Relentless Gators push on to final

Perry Hall rolls, 10-0; Mount Hebron ousted

Soon after the first whistle of Saturday’s Class 4A state semifinal game, it was apparent the Perry Hall girls soccer team was playing at a higher level than Eleanor Roosevelt.

The No. 9 Gators swarmed the midfield to win balls and then were relentless in the attacking end.

Senior Ashlee Wilsynski scored the game’s first goal in the 12th minute and plenty followed for Perry Hall, which rolled to a 10-0 win over the Raiders from Prince George’s County at Henry A. Wise High School in Upper Marlboro.

The senior front line of Kara Dietrich (three goals, three assists), Phoebe Canoles (four goals) and Wilsynski (two goals) continually found its mark.

The Gators (16-3) advance to next week’s state title game against Walt Whitman. The title games for each of the four classifications are set for Thursday through Saturday at Loyola Maryland’s Ridley Athletic Complex with the schedule yet to be set.

The Gators, who fell to Walter Johnson in overtime in the 2016 state title game, are confident this is the group that can bring home the program’s first crown as they prepare to make their seventh title game appearance.

“We’ve worked so hard for this and we’re ready to finish it,” said Dietrich, who has 18 goals and 11 assists this season.

With goalie Lauren Gwin and center back Aya Neal anchoring the defense, an organized possession game that has become more efficient during the season. WALT WHITMAN 1, NO. 5 SEVERNA PARK 0: Severna Park didn’t surrender a goal in the playoffs until midway through the second half of Saturday’s Class 4A state semiifnal against Walt Whitman.

When it did, it ended the No. 5 Falcons season.

Midfielder Morgan Riso provided the winning goal for the Vikings from Montgomery County, heading home a rebound after Mayilda MacKay fired a shot off the crossbar.

The Vikings advance to the state championship game against No. 9 Perry Hall – a 10-0 winner over Eleanor Roosevelt in Saturday’s earlier semifinal – while Severna Park ends its season with a 17-2 mark. — Brian Burden, Baltimore Sun Media Group

THOMAS JOHNSON 3, MOUNT HEBRON 1: In a matchup between a pair of programs that were each making their first trip to the state final four in the last eight years, settling nerves and establishing momentum was even more critical than usual at Linganore High School.

And courtesy of a goal in the first 15 minutes, it was Thomas Johnson that got the exact kind of start it was looking for.

Tracking down a ball on the left side, Mei Homman looped a shot off of Mount Hebron goalie Ainsley Sowers’ hands into the far side of the net for a 1-0 lead that set the tone for an eventual victory that advances the Patriots into their first state championship contest since 2001.

The team will play the winner of Towson and Northern-Calvert in the 3A title game next week at Loyola Maryland’s Ridley Athletic Complex. — Brent Kennedy, Baltimore Sun Media Group

NORTHERN 3, NO. 14 TOWSON 1: Northern of Calvert’s Rachel Deresky had two goals and an assist to lead the Patriots (15-2-1) to a victory over Towson (10-6) on a frigid night at Linganore High. Towson’s only score came from Emma Kirtz late in the second half.

NO. 2 RIVER HILL 2, NO. 10 HEREFORD 1: The Hawks kept their chances of a state title three-peat intact with a 2-1 comefrom-behind victory in Clarksville. The two-time defending 2A state champions rallied to advance to the state final for the 13th time, a game in which they have never lost with a perfect 12-0 mark.

River Hill will face Walkersville, which beat Fallston on penalty kicks in the other semifinal, in the state championship game next week at Loyola Maryland’s Ridley Athletic Complex.

Coach Brian Song admitted after the victory that he thought before the season began a chance at another state title would be a long shot. His team, however, has proven otherwise, as River Hill (16-1) has reeled off 16 consecutive victories since a 1-0 loss to Leonardtown in the season opener. — Tim Schwartz, Baltimore Sun Media Group

SMITHSBURG 2, PATTERSON MILL 1: A fourth straight appearance in the state final was not in the cards for the Huskies.

Smithsburg (10-4-5) sophomore Taylor Mackrell scored with 31 seconds left in regulation time to lift the Leopards at Northeast High School.

The loss ends a three-year run for the Huskies (13-5-1) into the 1A title game, where the Huskies fell to Sparrows Point each time.

“We have been for the past couple of games, played some teams, that aren’t that quality a team and it was a little bit earlier for us to get it done,” Huskies coach Mike Parker said. “We still said, look, you still got to focus on that. You have to play the ball quick, work the ball down the field. The thought was there today, the execution wasn’t what we would have liked, especially there in the first half.” — Randall L. McRoberts, Baltimore Sun Media Group