Facebook
Google
rmink@digitalsports.com
There’s a lot of history between Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Urbana girls’ soccer teams. And a lot of it is painful for the Barons, including last year’s region finals loss in penalty kicks.
But Monday’s comeback 2-1 win over Urbana in the 3A West region final wasn’t spurred on by revenge, Barons Coach Rob Kurtz said. It was a testament simply to the character of this Bethesda-Chevy Chase team.
“I think what motivated us this year was to win this game, that the season wasn’t going to end this night,” Kurtz said. “To come back and get two goals in the final 15 minutes, it says a lot about this team and our senior leadership that they were not going to lose this game.”
The character of the Barons (15-0) was certainly tested in this, their fourth meeting with Urbana in the 3A West finals in the past five years.
Urbana played a very physical game and tirelessly pressured the ball, living and dying on winning 50/50 balls. Bethesda-Chevy Chase was able to neutralize or match that for the first half, but about eight minutes into the second half, Urbana scored the game’s first goal.
“At times I thought they were going to be really tired because they were playing with one forward, but like always they find a way to dig down deep and they don’t stop ever,” Kurtz said of Urbana. “They truly wear you down.”
The Barons responded with a solid 10-minute burst in which they barely missed on several chances, including one by leading scorer Hannah Cooper.
Finally, with the crowd at a fevered pitch, the Barons tied the game when Urbana’s goalie bobbled the ball and Owyn Manson, with a girl on her back, poked the ball with her toe into the upper right-hand corner of the goal with about 15 minutes left in regulation.
“You just saw the faces just turn and you saw our legs just go, ‘OK, here we go, second gear,’” Kurtz said. “And then it was on.”
The Barons further increased the pressure and with about eight minutes remaining, Hillary Goldman gave Bethesda-Chevy Chase the lead with a header off a corner kick that also skipped off an Urbana defender.
“It was like a scrum,” Kurtz said. “It was hard to tell what really happened.”
But only two minutes later the Barons were again tested. Senior defensive leader Charlotte Detchon took a hard knee and had to leave the game. Kurtz said he looked to the bench and saw six girls who wanted to be the one to go in.
After shuffling some positions around he had girls with limited defensive experience on the back line to hold off Urbana.
“The four minutes of extra stoppage time felt like 25 minutes,” Kurtz said. “We played out what I think was as close to a state final as you could be. It was a competitive, in-your-face game for all 84 minutes.”
B-CC BOYS FALL: The Bethesda-Chevy Chase boys soccer team bid to defend its 3A state championship ended Monday night in a 1-0 loss to third-seeded Tuscarora in the 3A West region finals.
