangs coach Kelly Mattingly said. “They’ve been wanting this for a long time now.”

From the start, the Cougars found less playing territory than they’d like. Aided by a blustering wind blowing in their foes’ direction, C. Milton Wright successfully penned Chesapeake on its own side of the field as the Mustangs pressed the circle tighter and tighter. — Katherine Fominykh, Baltimore Sun Media Group

SOUTH CARROLL 2, PATUXENT 0: Senior forward Grace Fipps had a goal and an assist, and the Cavaliers (11-8) capped their season with a shutout in the state final — and the program’s first championship since 2002.

They outscored their playoff competition 23-0 and turned a 6-8 regular season into quite a memorable finish.

“I told them as the game started, I would love to play in [the game] because it’s easier to control your emotions,” said SC coach Julie Radnoff. “Incredible. Shoot, I’ve probably coached 500 teams … and that was the best one ever.”

South Carroll turned a frustrating first half — the Cavaliers had the run of play for most of the opening 30 minutes — into a more successful second half, and scored early to grab the momentum. — Pat Stoetzer, Baltimore Sun Media Group

NO. 12 LIBERTY 1, HEREFORD 0: Liberty navigated its way through the Class 2A playoffs by relying on its back row and taking advantage of the scoring chances when they came.

Such was the case in Saturday’s 2A state final against Hereford, where the Lions withstood their share of charges from the Bulls but captured the title with a 1-0 victory at Washington College.

Liberty (17-2) scored the game’s lone goal with 12:56 remaining, when sophomore Kayleigh Ward got credit for deflecting a long hit from fellow sophomore Maggie Heffler.

The Lions made it stand with a stalwart performance from senior Lindsay Kovack, who moved to defense this fall, junior Christine Goetz, one of the team’s captains, and freshman Jolie Feltz.

And don’t forget senior goalie Grace Fenner, who made 10 saves and had a few big ones down the stretch to preserve the lead. — Pat Stoetzer, Baltimore Sun Media Group