The Sparrows Point High boys soccer program is nothing if not patient. Since the last time the team won a state championship, six Star Wars movies were made, the Berlin Wall came down, and Cal Ripken Jr. graduated from high school and played his entire major league baseball career.
On Saturday, the Pointers earned a Class 1A co-championship, ending a 31-year title drought, by tying defending champion Pocomoke, 1-1, at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.
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Coach George Bischoff andSparrows Point have had some recent brushes with success, making it to the state semifinals in 2000 and 2001, but the last time the Pointers played in the title game was 1995.
“I told them before the game to try to soak up as much of this as you can, and once this day is over with, you will remember everything that happens, every minute, every second of it that you can,” Bischoff said.
Heading into Saturday?s game, Bischoff was concerned whether or not the Pointers (13-3-1) could keep up with Pocomoke. In the state semifinals, the Warriors (of Worchester County) hung an 8-0 beating on Harford Tech, the same team that gave Sparrows Point its last loss of the season.
“I thought we were in for a long day,” Bischoff said. “The first five minutes of the game were going to be decisive. I put two stoppers in to see if we could play with these guys, and then I knew we could.”
Sparrows Point senior midfielder and team captain Dustin McVey echoed those sentiments.
“Once that first whistle went off, we knew we could do it,” McVey said. “We came out and played our best game, and we are the champs.”
Tying for the championship was not the way Bischoff wanted to claim a state title.
“It was not as satisfying, especially when you think you were the better team,” Bischoff said.
McVey felt the same way initially, but things changed after the championship settled in his mind.
“When it first happened, it was disappointing,” McVey said. “Thinking about what it would have been like if we had lost, it would have been worse. We are state champions, and nobody can take that away from us.”
POINTING TO THE TITLE
» Sparrows Point started the season with six straight wins, including one over Class 4A Dulaney. The Pointers dropped three straight to Towson (state semifinalist), Loch Raven (state finalist) and Harford Tech (state semifinalist).
» Mike Keller scored the Pointers? only goal in the 1A final. He beat several defenders and the Pocomoke goalie less than two minutes after Pocomoke took a 1-0 lead.
» The Pointers won three straight titles from 1973 to ?75. They went from 1977 to ?95 between appearances in the state final.