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Broadneck’s No. 1 field hockey team has relied on a proven strategy this fall — score early and keep the pressure on.
In Wednesday night’s Class 4A state semifinals, Arden Hunteman scored on a feed from Faith Everett about three and a half minutes into the game to spark a 3-0 victory over Walt Whitman at Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville.
The Bruins (19-0) will go after their first state championship in 20 years when they face Winston Churchill in a clash of undefeated teams Saturday at 11 a.m. at Stevenson University. The Bulldogs (17-0) defeated No. 10 Dulaney, 2-0, in Wednesday’s other semifinal.
Whitman (14-2-1) had allowed only six goals coming into the state semifinal, but the Bruins kept almost constant pressure on the Vikings thanks in large part to defensive midfielders Chloe Page, sophomore, and Mady Quigley, a junior. The Vikings struggled to get the ball through the Bruins’ midfield.
“They’re incredible and they’re an incredible duo too,” Broadneck coach Shannon Hanratty said. “There’s a lot of work rate in the two of them and there’s a lot of trust that their teammates have in them. They’re very smart plays but they also read the ball very well … and they distribute the ball nicely. There’s a lot of pride in that role of breaking up the other team’s opportunities. They both pretty much love it.”
The Vikings (14-3-1) reached the scoring circle only a few times and goalie Mia Moody saved their only shot late in the second quarter.
By then, the Bruins led, 2-0, after Katelyn Kearns scored off a rebound from Whitman goalie Stephanie Solomon’s pads with 9:16 to go in the first half. They added a third goal when Maya Everett fired from the top of the circle with 11:51 left in the game.
The Bruins, who dethroned two-time defending state champion Severna Park in the state quarterfinals, are ranked No. 25 nationally by MAX Field Hockey, but they take nothing for granted.
“Going into it we knew that they were a good team. They made it this far,” Maya Everett said. “We couldn’t take them at less than that. Every team is beatable including us, so it was just about pushing through and having the mind set that this is going to be our most difficult game every game.”
Other than the Bruins, the only team to beat the Vikings this fall was Churchill, which won a coin flip with Broadneck for the top seeded spot. The Montgomery County champion Bulldogs haven’t won a state championship since 2013. They also made it to the title game last year and fell to Severna Park.
While the Anne Arundel County champion Bruins have allowed just 11 goals this season, the Bulldogs have allowed only two and they have 14 shutouts. The teams had no common opponents.
In their semifinal, the Bulldogs also scored an early goal, but Dulaney (14-4) had several good chances in the first quarter with three shots on four penalty corners. Bulldogs goalie Leila Burki saved two. The one shot that got past her was blocked by Lexie Levitt.
The Bulldogs made the most of their only chance in the first half on a breakaway midway through the first quarter. Jordan Lapidus’s pass set Hailey Yentis up for a one-on-one with Dulaney goalie Addie Erdman and the senior forward slipped it past her.
“We definitely came out with a ton of energy and confidence,” Dulaney coach Meredith Lott said, “but I think after that first goal went in, we were a little bit deflated, but we definitely weren’t giving up… The attitude in the huddle was, ‘We’re still in this.’ I tried to give them a nice halftime talk, but I just think, second half, we didn’t have enough urgency, We didn’t have enough connecting passes to get it up the field and get those scoring opportunities.”
Dulaney didn’t have any penalty corners after the first quarter. The Bulldogs, who had no corners in the first quarter, had five the rest of the game.
Erdman finished with 12 saves, but Yentis managed to slip one more shot past her in the fourth quarter.
The Lions had been aiming for their first state championship after falling in the title game in 2017, 2018 and 2019. With a young starting group, Lott is hopeful they can contend again next year.
“What a fantastic season we’ve had,” Lott said. “To win the (Baltimore) county championship at Towson University, to go on to win the regional championship, that’s something to be celebrated. I think two years in a row to make it to the final four is incredible for Dulaney. With the group I have now, what an accomplishment and although I am sad we couldn’t make it to the state finals with this senior group, it makes me so excited for these freshmen, sophomores and juniors for next year.”
CLASS 4A STATE FIELD HOCKEY SEMIFINALS
(at Paint Branch High School)
NO. 1 BROADNECK 3, WALT WHITMAN 0
W 0 0 0 0 — 0
B 1 1 0 1 — 3
GOALS: BR—Arden Hunteman, Katelyn Kearns, Maya Everett
ASSISTS: BR—Faith Everett
SAVES: WW—Stephanie Solomon 7, Sophia Cheng 5; BR—Mia Moody 1.
WINTSON CHURCHILL 2, NO. 10 DULANEY 0
C 1 0 0 1 — 2
D 0 0 0 0 — 0
GOALS: C—Hailey Yentis 2.
ASSISTS: C—Jordan Lapidus.
SAVES: C—Leila Burki 4 ; D—Addie Erdman12.
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