Liberty edges Century to reach region final
South Carroll, Westminster, No. 7 Glenelg advance
Brenda Strohmer continues to preach the importance of intensity and leadership with her Liberty field hockey players.
These two factors helped play a role in the Lions’ 1-0 victory Monday over rival Century in the Class 2A West Section I final. Strohmer said she noticed improvement in the team’s communication, and it contributed to the team’s success.
Sophomore Kayleigh Ward found herself in the right place at the right time about 14 minutes into the game when she connected on a cross from Riley Pardoe. The ball rolled through Century goalie Claire Hollinger’s pads and the Knights made continual attempts to keep it from connecting with the back of the cage.
“It was a beautiful cross from Riley,” Ward said. “Strohmer has been pounding in our heads, crosses, crosses, crosses because that’s obviously how we scored a lot of our goals last year and throughout this season. Riley crossed it and right as it went through the goalie’s pads, I knew.”
It was a sixth straight victory for the Lions (14-2). They will face either Linganore or Oakdale in the 2A West final Wednesday.
SOUTH CARROLL 3, FRANCIS SCOTT KEY 0: Grace Fipps understood the stakes of Monday’s Class 1A West Section I title game against Francis Scott Key all too well.
Just last year, South Carroll fell in penalty strokes to the Eagles at home in the very same circumstances. The loss stayed on the mind of Fipps and others who suffered the heartbreaking defeat.
This time around, the Cavaliers got their revenge.
Off a corner with 7:15 left to play in the first half, Fipps’ stick found the end of a cross from Julie Weiss and the senior forward slotted her shot in the back of the cage to double South Carroll’s lead.
Less than two minutes later, she was on the assisting end of a goal by teammate Abbey Behn.
Goals from Fipps, Behn, and Jenna McDermott jumped South Carroll out to a 3-0 halftime lead and the Cavaliers never looked back — clinching the elusive Section I title — a goal they’ve eyed over the past 364 days.
South Carroll (8-8) earned a first-round bye before routing Pikesville 9-0 to reach the sectional final.
WESTMINSTER 9, THOMAS JOHNSON 1: Westminster’s players finished their postgame handshakes with Thomas Johnson and formed a line before making their way toward the spectators along the far sideline.
The Owls wanted to acknowledge their fans for supporting them on a blustery Monday afternoon in the Class 3A West Section I final. And those fans will get at least one more chance to see them play.
Westminster scored early and took control with six goals in the first half en route to a 9-1 win over the Patriots.
Westminster advances to face either Urbana or Magruder in the regional final Wednesday at home.
NO. 7 GLENELG 3, MARRIOTTS RIDGE 0: After one of Marriotts Ridge’s best scoring chances all game, Mallory Jubb gained possession after the restart and immediately sprinted down the right sideline. She then sent a cross that deflected off a Mustangs player and found the stick of Tess Muneses, stationed near the left post, for the easy finish.
Trunzo has long emphasized capitaliz- ing on scoring opportunities, especially against opponents with the offensive firepower and defensive grit of Marriotts Ridge, and Muneses’ conversion came at the perfect time. It doubled Glenelg’s lead, built its confidence entering halftime and set the tone for an eventual triumph in the 2A East Section I final.
Next up for the Gladiators (11-1-1) is a regional final rematch with River Hill, which handled Oakland Mills on Monday.
MOUNT HEBRON 5, CENTENNIAL 0: Esha Shah scored a hat trick to lead the Vikings to a third straight trip to the Class 3A East region title game.
Mount Hebron will face ChesapeakeAA on Wednesday.