Hereford tops Dulaney for Balto. Co. field hockey title
Bulls get revenge, 1-0, for last season’s overtime loss
A highly motivated Hereford field hockey team got a goal from junior Anna Brandt in the first half and made it hold up the rest of the way as the host No. 15 Bulls won the Baltimore County championship, 1-0, over Dulaney on Monday night.
The victory was the third of the season for the Bulls (9-5) over the Lions (9-6).
Last year, Dulaney beat Hereford, 4-3, in overtime in the county championship game. That ended the Bulls’ consecutive streak of county titles at three, but they have won10 of the past 12 crowns.
“Last year, it was a really big letdown to come out so ready and we couldn’t pull through with a win, and we worked really hard this season and we really knew it was going to be redemption. We wanted a win,” Brandt said. “We came out ready to play, and they came out hard and intense, too, and we just came out with a win.”
Brandt scored the game’s lone goal with 5:18 left in the first half.
“I got the ball and I heard my teammates just yelling, ‘Go, go, go,’ because it was a really fast game right from the start,” Brandt said.
“They came out ready to play, so I just took it and I looked up and there was a girl to beat, I pulled right and I made it to the baseline and I took a low-angle shot and it hit the backboard and my teammates started screaming.”
Both coaches admired the shot because of the difficult angle.
“It was a great send-in to the circle. She had a really hard angle and I was actually very impressed with the shot,” Hereford coach Caitlin Duvall said. “It was something, I think she was just trying to get the ball into the circle, make something happen, but it ended up in the cage and we’ll take it.”
“That was a beautiful shot,” Dulaney coach Kellie Fialcowitz said. “When it’s coming from that angle, that’s a tough one to protect.”
It was the only one Dulaney sophomore goalie Allie Mercer (11 saves) didn’t save, despite facing 12 penalty corners, compared with Dulaney’s five.
“She played great. I give a lot of credit to their goalie because she was incredible tonight,” Duvall said. “Their goalie has been consistent all year.”
Said Brandt: “She kept them in it. Wewere trying to get our bodies in front of her and really just force it in, to do whatever we could to let it hit the boards, but she really came out and she pressured our girls, which is something you don’t always see.” Hereford’s Sydney Powell, left, and Anna Brandt celebrate after Brandt scored in the first half against Dulaney.
Fialcowitz praised the defense that she hopes will continue to shine when the Lions host Catonsville on Thursdayin the Class 4A North Region Section I semifinals.
Hereford hosts Lansdowne in the Class 2A North Section I semifinals on Thursday.
Boys soccer
NO. 1 LOYOLA BLAKEFIELD 5, NO. 6 MCDONOGH 0: Chase Llewellyn and John Peterson each scored two goals to help the host Dons (15-0) beat the Eagles (8-4-1) in an Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland matchup.
Kieran Baskett made eight saves for McDonogh.