North Point girls soccer picks up win at Chopticon
Eagles score two in first half, hold on to beat Chopticon
Having played a demanding, 2-0 game at McDonough the night before, North Point head girls soccer coach Kiante Webb knew the start his team got off to at Chopticon on Wednesday night was going to be critical to the eventual outcome.
Fortunately for the Eagles, a pair of first-half goals stood up in what ended as a 2-1 North Point victory in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference nondivision matchup.
“The effort was great,” Webb said. “We had backto-back games, so I told the girls this was all about mental focus. We had a tough game last night against McDonough, and Chopticon had a tough game last night [against Northern], so I told them that the team with the best mental focus and the team that played as a team first was going to win this game. We did it and I’m just so proud of these girls. They’re sticking to the plan and trusting the process. We’re young and they’re finally, finally buying in to ever ything.”
The win was the fifth straight for North Point (6-2 overall), which has only one-goal losses against perennially strong Calvert and Huntingtown on the right-hand side of the ledger eight games into the schedule.
Against Chopticon (5-3), Dena Stallings slipped one into the net just over the halfway point of the first half, while Jordan Felton converted on a penalty kick with the final two minutes of the half to stake the Eagles out to a 2-0 advantage by the half.
“I feel like we started off pretty bad, but then once we got ourselves together we played pretty well. We were nice and collected,
played calmly and didn’t force anything,” Stallings said of the effort. “We’ve really come together as a team and we’re starting to play more together than we were at the beginning of the season. We’re gradually growing.”
Chopticon avoided the shutout when Haven Forest headed one into the net with no time remaining. The Braves had no shortage of possession time as the game wore towards its end, but were unable to get on the board until it was a little too late. Next up for the team will be a trip to La Plata for a 6 p.m. Monday contest.
“I think we came out a little slow this evening, but then we turned it around,” Chopticon head coach Bill Summers said. “I think we played a better possession game than [North Point]. They just happened to get two quick goals and we could never recover from it. We got one real late, but it was too late then.
“They always have a pretty good squad. Hat’s off to [Webb]. He does a great job with those girls. I wish them the best of luck in the season. We have a couple more games we have to work on.”
With a young roster loaded with sophomores and just two seniors, Webb expected growth this season but more as far as the team bonding together rather than establishing itself as a contender. Yet, as the team heads towards the towards the final stretch of its regular season schedule, the Eagles are in position to have a shot to win the SMAC Potomac Division and maybe surprise some people beyond. North Point is scheduled to play at Great Mills at 6 p.m. Monday, then will host La Plata on Oct. 11 in a game that will decide who wins the divisional title and moves on to play in the SMAC championship game.
“I think we’re capable of making a long run and shocking some people,” Webb said. “Everybody knows we’re here, but I think we have a chance to make a long run and our schedule is set up nice where we have one more hard division game against La Plata coming up that will tell who is going to the SMAC championship. From that, I think we have a nice road ahead.”