According to the cliché, defense wins championships. But team defense can?t decide a shootout.
A number of Maryland high school girls soccer regional finals were determined by relatively close competition, including a trio of shootouts, that carried Baltimore area teams to the state tournament.
Sparrows Point, which scored 12 goals in its first two regional playoff contests, earned a shootout win at Poolesville Tuesday night to advance to a Class 1A state semifinals against Smithsburg (Washington County), scheduled for Monday at 5 p.m. at Broadneck. The Pointers have reached the 1A state final each of the last two seasons but are still searching for their first state title.
A pair of local teams reached the 2A state semifinals thanks to shootout wins in regional title games. Glenelg, which hasn?t allowed a goal in postseason action, defeated Oakland Mills in a shoot-out to reach states for the first time since 2003. The Scorpions will be in search of their fourth state title when they play South Carroll at South River Friday at 5 p.m. South Carroll comes into the game on a penalty-kick win of its own, a 2A West Region victory over Middletown.
Loch Raven is playing strong on the other side of the 2A bracket, having toppled third-seeded Hereford and defending state champ Eastern Tech. The Raiders have outscored playoff opponents, 14-1, in three games and are in the state playoffs for the first time since 2003, when they won their fifth state title.
In the 3A, North Region champ Towson will square off with East champ River Hill Saturday at 7:30 at Severna Park. The Hawks, in search of their first title since 2001 and their fifth overall, narrowly slid by Howard County rival Mount Hebron, 3-2, in the regional final.
Perry Hall is the lone Baltimore-area program still in the 4A title hunt, after Leonardtown defeated Meade, 1-0, in the 4A East final. Perry Hall, which entered the playoffs as a No. 7 seed, defeated defending 4A champ C. Milton Wright, 3-0, for the North Region title.
The Gators have reached the state final four times, including three straight years from 2001 to ?03, but they are in search of their first championship. They face Leonardtown Saturday at 7:30 at Churchill in Potomac.
