Severn boys soccer handles South River

The Severn School boys soccer program makes a habit of playing the toughest out-of-conference schedule possible, and Monday was no exception with South River coming to town.

It took just 3 minutes and 24 seconds for the Admirals to set the tone.

Ammar Yusuf found the back of the net to stake host Severn to an early 1-0 lead and the team, which played a man up for the final 45 minutes, added a pair of second-half goals to shut out the visiting Seahawks, 3-0.

“I always tell the kids to come with a lot of emotion. Fill their emotional and physical tank. Sometimes it’s just the way it happens. The game starts real fast and furious,” Severn coach Mike McCarthy said. “I told the team they had to weather that storm because the game was going to be hot and heavy. I wanted them to set the tempo as opposed to having the tempo being set.”

Yusuf converted a corner kick after the ball rebounded in the box for the early goal. South River (2-2) came right back and had a chance to tie it back up five minutes later, but Severn keeper William Hudson made a terrific stop on the shot.

With just under 26 minutes left in the half, Davis Cawlfield was awarded a penalty kick, which Seahawks keeper Jay Jenkins stopped with a diving stop to his left to keep the deficit at one. But with just over five minutes left, South River was assessed a red card — putting it a man down for the remainder of the match.

“[The early goal] wasn’t deflating at all. I think after that, we settled down a little bit and started playing our ball,” South River coach Marlyn Argueta said. “We started getting a foot in the game and then everything changed.”

TheSeahawkshadanother opportunity seven minutes into the second half that Hudson (six saves) came up big on. Three minutes later, Colin McCarthy put a shot that deflected off the far post and trickled over the goal line for a 2-0 Severn lead.

Hudson Lamb rounded out the scoring by chipping a shot from just outside the box over Jenkins’ head for the final goal.

McCarthy finished the day with two assists, while Matt Sotiropoulos had one.

Severn has faced tough opponents in each of its first four games, dropping a 2-1 decision to open the campaign against Archbishop Spalding. Since then, the team has earned shutout wins against St. Paul’s, Park School and now South River leading up to the beginning of the team’s conference schedule.

“We have always made it a habit in the preseason to put my squad up against the best of the best in the county. I do that on purpose to get the team primed and ready for our conference,” McCarthy said. “I think it’s working pretty well putting them up against some of the best competition in the state.”

Argueta was also pleased with getting his Seahawks a game against a high-level private school under their belts.

“Once we got the red card, it’s kind of hard to judge what we have,” Argueta said. “It changes the game so much.”