Boys soccer: Staedeli helps lift Mt. Hebron over River Hill
Vikings one of 4 county teams to advance in 3A East; Marriotts Ridge, Hammond win in 2A South
By Brent Kennedy
bkennedy@patuxent.com
Posted 11/04/09
With less than two minutes left in Mt. Hebron’s 3A East quarterfinal game against River Hill, Vikings sophomore goalie Drew Staedeli stood in front of his goal, with his hands on his head, hoping for a chance to make things right.
Seconds earlier he had watched the ball slip through his hands and onto the foot of River Hill’s Corey Krewson, who scored to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead and what appeared to be the game-winning goal.
“All I could think about was how the whole season we’ve been working so hard, especially all our seniors, and how I felt like I had let them down,” Staedeli said. “There was so little time left ... we needed a miracle.”
Thanks to Jorgen Farner, Staedeli and Mt. Hebron got their miracle.
Farner corralled a loose ball in the box and scored during stoppage time to tie the game and force overtime. Then, after two scoreless 10-minute extra periods, Staedeli got his shot at redemption and made the most of it.
Making a pair of diving stops on the penalty kick attempts from River Hill’s fourth and fifth shooters, Staedeli secured the Vikings a 4-3 advantage in the shootout and a victory over the top-seeded Hawks.
“This whole week, we’ve been working on PK’s the whole time. If it comes down to it, we wanted to be ready,” Staedeli said. “Under the lights, everything on the line, I wanted to do everything I could to make sure our seniors would get to keep going.”
In the 3A East bracket, Mt. Hebron was joined in the quarterfinal winner’s circle by Wilde Lake, Atholton and Centennial. In the 2A South region, Marriotts Ridge and Hammond each advanced with wins. The regional semifinal games are scheduled for Friday and will be hosted by the higher seed.
Class 3A East
It didn’t take long for Mt. Hebron to go ahead against River Hill Tuesday, as Aidan Hoolachan dribbled through three defenders and found the net just 45 seconds after the opening kickoff to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead.
“He put us on his back right from the start, basically like he’s been doing all season,” Mt. Hebron coach Mike Linsenmeyer said.
The score remained in Mt. Hebron’s favor until River Hill’s Kyle Butler scored with 2:39 left before halftime off a long throw from Tomi Williams. And, after that, it took nearly another 40 minutes until the ball found the net again.
Krewson’s hustle play with 3:07 left on the clock gave the Hawks their first lead over a Mt. Hebron team suddenly playing without Hoolachan, who had picked up his second yellow card just minutes earlier. But, before time expired, Farner stepped in as the hero.
“I saw the ball right in front of me, practically closed my eyes and just hit it,” said Farner, who is an exchange student from Norway and was playing in front of his mom, Tina, who is here visiting. “I still can’t believe it went in.”
After the scoreless overtime periods, Mt. Hebron got successful penalty kick shots from Josh Palin, Connor Pickett, Sam Cassard and David Butko. Those conversions, combined with Staedeli’s diving stops, helped Mt. Hebron snap a two-year playoff losing streak against River Hill.
“They’re a great team, they play really hard and that’s an awful way to lose a game on penalty kicks. I feel for River Hill and soccer really is just a cruel game,” Linsenmeyer said. “I was really proud of our guys for stepping up, though, especially once Aidan went out. We battled.”
River Hill’s three successful penalty kicks were converted by Jason Plumhoff, Tony Riso and Krewson.
Second-seeded Reservoir also lost its quarterfinal game, 3-0, against Centennial. The Gators had earned a one-goal win over the Eagles during the regular season, but fell behind in the first half on a goal by Centennial’s Peter Russell and never recovered.
“After they got that first goal, they were able to really sit back and put the pressure on us to make adjustments,” Reservoir coach Paul Linkins said. “They played well and nothing seemed to click the entire game for us.”
Centennial, which beat Northeast, 3-0, in the opening round, earned a semifinal matchup against Atholton, which knocked off third-seeded J.M. Bennett, 4-0. The Raiders got goals from Connor Cortes and Nick Bellamy to take a 2-0 lead into halftime. In the final 40 minutes, Alex Dove and Christian Villaroel completed the scoring.
It was the Raiders’ first shutout in eight games, dating back to before the team lost starters Derek Chan and Billy Harris to injury and illness.
“It’s taken us a few games to try and get things straightened out again, we’ve been experimenting with a lot of different things back there, but I think we’ve found a good combination,” Atholton coach Roch DeFrances said.
Wilde Lake knocked off Howard, 4-0, in the other quarterfinal game, which means the county is guaranteed to be represented in the 3A state semifinals.
The Wildecats got goals from Zach Johnson -- off an assist from David Perez -- Devin McNeel, Perez and Tim Bryson in their victory over the Lions. “Avenging that loss we had to them earlier in the year was definitely motivation for us,” said Wilde Lake coach Matt Pickett, whose team lost to Howard, 3-2, in the regular season.
Class 2A South
Top-seeded Marriotts Ridge found itself in a scoreless tie at halftime against Oakland Mills in its quarterfinal game. Mustangs coach Kevin Flynn said Oakland Mills was playing only one guy up top and five guys in the back to limit Marriotts Ridge’s quality chances.
“We were getting frustrated, I’m not going to lie. Their strategy certainly kept them in the game,” Flynn said. “We had our chances, but nothing was going in.”
Ultimately, Marriotts Ridge did break through on a goal from Mike Glazer 14 minutes after halftime. With just over three minutes left in the game, Kareem Najib scored again for the Mustangs.
Hammond advanced to the semifinals by knocking off McDonough, 2-0. Dustin Stout and Aaron McIntosh accounted for the goals, and the Golden Bears were able to bounce back from a two-game losing streak to end the regular season.
“I think the losses went to heart and made us feel like we can be even better,” said Hammond coach Amy Nestor.
After beating Long Reach in the opening round, Glenelg lost, 4-0, to top-seeded Central. The Gladiators fell behind by two goals in the first 10 minutes and never got going after that.
“It’s difficult to overcome a start like that, I don’t care who you’re playing ... we just didn’t execute today,” Glenelg coach Bill Reigel said.
Central will host Hammond in the semifinals.
This story has been edited: Josh Palin made the first penalty kick for Mt. Hebron
Seconds earlier he had watched the ball slip through his hands and onto the foot of River Hill’s Corey Krewson, who scored to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead and what appeared to be the game-winning goal.
“All I could think about was how the whole season we’ve been working so hard, especially all our seniors, and how I felt like I had let them down,” Staedeli said. “There was so little time left ... we needed a miracle.”
Thanks to Jorgen Farner, Staedeli and Mt. Hebron got their miracle.
Farner corralled a loose ball in the box and scored during stoppage time to tie the game and force overtime. Then, after two scoreless 10-minute extra periods, Staedeli got his shot at redemption and made the most of it.
Making a pair of diving stops on the penalty kick attempts from River Hill’s fourth and fifth shooters, Staedeli secured the Vikings a 4-3 advantage in the shootout and a victory over the top-seeded Hawks.
“This whole week, we’ve been working on PK’s the whole time. If it comes down to it, we wanted to be ready,” Staedeli said. “Under the lights, everything on the line, I wanted to do everything I could to make sure our seniors would get to keep going.”
In the 3A East bracket, Mt. Hebron was joined in the quarterfinal winner’s circle by Wilde Lake, Atholton and Centennial. In the 2A South region, Marriotts Ridge and Hammond each advanced with wins. The regional semifinal games are scheduled for Friday and will be hosted by the higher seed.
Class 3A East
It didn’t take long for Mt. Hebron to go ahead against River Hill Tuesday, as Aidan Hoolachan dribbled through three defenders and found the net just 45 seconds after the opening kickoff to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead.
“He put us on his back right from the start, basically like he’s been doing all season,” Mt. Hebron coach Mike Linsenmeyer said.
The score remained in Mt. Hebron’s favor until River Hill’s Kyle Butler scored with 2:39 left before halftime off a long throw from Tomi Williams. And, after that, it took nearly another 40 minutes until the ball found the net again.
Krewson’s hustle play with 3:07 left on the clock gave the Hawks their first lead over a Mt. Hebron team suddenly playing without Hoolachan, who had picked up his second yellow card just minutes earlier. But, before time expired, Farner stepped in as the hero.
“I saw the ball right in front of me, practically closed my eyes and just hit it,” said Farner, who is an exchange student from Norway and was playing in front of his mom, Tina, who is here visiting. “I still can’t believe it went in.”
After the scoreless overtime periods, Mt. Hebron got successful penalty kick shots from Josh Palin, Connor Pickett, Sam Cassard and David Butko. Those conversions, combined with Staedeli’s diving stops, helped Mt. Hebron snap a two-year playoff losing streak against River Hill.
“They’re a great team, they play really hard and that’s an awful way to lose a game on penalty kicks. I feel for River Hill and soccer really is just a cruel game,” Linsenmeyer said. “I was really proud of our guys for stepping up, though, especially once Aidan went out. We battled.”
River Hill’s three successful penalty kicks were converted by Jason Plumhoff, Tony Riso and Krewson.
Second-seeded Reservoir also lost its quarterfinal game, 3-0, against Centennial. The Gators had earned a one-goal win over the Eagles during the regular season, but fell behind in the first half on a goal by Centennial’s Peter Russell and never recovered.
“After they got that first goal, they were able to really sit back and put the pressure on us to make adjustments,” Reservoir coach Paul Linkins said. “They played well and nothing seemed to click the entire game for us.”
Centennial, which beat Northeast, 3-0, in the opening round, earned a semifinal matchup against Atholton, which knocked off third-seeded J.M. Bennett, 4-0. The Raiders got goals from Connor Cortes and Nick Bellamy to take a 2-0 lead into halftime. In the final 40 minutes, Alex Dove and Christian Villaroel completed the scoring.
It was the Raiders’ first shutout in eight games, dating back to before the team lost starters Derek Chan and Billy Harris to injury and illness.
“It’s taken us a few games to try and get things straightened out again, we’ve been experimenting with a lot of different things back there, but I think we’ve found a good combination,” Atholton coach Roch DeFrances said.
Wilde Lake knocked off Howard, 4-0, in the other quarterfinal game, which means the county is guaranteed to be represented in the 3A state semifinals.
The Wildecats got goals from Zach Johnson -- off an assist from David Perez -- Devin McNeel, Perez and Tim Bryson in their victory over the Lions. “Avenging that loss we had to them earlier in the year was definitely motivation for us,” said Wilde Lake coach Matt Pickett, whose team lost to Howard, 3-2, in the regular season.
Class 2A South
Top-seeded Marriotts Ridge found itself in a scoreless tie at halftime against Oakland Mills in its quarterfinal game. Mustangs coach Kevin Flynn said Oakland Mills was playing only one guy up top and five guys in the back to limit Marriotts Ridge’s quality chances.
“We were getting frustrated, I’m not going to lie. Their strategy certainly kept them in the game,” Flynn said. “We had our chances, but nothing was going in.”
Ultimately, Marriotts Ridge did break through on a goal from Mike Glazer 14 minutes after halftime. With just over three minutes left in the game, Kareem Najib scored again for the Mustangs.
Hammond advanced to the semifinals by knocking off McDonough, 2-0. Dustin Stout and Aaron McIntosh accounted for the goals, and the Golden Bears were able to bounce back from a two-game losing streak to end the regular season.
“I think the losses went to heart and made us feel like we can be even better,” said Hammond coach Amy Nestor.
After beating Long Reach in the opening round, Glenelg lost, 4-0, to top-seeded Central. The Gladiators fell behind by two goals in the first 10 minutes and never got going after that.
“It’s difficult to overcome a start like that, I don’t care who you’re playing ... we just didn’t execute today,” Glenelg coach Bill Reigel said.
Central will host Hammond in the semifinals.
This story has been edited: Josh Palin made the first penalty kick for Mt. Hebron
user comments (1)
user anthonypalin says...
Great report, one comment, Joshua Palin was the first to take a penalty kick for Mount Hebron.. I wouldn't like to see him dissapointed them he wasn't mentioned. After the scoreless overtime periods, Mt. Hebron got successful penalty kick shots from Kevin Fitch, Connor Pickett, Sam Cassard and David Butko. Those conversions, combined with Staedeli’s diving stops, helped Mt. Hebron snap a two-year playoff losing streak against River Hill.
Posted 12:08 PM, 11.04.09 | Permalink
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