The Kenwood boys soccer team earned two wins on Saturday as part of the East Side Challenge soccer tournament, as did the Mount Carmel Cougars.

The first game matched up the Bluebirds against Baltimore County rival Chesapeake. Kenwood was able to get up early and never looked back. 

Zach Kougl scored two goals and Eddie Cole, Michael McKinney and Anthony Scott also scored to give the Bluebids 5-0 victory. The goalkeeping tandem of Zach Rayman and Johnny Thomas combined for the clean sheet.

In the final match, Kenwood was paired with it’a nearest rival, Eastern Tech. The two schools are seperated by less than one mile and the Bluebirds fell behind 1-0 in the first half.

Kenwood rallied in the second half to score three unanswered goals by Zach Kougl, Bryan Makanjuola, and Nick Boller to preserve the win for Kenwood. Behind the Bluebird defensive unit, Sophomore goalkeeper Johnny Thomas kept the Mavericks scoreless in the second half. Final score 3-1.

Kenwood next travels to Hereford on Wednesday for an evening contest against the host Bulls, who were 3A state finalists last season.

Mount Carmel faced the same two opponents, in reverse order, and also came away with a pair of wins.

In a fast-paced, physical contest, Mount Carmel edged Eastern Tech, 1-0, in its opener.  Goalkeepers Matt Wright (Eastern Tech) and Mike Krannebitter (Mount Carmel) both played well, but the Cougars finally broke through in the 65th minute.

Senior Paul Lagaz played a free kick into the air and Matt Belt was able to finish it with a header.

“I am proud of the way our team played,” said Mount Carmel coach Andrew Ganzzermiller.  “We were up for this game, and were persistent in our attack until we scored.”

Mount Carmel capped its successful day with a 3-0 win over Chesapeake in the afternoon.

The Challenge also included four volleyball matches on Saturday, with Mount Carmel and Eastern Tech each picking up a pair of wins.  The competing schools will renew the year-long competition in the winter on the basketball court.

East Side Challenge tournament results

Girls Soccer
Kenwood 3, Mt. Carmel 0
Kenwood 2, Chesapeake 1
Eastern Tech 7, Chesapeake 0
Eastern Tech 7, Mount Carmel 0

Boys Soccer
Kenwood 4, Chesapeake 0
Kenwood 3,  Eastern Tech 1
Mount Carmel 1, Eastern Tech 0
Mount Carmel 3, Chesapeake 0

Volleyball
Mount Carmel 2, Chesapeake 0
Mount Carmel 2, Kenwood 1
Eastern Tech 2, Kenwood 0
Eastern Tech 2, Chesapeake 0

East Side Challenge Standings
Eastern Tech 4-2
Kenwood 4-2
Mount Camrel 4-2
Chesapeake 0-6