All signs Point to a title
Sparrows Point wins its 5th county crown in last 6 years
Winning championships has become old hat to the Sparrows Point girls soccer team.
Having won six straight state titles and four of the past five Baltimore County crowns, the No. 7 Pointers have seen just about every situation in a big game. Penalty kicks is one of them.
With upstart and No. 9 Towson hanging tough through 100 minutes in Monday’s Baltimore County title game and the score tied at 1 after extra time, the Pointers showed poise when it was needed most.
Dezirae Mortimer, Laci Bell, Abby Meadows and Sara Gruntowicz converted their penalty-kick tries, goalie Jaddah Foos made one save and another Towson shot went wide as the Pointers repeated as county champions with a 4-2 advantage in the shootout.
Meadows sent the game into overtime, scoring on a free kick from 45 yards with 9:40 left in the second half after Aalivia Wainwright gave the General a 1-0 lead with 15 minutes left in the first half.
The Pointers (11-1-1) secured their fifth county crown in six years after Monday’s significant push by the Generals, who fell to 8-4-1. Sparrows Point also claimed bragging rights in Baltimore County on penalty kicks in 2015, when it beat Perry Hall.
“When we don’t start off good, we can come together as a group and be positive and correct people constructively — that’s what helped us in the second half. We constructively criticized each other, and as a whole, we really worked hard together and got the outcome,” said Foos, who finished with nine saves.
The Generals, whose last county championship came in 1991, came out hard and focused. Emma Kirts’ heavy shot from 30 yards out rattled off the crossbar 10 minutes into play.
They were rewarded for their the strong start 20 minutes later when Wainwright finished off a chance from 20 yards for the 1-0 advantage.
For the next 45 minutes, the Generals protected the lead with strong defense and quality time on the ball.
The game shifted with 9:40 to go, when Meadows lined up for a free kick from 45 yards and lofted a shot over the outstretched hands of Towson goalie Sofie Sorteberg (four saves) for the equalizer.
Wainwright, the most dangerous player throughout the game, had the best chance in the extra time, but her two shots inside the penalty area were blocked by defenders with two minutes left in the second 10-minute overtime.
Despite the setback, Towson coach Lauren Hanley was proud of the Generals’ performance. The experience will prove valuable in the region playoffs.
“We came out some strong and played some of the best soccer I’ve seen them play all year,” she said. “We played as a team, we kept the pressure up, the kept the intensity up — even when they came back and got the goal. They fought hard in double overtime and never let up.”
“I think it’s great experience for us. This program hasn’t been in this situation in a really long time. We haven’t been in the county finals … So it’s giving them more experience, more confidence. We told them how proud we were of them for playing and staying in that game against a team that who has won states for the past six years. I knew the result wasn’t what we wanted, but I couldn’t ask for anything more of them, and I’m proud how they played.”
Next up for both teams is the region playoffs, with both earning first-round byes.
Sparrows Point, which moved up to Class 2A this year, will host Digital Harbor in a North Region quarterfinal either Friday or Saturday. In Class 3A North, Towson will host City at 2:30 p.m. Friday.