Reign makers

Hubs ignore wet weather to storm past Catoctin for Antietam title

October 24, 2009|By ANDREW MASON

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The pouring rain couldn't slow down the North Hagerstown girls soccer team Friday night at Mike Callas Stadium.
Neither could Catoctin.
Beth Wagner had two goals and Kelsey Smith had a goal and an assist as the Hubs blanked the Cougars 5-0 to win the MVAL Antietam Conference title.
"Coming in, we were all pretty nervous," Smith said. "It was tough at first, but we pulled through because we play as a team. We just set each other up so well."
It was the final Antietam game for both teams, which each entered with a 6-0 conference record.
"We definitely had the mindset that we had to win tonight. There was a lot on the line," Wagner said. "It took us a little while to get going, but once we started scoring, we just kept scoring."

The Hubs (11-1-1, 7-0) took a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute when Jackie Keller's corner kick deflected into the goal off Wagner's shoulder.

Moments after Catoctin's first shot of the game was stopped by North keeper Lindsay Irving in the 38th minute, Katie Ritter unleashed a 25-yarder that caught the inside of the left post and deflected into the right corner of the net for a 2-0 Hubs lead.

Smith scored her goal on a 38-yard direct kick in the 46th minute, and then assisted on Wagner's goal in the 55th minute, making it a 4-0 game. A goal by Courtney Boschert in the 61st minute completed the scoring.

The Hubs outshot the Cougars, 28-3.

"Obviously they were much stronger than we were tonight," Catoctin coach Gene Whitney said. "They just totally outplayed us and outhustled us. We were defending the entire time."

Irving finished with two saves for her seventh shutout of the season. Caroline Grossweiler had 12 saves for the Cougars (8-3-1, 6-1).

"This is probably the best defensive team I've had since I've been here," said coach Rick Aleshire, who's in his 11th season with the Hubs. "We just came out and dominated tonight."

North, the defending Maryland 2A West champion, will close out its regular-season schedule Monday at Thomas Johnson. Then it's playoff time.

"Hopefully this gets us the No. 1 seed," Aleshire said.

"We're really set for the playoffs now," Wagner said. "We have a lot of confidence."

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