Girls Soccer: Bethesda-Chevy Chase 2, Whitman 0

By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

It was halftime at Whitman and Bethesda-Chevy Chase’s girls soccer team was feeling pressure for the first time.

Shockingly enough, the Barons weren’t winning already. So Coach Rob Kurtz looked around and told his girls to settle down.

“I said guys, ‘This is a game. This is truly a real game.’” Kurtz said. “And that’s exactly what we needed.”

Bethesda-Chevy Chase still beat Whitman, 2-0, Wednesday night, running its undefeated record to 9-0 this season. The two-goal differential was the closest game that the Barons played thus far this season.

“Last year we didn’t have many games that were close until the finals,” said sophomore Victoria Gersh, who scored the Barons’ second goal. “So I think it was good to have a challenge. We really pulled through and I think we did a good job.”

Entering the game, Bethesda-Chevy Chase had defeated its opponents by a combined score of 54-4. The Barons’ closest game came against Poolesville on Sept. 19 when they won 5-2. Since then, the Barons haven’t allowed a goal in six games while averaging just fewer than six goals per game.

Sophomore Alex Doll, who scored Bethesda-Chevy Chase’s first goal nearly 14 minutes into the second half, said the team was calm during halftime despite the tied score.

“We knew we could pull it off,” Doll said.

The Barons are grateful for the challenge considering last year’s first-half collapse in the 3A regional final against Urbana. In that game, Urbana stormed out to a 2-0 halftime lead before Bethesda-Chevy Chase got its legs. The Barons forced overtime but lost.

The loss was mainly attributed to being shocked when faced with a higher level of competition than the Barons had seen all year.

In an effort to stay sharp throughout the season, the Barons run simulations -- even during games. They will pretend they are down one goal or up one goal and play accordingly for practice.

Wednesday it was for real as Kurtz switched up the team’s formation to better counter Whitman’s four-forward set. Bethesda-Chevy Chase shifted an extra defender to the back line of three and also added another midfielder, allowing the team to quickly swarm to one side of the field or the other.

After Doll put the Barons up for good with a volley that she created off a corner kick, Bethesda-Chevy Chase had to ride-out a Churchill flurry. The Barons were able to hold on and Gersh supplied her goal off a Doll assist just about nine minutes after Doll’s.

“To get another one was a great relief to us,” Kurtz said. “Whitman was outstanding tonight. We knew it would be a good game. Every year it’s a good game. It was nice to have a playoff soccer game in October.”