Loch Raven High is no longer Class 1A state girls’ soccer champions. But the Raiders didn’t go down without a fight.
It took 100 minutes and six penalty kicks before Oakdale was able to wrestle away a 4-2 decision in PKs in a state semifinal contest at North County. The first-year varsity program from Frederick will play Mountain Ridge for the state title Saturday afternoon at UMBC.
The teams exchanged two shots in goal to start the penalty round, Oakdale (16-1 overall) scored a third when Maddie Hobbs punched one past Raiders’ goalkeeper Abigail Ruppel.
Kara Kleinhammer, Loch Raven’s leading scorer, saw her shot hit off the top post of the goal, giving Oakdale the advantage. The Bears got two more past Ruppel, the latter from sophomore Jayne Cunha.
When Loch Raven’s Carly Cannon kicked the ball into the waiting arms of Oakdale goalie Jaclyn Pisarski, the Raiders’ repeat hopes were ended. Though the Towson school (12-5) was making is 13th state Final Four appearance (six state titles), the fledging Frederick school, with a roster of sophomores and freshmen, wasn’t intimidated.
The Bears struck first on a Juliana Kober tally with 25 minutes, 12 seconds remaining in the opening half. With time winding down in the half, Cannon knocked in a corner kick by Samatha Eckels, bringing Loch Raven even at one.
It remained that way for the next 60 minutes as Loch Raven was dominated, 17-3, in corner kicks. Oakdale coach Mitch Rubin knew the Raiders wouldn’t go down easy.
“They are the defending state champions so I knew they were going to battle on those things that win games,” said Rubin. “Territorially we dominated on their end, and it would have broken my heart (if we came up short) having dominated play so much.”
After ending Loch Raven’s reign, Rubin believes the young label for his team no longer applies.
“Everyone tells me this is an amazing thing with freshman and sophomores, and I’m getting a little annoyed hearing that,” said Rubin. “They are a mature bunch you could tell they handled this type of game pretty well.”
