By Ryan Minkrmink@digitalsports.comBethesda-Chevy Chase’s Rachel Ruda scored the game-winning goal in a second overtime as the Barons ended Whitman’s two-day field hockey challenge with a 2-1 loss Tuesday night.
While Bethesda-Chevy Chase continued its stellar season, improving to 8-4 overall and 5-1 in the central division, the Vikings proved a lot as well.
Looking at the past couple of days, the Vikings proved they are in serious running for a state playoff appearance this season. The Vikings were coming off a 2-1 win over 2006 state champion and 2007 state runner-up Quince Orchard on Monday night.
“I’m really encouraged,” Whitman Coach Mary Pat Veihmeyer said. “I hope they realize what they did in the past two days. They were two tremendously emotional games in a row. I think we proved that we can go into any game and say, ‘We can do this.’”
The Vikings (5-3) started off slow against the Barons on Tuesday. Bethesda-Chevy Chase scored with about two minutes left in the first half after controlling the action for much of the half.
Whitman was much stronger in the second half and got a goal by Celeste Pilate to tie the score. Goalie Hillary Walls kept the Vikings in the game, making 13 saves total.
After the first overtime, in which each team had one golden scoring chance just miss, Bethesda-Chevy Chase poured on the pressure in the second overtime until Ruda put in the game-winning goal.
“It was a great game,” Veihmeyer said. “I thought after that Quince Orchard game we would either win or crash and burn in this game but we stayed in there tough.”