Most schools in the Baltimore area looking to win a field hockey state title need to beware: The road to a championship must go through Anne Arundel County.
Severna Park and South River claimed the 2005 Class 3A and 4A titles, respectively, and there is little doubt that the two powerhouse programs will make another deep run into the playoffs in 2006. Longtime coach Lil Shelton led Severna Park to its second title in three years, while South River won its second straight state crown under first-year coach Katie Corchran last year. Chesapeake, which upset Severna Park in 2005, and Broadneck are the other Anne Arundel schools likely to contend.
“We have 11 seniors who all know that state titles aren?t handed to you,” Shelton said. “It?s something you have to work for.”
Outside Anne Arundel, there are a number of schools with their own championship ambitions.
In Harford, coach Alice Pickett led Fallston to a 15-5 record last year before losing, 2-0, to Severna Park in the 3A final. The Cougars return 17 players from that team. C.M. Wright, which advanced to the 4A semifinals, will be among the challengers there.
Parity should reign in Carroll County, where Winters Mill, Century and North Carroll tied for the county title in 2005. Winters Mill advanced to the 2A West Region final in its third varsity season, while North Carroll got knocked off in the 3A state semifinals against Severna Park.
Mount Hebron is coming off back-to-back Howard County titles after going 15-2. The Vikings knocked off Fallston twice and Century once during the regular season before falling to Severna Park in the 3A East final. However, they have only two starters back, giving Glenelg, River Hill, Centennial and Marriotts Ridge hope of knocking them off the top spot.
“We?re going to take our lumps early but should be OK,” said Vikings coach Jeannette Ireland.
Baltimore County has a number of schools that should be competitive. Dulaney advanced to the 4A North final last year, while Towson reached the 3A North final. County champion Hereford reached the 2A semifinals at the same time Loch Raven and Pikesville reached the 2A North and 1A West finals, respectively.
Some of the most unpredictable play may come from the private schools in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland. Roland Park is the defending A Conference champion. However, it must replace Brittany Kalkstein, who scored 21 of the team?s 48 goals.
Archbishop Spalding should challenge Roland Park, as the Cavaliers look to rebound from a postseason where they lost to No. 7 seed St. Mary?s in the playoffs. The Saints (7-10-2) eventually lost in the finals. Bryn Mawr and Garrison Forrest should also contend.
Both the B and C conferences could also be hard to handicap, as Maryvale and John Carroll were co-champions in the former and Mercy and Baltimore Lutheran shared the title in the latter.
