North Hagerstown girls soccer coach Rick Aleshire perhaps has had better teams in his 10 years with the Hubs.
None, though, are as decorated as the 2008 team.
Aleshire led the Hubs to their first region title, their fifth straight Washington County title and a share of the MVAL Piedmont Conference title.
He is The Herald-Mail's 2008 All-Area Girls Soccer Coach of the Year.
"Coaches don't get these things without having tremendous players, and I've been very fortunate to have those players at North High," Aleshire said. "I'm not so sure this is one of the best teams we've had, but this team had a goal from the very beginning to go to states. The goal all along was states and we fell a little short. But we thought we could do it."
North's season ended with a shootout loss to Eastern Tech on Nov. 8 in the Class 2A state semifinals. As sour as the loss was, the end was more sweet than bitter as it was the deepest run a Hubs girls soccer team had ever had in the postseason.
