Huskies repeat as 1A North Champs

It is a season of repeats for the Patterson Mill Huskies, who for the second year in a row have earn top honors in their respective division and again became the 1A North Region champions, Wednesday, with a 6-0 rout of Loch Raven.

“I thought they really played well,” Huskies’ head coach Shannon Troyer said of her players.  “It took us a little while to score, but we were making good decisions and just needed to shoot more.

Four Huskies scored in the six-goal showing for Patterson Mill, with two players finding the back of the net multiple times.

The Huskies (11-2-2) were absolutely dominant in the first half, possessing the ball and holding the Raiders (5-10) to just four shots in the first half, and while taking just three shots on goal, sophomore Christina Claypool laced two goals, the last one just a minute before the end of the half for the Husky 2-0 lead.

“Once the ball got in the circle,” Claypool said, “we just had to be very intense and make sure it stayed in so we could get our goals.”

Continuing the scoring run just six minutes into the second half, senior Samantha Rutkowski took a dish from junior Emily Keesling and ripped a goal from way outside, quickly followed by Keesling’s own goal when she redirected a Rutkowski shot into the goal to establish a 4-0 deficit for the Raiders.

“We just had to bring our intensity,” Rutkowski said.  “The fact that this was our regional finals made us very excited and we just brought it.”

Not quite done, the Huskies added two more goals in the final 15 minutes of the game, seeing senior Laura Valle net a goal before Rutkowski finished the match with her second goal of the game and the 6-0 final.

“Their better players were defenders,” Troyer explained, “and I didn’t think their offense as a big threat to us.  They weren’t getting many shots off, and Lauren West had a great game and was shutting down the right side.”

West came up in the clutch for the Husky defense a number of times, but the biggest was just seconds before the end of the first half.

With the Raider offense pressing, senior goalie Gabby Brooks came out of the goal to make a diving saves against Loch Raven’s Laura Livengood and Taylor Sartor, leaving West to make a crucial stop in front of the goal to keep the Raiders off the scoreboard.

“It was pretty much like a three-on-one,” West explained.  “[Gabby] had to dive right before, so I knew the next shot was up to me.  I just put my stick down and hoped I got the ball, and hit it as far as I could.”

Ending their season, Wednesday, Raiders’ head coach Elizabeth Miller is quite happy with the effort put forth by her players.

“We had a tough season, but they are the kind of girls that worked hard an never gave up,” Miller said of her Raiders.  “I am very proud of how they got here.

Repeating as the 1A North Regional Champions, the Huskies have again reached the state semifinals, and will have to take on the 1A South Champion Bohemia Manor Eagles for a shot at the a 1A state title.

The Eagles won the 1A South last year with a 2-1 win over Kent County, and proceeded to beat the 1A West Champion Manchester Valley to a 2009 state runner-up finish.  Patterson Mill fell short of the finals with a 2-0 loss to eventual state champs, Pocomoke, in the state semis.

“We played Bo Manor earlier, so we played a good game against them but just need to score,” Troyer said.  “We really just need to finish.

“We already had the ball control in that game, so we just need to keep getting it done and move on one game at a time.”