Soccer

In soccer, the central midfield battle often determines which team wins and which team loses. And so it was on Wednesday afternoon, when Harford Community College controlled the center of the field and thus controlled Hagerstown Community College for a 4-0 shutout in a Maryland JuCo Conference contest at HCC. “They're real experienced in the midfield, and that's where we broke down,” Hawks coach Brian Eichelberger said. “So many times, we won the ball in the back and kicked it up to our strikers, where we normally flow through midfield.

Kerri Kline came through with a pair of goals as the Saint James Saints snapped a tie in a come-from-behind 3-1 win over the St. Maria Goretti Gaels on Tuesday in an Independent-Parochial School League girls soccer game. The score was tied 1-1 when Kline scored on an assist from Leanne Ludwick in the 39th minute to give Saint James a 2-1 halftime lead. The Saints increased their advantage to 3-1 in the 66th minute on an unassisted goal by Kline. “I just go out and try my hardest to help my team,” Kline said.

Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to simply use your head. That's the tack Morgann Wilcox took to solve North Hagerstown's scoring problem. The Hubs were locked in a scoreless tie with the South Hagerstown Rebels at halftime of their MVAL Antietam girls soccer match. But in the 43rd minuute, Wilcox scored on a header off a corner kick from Sarah Troxell to break the drought and help the Hubs to a 2-0 victory over the Rebels (1-8, 0-5) on Monday night at Mike Callas Stadium.

South Hagerstown kicked off its Homecoming weekend festivities with a bonfire Thursday night. Before the bonfire got under way, the Rebels' girls soccer team added more reason to celebrate by earning its first win of the season with a 3-0 shutout against St. Maria Goretti. “It was a very important game for us,” South coach Abib Niang said. “It was our first win this season, and it helps boost our morale for the rest of the season.” South and Goretti played to a 0-0 stalemate after the first 40 minutes of play, but the Rebels wasted little time breaking the tie in second half.

A brutal start was too much for the Clear Spring boys soccer team to overcome on Wednesday night as the Blazers fell to Middletown, 3-1, in a non-conference tilt. Middletown, fresh off a victory over previously unbeaten Brunswick on Saturday, scored in the first minute and again just eight minutes later to put the Blazers in a quick 2-0 hole. “They were a quick team and got some through balls on their scores,” said Clear Spring coach Lynn Mills. The first came just 33 seconds into the match when Josh Greene stayed onside just long enough to get a shot past Clear Spring keeper Levi Bucher.

Luke Bitner admits shooting falls very low on his job description. But it doesn't mean the Greencastle-Antrim defender doesn't know what to do with an opportunity when he gets it - especially when it falls on the end of his foot. Bitner popped in a deflection while standing at the goalmouth in the 12th minute for the only goal of the match on Tuesday in the Blue Devils' 1-0 Mid-Penn Colonial victory over rival Waynesboro. “I got it handed to me,” Bitner said. “I play center back.

While beating rival Waynesboro is nothing new for the Greencastle-Antrim girls soccer team, Tuesday's victory gave the Blue Devils a rare opportunity. Sharon Juarez scored two goals, including the game-winner in the 62nd minute, to lift Greencastle to a 3-2 Mid-Penn Colonial Division win over the host Maidens. The Blue Devils improved to 11-1 (7-1) with their 11th straight victory, while Waynesboro fell to 8-3 (6-3). “So far, this is the biggest game,” Greencastle coach Greg Cole said, “because this sets us up for Boiling Springs next week.

With a hint of fog moving in on Mike Callas Stadium, North Hagerstown put an end to the proceedings that reached overtime with a 1-0 victory over Linganore on Tuesday night. Senior Neal Dossouvi was in the right place to score his first goal of the season three minutes into overtime to break a two-game loss streak for the Hubs (5-4). Often in the second half, Connor Troxell worked his way to the corner, looking to get the ball inside but to no avail. The Hubs couldn't connect. But it worked in overtime as Troxell looped a ball just inside the penalty box. Dossouvi sighted the ball on the ground and knocked in his shot pass Linganore goalie Nick Weinel.

South Hagerstown boys soccer coach Ryan Myers chose to look at the positive side. Considering his club absorbed a 5-0, non-league drubbing at the hands of Hedgesville in the rain Thursday night, that wasn't the easiest thing to do. “Hedgesville has a good team. They're well-coached, and they're a Triple-A school,” said Myers. “In the first half, we were only down by two on an unlucky penalty and an own-goal. We played them pretty even.” The second half, however, was a slightly different story.

In what was a preview of the Washington County girls soccer final, Williamsport escaped with a win over Boonsboro 2-1 on Tuesday in an MVAL Antietam match. The Wildcats (6-1-1, 4-0) took the lead in the 77th minute when Ashley Likely buried a 60-footer past Boonsboro goalie Bre Springer. Springer made a dive right to make the save, which opened up the net for Likely's game-winner. Likely also scored Williamsport's first goal in the opening minute, finding the net on a one-timer after the ball bounced over the head of a Boonsboro defender.