Urbana's Baker Gives His Mom Something to Cheer About

Whenever Severna Park's boys went on the attack yesterday, the vast majority of Urbana's fans sat still, anxiously following the action. But not Lisa Baker.

From her spot in the front row, with a Collin Baker jersey over her shirt and a "Go Hawks" sign in front of her wheelchair, Lisa raised her camera with each Falcons possession and focused it on her son, the Hawks' senior goalie.

She wanted to get pictures of him in action, making saves, and he gave her plenty of opportunities in what already had been a memorable week.

Three days after Lisa finished more than four months of chemotherapy, Collin stopped 13 shots to help Urbana defeat Severna Park, 12-6, in a Maryland 4A/3A semifinal at North Carroll High.

Urbana, which won at Dulaney by a goal in late April, will face the Lions again Wednesday at UMBC in the state title game at 8 p.m..

"We've been blessed this whole week," said Lisa, 48, who in September discovered she had cancer in both her appendix and colon. "It's just been fantastic. And I said I don't care how I feel Wednesday. I will not miss the state game. I don't care if I have to sit in the car to watch it because I feel so bad. I'm going to be there."

Until this year, Lisa always had been there to watch Collin's games, even when he was a backup during Urbana's runs to the state final in 2006 and the state semifinals in 2007.

But when Collin finally earned the starting job at the beginning of this season, Lisa was too weak from surgery and chemotherapy to see him play.

"I went through a really bad depression because of it, because I've always been such a supporter of him," she said. "But to be able to make these last ones just means everything to me."

Even though she still lacks strength from the chemotherapy, Lisa has been summoning the energy for the final games of her only son's high school career.

"She's done everything for me," said Collin, with both admiration and awe in his voice. "She even made me a sandwich the day before the game, even though she wasn't feeling good."

Lisa now has seen the Hawks (16-1) play five times this season and she witnessed an impressive performance yesterday against Severna Park (16-3), which will not be in a state final for the first time since 2001.