Worthington’s hat trick leads Fallston in 1A
North Harford heads to final; Perryville falls short in semis
Fallston played its way back into a state final Saturday, beating Allegany, 3-2, in a Class 1A semifinal at Linganore High.
Senior captain Christian Worthington scored all three Fallston goals, with senior Dylan Shepherd assisting on two of three.
“It is the state semifinals of the state tournament and nobody wants to have their season end here because everybody has been so successful,” Cougars coach Christopher Hoover said.
The No. 15 Cougars (13-1-3) scored two goals in the first half, the first less than seven minutes in. Worthington took a feed from Shepherd and booted it past Allegany keeper Ryder Bernard (seven saves).
Fallston had a number of other decent chances, but couldn’t cash in until the Shepherd-to-Worthington combination worked again with 11:04 left in the opening half.
“We’ve got a great connection up there,” Worthington said. “Usually, most of our goals come from Dylan receiving the ball and I just make the run through and it’s there every single time, it works.”
Midway through the second half, Fallston’s Jayden Dillard was involved in a battle inside his own goal box. Despite his jersey being pulled, Dillard was called for a foul.
The Campers (12-4-1) were awarded a penalty kick and Mason Salvadge converted, cutting the Cougars’ lead in half with 21:27 to play.
The Cougars and Worthington countered with 12 minutes left. A direct kick from 20 yards out was no problem for Worthington. The left-footed blast was untouchable into the upper-left corner, giving Fallston a 3-1 lead.
A Jace Patton to Caedon Wallace connection was broken up by Cougars goalie Dylan Kreis, but just 30 seconds later, the Campers struck with their second goal. Salvadge sent the cross and Harrison Reid one-timed his shot into the goal.
The Campers followed with more pressure over the final nine minutes. Kreis, who finished with eight saves, swiped away a corner kick with 5:45 left, and then in the final 10 seconds, the Campers put a throw-in deep in the box, but the ball was cleared away for the win.
“We started slow, not that we started sloppy, we started slow,” Campers coach Blake Geatz said. “I think we came out in the second half and livened it up a bit.”
Fallston will face Brunswick, a 1-0 winner over Perryville, in the state championship game at Loyola University’s Ridley Athletic Complex.
Perryville falls in 1A
The Perryville boys soccer team saw its state title hopes fade away Saturday night at Linganore High School.
The Panthers fell, 1-0, to defending Class 1A state champion Brunswick (16-1-1), which scored the game’s lone goal in the first half.
Despite a number of decent chances, the Railroaders weren’t able to break through against the Panthers (10-4-1). That was until the final two minutes of the half.
Senior midfielder Will Burton pushed a feed into the box to sophomore Chase Malone, who struck a shot to the far post for the goal.
“We received the ball in the middle, played up through from the 30 and it was laid off through the defenders and I just finished on the far corner,” Malone said. “Good positioning for all of us making the runs and fast ball movement.”
The Railroaders had other chances, but Perryville defended well.
The Panthers scoring chances were really slim. A corner kick in the final three minutes of play went without a shot. The Panthers just couldn’t put anything together against a talented Brunswick team.
“They were amazing, we just gave our best effort,” senior Luke Roberts said. “We struggled to getting it on the field, but I mean, not much else we could have done. We just needed to be better.”
No. 11 North Harford advances in 2A
In what turned out to be the 10 most important seconds of Saturday’s Class 2A state semifinal game, North Harford proved determined, precise and opportunistic.
Junior Ben Wardle’s strong run with the ball down the left wing was followed
by an ideal left-footed cross to the middle, where he knew sophomore Jamail Holmes would be waiting. Unmarked by the Lackey defense, Holmes headed home the game’s first goal early in the second half.
It turned out to be the only offensive breakthrough, as the Hawks stood their ground defensively for the next 30-plus minutes to claim a 1-0 win over the Chargers to advance to their first state title game.
North Harford takes a 15-2-1 record into the state championship game against Glenelg, a 2-0 winner over Parkside in Friday’s other semifinal.
The Hawks followed through on their big plans with first-year coach Erik Lane, a 1989 grad who previously served as the JV coach, able to put all the pieces in the right places.
“It was their goal with me walking in, saying, ‘Hey, we want to make it to states’ because they felt they had it this year. And considering the program had never been
there, it makes it hugely special for the school,” Lane said. “The students are on fire, so, yeah, it’s pretty special.”
Unable to take advantage of earlier chances, the Hawks needed something special to break through. It happened when Wardle, the team’s leading scorer, showed his persistence.
He split two defenders down the left side and made sure the ball came with him, dribbling 10 yards to approach the end line before sending the cross to Holmes. Always urged to use his head more, he made sure to this time and ended up with his fifth goal of the season.
“Everybody tells me I need to use my head more and, today, I decided to and put it in the back of the net,” Holmes said. “It feels good, feels really good. Benny had a good cross and I was just thankful to be there.”