By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com
PLEASE CLICK ABOVE FOR VIDEOS AND PHOTOS FROM B-CC PARENT JIM KETTLER!
Mimmy Wenzel hadn’t played field hockey in more than a year when she started for Bethesda-Chevy Chase about midway through the season.
Now she may be considered the main reason why the Barons are yet again in position to win a state title.
Wenzel clubbed in the game-winning goal with no time left on the clock in regulation, giving Bethesda-Chevy Chase a 3-2 win over Damascus in the 3A West region finals Thursday in Bethesda. The Barons (13-4) will now face the winner of Fallston and Herford Wednesday at Broadneck.
“I just put it in,” Wenzel said. “It was really exciting. I was really happy. Everyone worked really hard on the field.”
It is Wenzel’s 13th goal in nine games since becoming a Barons starter. She transferred from Holton Arms midway through the school year last season and had to sit out the entire year.
“Something ridiculous,” Coach Amy Wood said of her goal total. “And don’t we love it.”
Wenzel scored the game’s first goal a little more than halfway through the first half. But Damascus, who handed the Barons their only loss to a Montgomery County public school this year, tied up the game just a few minutes into the second half.
Bethesda-Chevy Chase’s Clare Becker gave the Barons the lead again just about 10 minutes later. Damascus once again countered with a goal with about 10 minutes left in regulation. The Hornets scored on their first two shots of the game, Wood said.
“They played one tough game,” Wood said of Damascus. “They could have caved a little bit with all the pressure we gave them the first half but they fought back.”
After dominating the game for most of the night, the last thing the Barons wanted was to have to go to overtime. So when presented with a late corner opportunity, B-CC made sure the ball didn’t escape the circle, thus allowing for multiple chances with no time left on the clock because a game cannot end on a corner.
The corner pass went to the right option, Charlotte Kettler, who crossed the ball along the stroke line, where Wenzel one-timed it into the goal.
“It was really nice to finally put one in,” Wenzel said.
“We won in extreme, exciting fashion,” Wood said, summing up the game. “Beautiful fashion because we won.”
This season hasn’t been all winning for the Barons, however. Bethesda-Chevy Chase started the season 1-3 and then dropped to 4-4 after a regular-season loss to Damascus on Sept. 24. Since then, Bethesda-Chevy Chase has gone on a nine-game winning streak.
“It was probably the turning point in our season,” Wood said. “I told them, ‘We can either stick our head in the sand like we have been or we can actually become a better team.’”
Bethesda-Chevy Chase only had two field players and a goalie returning as starters from last year’s team. But with the addition of Wenzel, the Barons perhaps now have the firepower to win a state championship after falling in double overtime the past two years.
“This is probably one of the most rewarding [region titles] because I’ve seen them grow so much,” Wood said. “Sometimes you just have the best team from the start. This year we did not.”
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