McDonough girls down Lackey
Carney, Edwards each score, Rams advance to 1A South final
In a contest that continued to get far more physical as the game progressed, the McDonough High School girls soccer team upended visiting Lackey, 2-1, on Thursday in the Class 1A South Region Section II final played under ideal conditions in Pomfret.
McDonough (14-3 overall) continued its quest for a third straight 1A South Region title on a night when a quartet of its seniors proved pivotal at key moments.
Rams senior Peyton Carney gave the hosts a 1-0 lead with 23 minutes to play in the first half, then senior Emily Edwards took a crossing pass from senior Jordan Parker and drilled a shot that eluded Lackey reserve goalkeeper Hannah Bateman just over 10 minutes into the second half.
McDonough advanced to Tuesday’s region final versus Chesapeake Science Point of Anne Arundel County. The winner advances to the state semifinals later this week at Northeast High School in Anne Arundel County.
“Jordan made a great cross to me in the middle and I was able to just get enough on it to get it past their keeper,” Edwards said. “It was definitely a hard fought game. Lackey came out and played with a lot of intensity. We knew they were going to come in here and give us a battle.”
Lackey (8-6) gave McDonough a battle right from the outset as it had the game’s first two genuine scoring chances. Senior Ashley Herbert sent a free kick from 30 yards out just over the crossbar and minutes later she sent another free kick on target only to watch it cradled by McDonough senior goalkeeper Marissa Gibbs.
“We came in here ready to play and I think they probably took us lightly,” said Herbert, who also plays lacrosse for the school in the spring. “This was the best season that Lackey girls soccer has ever had and we came in here ready. I think the difference was they just got a few more good chances. But our girls played hard. I love all of my teammates.”
Lackey may have had several good chances courtesy of Herbert, but it was the Rams who drew first blood on a goal by Carney that just eluded a diving Rykah Dowling just before the midway point of the first half.
Carney’s goal hardly triggered an onslaught and Lackey drew even when Shelby McBain beat Gibbs with a low shot into the left corner of the net five minutes later.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game and scoring first is always big,” Carney said. “I thought we had the momentum when I scored, but they came right back and got even before halftime. In the second half, we made good passes and good decisions and we were able to get a goal early and then hold on for the win.”
Edwards delivered the game-winner just over 10 minutes into the second half and not long after Dowling had been injured in a collision with an onrushing Rams attacker. In fact, Dowling was on the sidelines when Edwards beat Bateman and returned with just over 10 minutes remaining to keep the Chargers in contention.
Over the last 20 minutes of play, McDonough’s defensive intensity actually got turned up a notch. Rams sweeper Vicky Lawrence decked McBain near the Chargers bench on one play then pummeled Blaire Harley on another. Lawrence was whistled for a foul only once although both McBain and Harley needed help getting off the field. Herbert had two free kicks in the last 10 minutes, but both sailed wide left of Gibbs.
The Chargers completed the regular season with a blanking of the Rams, their fourth straight win, in a Southern Maryland Athletic Conference Chesapeake Division contest on Thursday evening.
Lackey led 20-0 at the end of the first quarter and 35-0 at the intermission and added single touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters to cruise to a lopsided victory.
The Chargers (7-3, 4-2 SMAC Chesapeake) will host Douglass of Prince George’s County in the Class 1A South Region semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday.
Lackey got touchdowns from seniors D’Anthony Washington and Jayson Wilmer to go up 14-0 in the first 6:15 of the contest.
Senior quarterback Robert “Boogie” Middleton connected with senior wide receiver Linn Jordan on a 2-point conversion after Wilmer’s score, then later in the quarter they hooked up on a 57yard touchdown pass to put the Chargers up 20-0.
Middleton had a touchdown run in the second quarter and later a touchdown pass to senior tight end Dustin Berry just before halftime that put Lackey up 35-0. Senior wide receiver Justin McIntyre had a third-quarter touchdown and junior Kobby Ayim scored one in the fourth to finish the scoring.
Middleton completed 6 of 8 passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns and led a Chargers ground attack that accumulated 237 yards on 23 attempts by rushing four times for 104 yards and one touchdown.
The visiting Panthers finished the 2018 season with a win over the Cougars in a SMAC Chesapeake Division contest on Thursday evening.
The teams were tied at 7 and 14 early on, then Patuxent (3-7, 3-3 SMAC Chesapeake) grabbed a 28-24 lead early in the third quarter and added 20 more points in the final 1 1/2 quarters to pull away for the win.
Patuxent ended a three-game losing streak by gaining the early advantage and eventually sent Stone (4-6, 2-4) to its third straight loss to end the season.
Cougars senior quarterback Ronnie Carter completed 7 of 18 passes for 63 yards but was intercepted three times. Senior running back Trent Gaskins rushed 16 times for 217 yards and two touchdowns and senior tight end Jaylen Kelley caught three passes for 45 yards in a losing cause.