B-CC Wins State Title To Cap Perfect Season

CATONSVILLE, Md., Nov. 13 -- Two goals in 1 minute 57 seconds of a soccer game will do loads for the confidence level of any team. When those tallies come in the state championship and provide a two-goal cushion, the smiles on the faces of the fortunate team's players become wider with each passing minute.

Such was the case for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase girls in Thursday night's 3A championship against Fallston at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The No. 3 Barons barely missed an early scoring opportunity when an 11th-minute header hit the post, but they connected on goals in the 26th and 28th minutes for a 2-0 victory and a 17-0 season.

"Scoring first alleviates the butterflies in the belly of the players and coach," B-CC Coach Rob Kurtz said. "I felt if we got one and got the weight off our shoulders, we were going to get more. And getting that second one really solidified it."

Fallston came into the game 17-0 and ranked No. 2 in the Baltimore region by the Baltimore Sun. The Cougars had lost only once in the past two years (the 2007 region final) and were averaging 4.4 goals per game.

But B-CC had the upper hand offensively throughout, and kept Fallston goalie Marissa Hyde busy with 10 shots on net, including plenty of activity inside the 18-yard box.

"They were a good team. Bottom line is we knew we had to play our A-game and we came out a little scared," Fallston Coach Alyson Cammann said. "They possessed the ball better, and we got thrown off our game tonight."

Sophomore Alex Doll nearly put B-CC ahead in the 11th minute with a nice header from 5 yards out that Hyde could not reach. But it glanced off the left post. A few minutes later, the Barons missed another opportunity when Hyde deflected Hannah Cooper's nice cross to the center of the box.

But with 13:58 left in the first half, B-CC senior Hannah Richardson became a playmaker. She stole a ball in the box as Fallston attempted to clear, turned, and booted the ball to the top left corner of the net.

The Barons made it 2-0 just under two minutes later when freshman Hannah Levin played a nice ball to the top of the box. Freshman Kara Klontz caught up to it, dribbled in, and scored just inside the right post.

"We really prepared, and came in trying not to underestimate them," Cooper said. "From the beginning of the season we thought we could go all the way, with our skill and our chemistry."

B-CC 2, Fallston 0 Potent Offense: B-CC outscored its opponents, 88-5, in 17 games and posted 14 shutouts. Against playoff competition, the Barons were equally as dominant, outscoring their five opponents, 17-1. Big Scorer: Senior forward Hannah Cooper was a critical factor in B-CC completing an undefeated season, scoring 26 goals, assisting on 11 others and taking a team-high 74 shots.