A 6-1 defeat of Bowie, two months ago, might have given Walter Johnson the impression its Class 4A state semifinal rematch Thursday night would be a walkover. But those notions were dispelled late in the first half when the favored Wildcats trailed.
That, however, only set a more dramatic stage for WJ junior Lucas Szabo as he scored three goals to lift the Wildcats to a 3-1 victory and the state championship game for the first time since 2000.
First Szabo scored a spectacular goal in the 40th minute to close the first half. Then Szabo added two penalty kicks in the final 14 minutes, giving him 17 goals for the season. He also scored the lone goal in a 1-0 region championship victory over Whitman on Monday.
“Bowie’s tactical move was brilliant,” said WJ coach Mike Williams. “They played us very high and frustrated our midfielders. We recognized that and said, ‘Let’s get it over their midfielders quickly.’ That was the big difference.”
WJ (15-4) had trouble breaking through against Bowie goalie Michael Hardman (14 saves). But the senior picked up a red card for a hard tackle on a WJ breakaway in the 75th minute.
Bowie (14-2-2) was hampered by the loss of three starters — forward Pat Williams and defenders Jason Dominici and Daniel Walker — who were out for a variety of reasons.
“With them we could have won,” said Hardman. “We should have won. They were just the better team today.”
