Urbana starts fast, eliminates Howard, 4-0
Kent Island wears down Fallston in second half
Urbana scored three first-half goals and rolled to a 4-0 win over Howard in the Class 4A North regional championship game at Frederick High School on Tuesday.
Nicholas Narvaez, Fabian ValenzuelaRuz, Max Riley and Ryan Herman scored for the Hawks, who won their eighth regional title in school history and first since winning the 3A state championship in 2016. They will face either Bladensburg or Bowie in a state semifinal game Saturday at noon at Henry A. Wise High School in Upper Marlboro.
“This was not a result that was expected but I thought our guys did a really good job sticking with the game plan and playing hard,” said Urbana coach Scott Schartner. “I think it was one of our better performances. Our goal is to get a little bit better every single game in one way, shape or form and I think we did that tonight.”
The Hawks (13-2) dominated the Lions (9-5-1) from the opening whistle and pressed forward immediately. They had multiple touches inside the Howard18-yard box before finding the back of the net just 4 minutes, 26 seconds in.
It’s the third time in five years and second in as many seasons that the Lions have lost in the regional final. They won it in 2014 and were looking to advance to the final four for just the third time in program history.
KENT ISLAND 2, FALLSTON 0: Jackson Davis made eight saves while Alex Weese led a relentless second-half offensive effort as the Buccaneers (14-2) beat the Cougars (8-9-1) at Anne Arundel Community Col- lege.
Kent Island plays the winner of today’s Oakdale and Walkersville’s game Saturday at River Hill in a Class 2A state semifinal. This was the second region title for the Buccaneers and first since 2007.
“I feel like each year, we progressively got a little stronger against them,” Kent Island coach Lin Outten said. “The boys were less intimidated and more confident. I felt like we played with them last year and just got unlucky.”
Johnny Ritz tested Fallston goalkeeper Cason Donahue early, but Fallston controlled the run of play for most of the first half. Davis became a constant factor. He tipped a shot by Chase Adamiak attempt over the bar in the14th minute. Ten minutes later Davis, a four-year starter, made a one-handed stop on Christopher LaHatte.