No. 4 Centennial rallies for win, first trip to final since 1995
Down a goal at the half in Friday night’s Class 3A state semifinal, the Centennial boys soccer team talked about making a couple adjustments, but mostly the message was to have fun and get after it.
The No. 4 Eagles did just that — emphatically.
Riley Senisi found the top far post for the tying goal six minutes into the second half, Kodee Karcher headed home a corner kick by Caleb Addalia with 23 minutes left and the Eagles’ defense didn’t budge against defending state champion JM Bennett, holding on for a 2-1 win at Crofton High.
The Eagles (16-1) will vie for the program’s eighth state championship when they take on Tuscarora, a 4-0 winner over No. 10 Towson. It’s their first title game appearance since winning their last crown in 1995.
All the championships in the four boys and girls classifications will take place Thursday through Saturday at Loyola Maryland’s Ridley Athletic Complex. Dates and times have yet to be determined.
“The history is something we always start with every year,” Centennial coach Justin Thomas said. “They know it’s been quite awhile since we’ve been in state championship game and obviously we don’t talk about it with the goal always to win the next game. But it always kind of in the back of our minds, you’re thinking you want to get to that game, you want to play the last game. So now our goal is to win the last game.”
After the Clippers (14-2) from Wicomico County took a 1-0 lead on a goal from Luke Dunne in the 12th minute, the Eagles showed flashes but weren’t able to get even going into the break.
They showed urgency to open the second half, and it wasn’t long before Senisi provided the spark. After settling a pass on the left side from Adam Fowble, he took one dribble inside before finding the far post from 16 yards.
“After getting down 1-0, we knew we couldn’t hang our heads. We had a whole half to go, so I just wanted to get the team back up,” Senisi said. “As soon as I had the ball, I took a good touch and knew I needed to place it well. It was a much better shot than I could have imagined. Scoring in the top corner in the state semifinal is incredible, but it’s still just 1-1 and I knew we couldn’t stop.”
They still needed the go-ahead goal. It came on a set piece.
Awarded a free kick at the left edge, Addalia delivered a ball to the far post that Karcher firmly headed back across. It hit off the opposite post and went in.
“During halftime, our coaches told us to just have fun and go out and get it. From the jump, I knew we were going to come back because we have a special group,” Karcher said.
From there, the Centennial defense had to fend off three dangerous corner kicks, including a save by goalie Kartik Sullivan on Emort George’s header in front with 4:17 to play. Tristan Wieland sent in one final ball from the right side that Sullivan punched away as the final whistle sounded.
Last season, Centennial ended a 26-year drought to win the Howard County championship and successfully defended the crown this year with an 11-1-1 regular-season mark. Now, the hope for next week is another dry spell comes to an end.
Tuscarora 4, Towson 0: Towson took two crushing blows in the first half of its Class 3A state semifinal against mighty Tuscarora on Friday night.
The No. 10 Generals surrendered a quick goal in the third minute.
After settling into the game, they were just about at the halftime break when the second punch came. Tuscarora standout senior Erick Rodriguez buried a left-footed shot from 16 yards out with one second left on the clock.
The Generals were never able to recover, falling to the Titans from Frederick County, 4-0.
Towson closed out its season with a 13-5 mark, while Tuscarora (17-1) advances to take on No. 4 Centennial, a 2-1 winner against JM Bennett, in next week’s state championship game.
“We just ran into a well-oiled machine tonight,” Towson coach Randy Dase said.
Led by Rodriguez, who finished with two goals, and standout senior defender Tony Lombardi, the Titans proved a notch above the Generals with a fast pace that was difficult to match.
After Rodriguez was dragged down in the box six minutes into the second half, Lombardi buried the ensuing penalty kick to make it 3-0. The Generals played hard to the end, piecing together a string of passes that ended up finding Jackson Kanzler on the left side midway through the second half. But his shot was stopped by Tuscarora goalie Aidan Ritta and the Titans finished with a clean sheet.
The loss doesn’t diminish a fine season for the Generals, a largely new group that enjoyed plenty of memorable moments. With only two senior starters, they have set themselves up well for more success.
Included in team’s 13 wins were four overtime efforts that featured clutch performances. In claiming their fourth straight Baltimore County crown, the Generals got a goal from sophomore Josh Villano with 1:39 to play in the second 10-minute overtime to get past rival Dulaney, 1-0.
In reaching Friday’s state semifinal, they got a tying goal with seven seconds left in regulation and then knocked out Northern-Calvert with a goal with three seconds left in the first overtime period.
“It’s probably one of the most amazing seasons I’ve ever been associated with,” Dase said. “We only started two seniors ... so everything we got out of squeezing this orange, we got the most, I think. I got to give the kids credit — they showed a lot of heart and guts in the last month by winning four straight overtime games.”
Glenelg 2, Parkside 0: Glenelg has seen a shift in recent seasons. Going from a one-win season in 2019 to winning regional championships in back-to-back years, the Gladiators were still searching for that next step of playing for a state title.
Friday night, that elusive step became a reality as No. 5 seed Glenelg (11-4-1) defeated top-seed Parkside, 2-0, to advance to the Class 2A state championship game. Not only did the Gladiators secure the program’s first state berth since 1997, but they also avenged last season’s state semifinal loss to Parkside on penalty kicks.
They’ll face either No. 2 seed North Harford or No. 3 seed Lackey in the state championship game.
“I started playing for Glenelg varsity soccer [during my] freshman year,” senior Siji Jolayemi said. “Winning a game was news for our school. … Now making it to states, all it does is make us proud, our parents proud.”
The first 10 minutes of the game were defensive oriented with neither side generating strong chances. Glenelg began controlling possession as the first half progressed, but none of that momentum translated to a goal. The Gladiators finished with three corners in the first half compared to zero for the Rams, with Jolayemi generating much of the attacks.
“Our big thing was we tried to put shots on target,” Glenelg coach Joey Osborne said. “We were getting close, close, close and we felt like they were trying to get the perfect shot. On a night like tonight where it’s slick out there, we just need shots.”
That mentality quickly translated to success early in the second half. After Eshan Bae chipped a ball forward to Vaughn Sines, Rams goalie Tyler Janeski made the initial stop. However, he was unable to control the rebound and Sines scored, giving the Gladiators a 1-0 advantage in the 55th minute.
“I didn’t even see the goalie miss it because I thought it was a pass, so I turned around,” Sines said. “Then I turned around again and the ball was just right there. So, I pounced on it. I was right back into the mentality, ‘Guys, let’s go, that’s one goal, we’ve got to score another one.’ ”
Three minutes later in the 58th minute, Jolayemi did exactly that with his team-leading 10th goal of the season. In a three-minute span, the Gladiators took complete control with a two-goal lead.