Gators get their penalty kicks
Perry Hall needs extra time to earn repeat Class 4A championship
BALTIMORE – Perry Hall senior forward Erin Marcizewski jogged to the penalty line like it was just another day, instead of it being the Class 4A state championship game at Loyola Maryland’s Ridley Athletic Complex.
Seconds later, she precisely found the lower left corner and just like that, the Gators successfully defended their state championship.
After 100 minutes of quality but scoreless soccer in against No. 4 Severna Park, the No. 12 Gators claimed a 1-0 win with a 4-3 decision in penalty kicks.
Senior backs Aya Neal, Caroliine Rosenthal and Caroline Warns all made good on the penalty kicks and, after two misses took the session to a sixth round, Marcizewski was the hero after a Falcons miss.
Perry Hall, which aside from the experienced back line fielded mostly a new lineup, closed the season with an 11-6 mark, becoming the first area team to win consecutive state titles in 4A since the MPSSAA started playing title games in all four classifications in 1998.
Severna Park, which reached the state title game with a win in penalty kicks against Churchill, finished with a 15-3-2 mark.
Neither team’s defenses budged in 100 minutes of quality soccer.
The Falcons had the best chance at a breakthrough in regulation with the game’s first steady pressure midway through the second half.
With 23 minutes left, Lexi Richardson sent a ball through to forward Ella Raines, who dribbled once to get inside the penalty area to have Perry Hall goalie Brenna Ellenberger aggressively leave her goal line to smother the shot.
Five minutes later, Lauren Campbell got a firm shot off from15 yards that was headed away by Warns.
It was apparent from the start that time and space with the ball would be limited in the offensive thirds as both teams marked tight and kept organized in back.
More than seven minutes elapsed before Severna Park’s Mackenzie Rice made a run on the right side to get inside the Gators’ penalty area — the first time for either side — but it was quickly disrupted when Warns took the ball away with a clean tackle.
The scoreless first half finished with a combined five shots reaching the goal. The Falconsearningtwolatecornerkicksthatproved the most dangerous opportunities — Lena McGlaughlin with a chance in front but unable to get good placement on the hurried shot.
The Falcons were excellent in the regular season, particularly at the defensive end, finishing with an 11-1-2 mark with 10 shutouts to reach the Anne Arundel County championship game.
After losing to South River, 1-0, for county bragging rights, they worked their way out of the demandingEastregion, highlighted bya2-1 win over the same Seahawks before reaching the state title game with a 2-0 win over Churchill in last week’s state semifinal round.
They played in two scoreless ties during the regular season, played in three overtime games in reaching the playoffs, including the state semifinal win in the semifinal round. But fell admirably in a bid to win a second game in penalty kicks.
1A boys final
Neither player sported a smile with disappointment setting in after Friday’s setback in the Class 1A state championship game. The awards weren’t what FSK came to Loyola University seeking.
But Haines seemed determined to not lose sight of his team’s accomplishment.
“I’m proud to be sitting here,” the coach said following FSK’s 3-0 loss to Mountain Ridge at Ridley Athletic Complex. “I’m so proud of these guys. We’re being led by [10] seniors. Live and die by the seniors on this team. Today we just didn’t have enough to compete to win. But I’m proud of them. They’ve put my program kind of always where I’ve always wanted it to be.
“We’ve talked about that. We’ve tried to build a foundation and these guys have built the walls for it. Quite honestly, we probably put the roof on it this year. We just forgot the shingles.”
Mountain Ridge (15-4) got a pair of goals from senior forward Brady Weimer, and the Miners built an early two-goal advantage that changed the flow of the game for the Eagles. An offense that liked to be aggressive and score quickly had to re-route its scheme a bit.
Key (9-6-2) applied pressure the rest of the way and played even with its opponent from Frostburg, but the deficit was too much to overcome. Francis Scott Key fell just short of capturing its first state championship in 33 years.
The Eagles did their best to savor the moment, however.
“I mean, I’m playing soccer with a group of guys that I’ve loved since Day 1 of my freshman year,” said Wantz, a defender, who displayed his runner-up hardware. “Sitting there, looking at the crowd, all eyes on you, and you’re playing around the guys that you love. It’s just an insane experience. It’s just the best feeling in the world.”