After a back-and-forth scoreless first half against Mt. Hebron Tuesday in the 3A East regional final, Atholton coach Roch DeFrances said he had a sneaky suspicion the game might come down to penalty kicks.

He just thought the deciding shot in the penalty area was going to come roughly 55 minutes later than it did.

Five minutes into the second half, Atholton forward Christian Villarroel dribbled down the left sideline and, just as he made his move around the Vikings’ back line, was pulled down inside the box. The Raiders’ senior was awarded a penalty kick and he didn’t miss, giving Atholton what turned out to be the only goal in a 1-0 victory.

“Mt. Hebron packs it in, really clears everything, and we were having a really hard time penetrating their back line," DeFrances said. "The way the two teams’ defenses were playing I could definitely see it heading that way (toward PKs). But I told Christian at halftime, see what you can do to turn that corner, because if he gets the edge they had to foul him.

“He’s been our playmaker all year, and he’s so dangerous in open space.”

Atholton now advances to the state semifinals for the first time since 2004, which is the same year the program won its last state title.

Marriotts Ridge, which won its 2A South regional final game against Central, 3-1, Tuesday is also still alive in this year’s playoffs.

Both teams will play Saturday for a berth in their respective state championship games.

Villorroel has been the Raiders’ offensive sparkplug all year. His game-winning penalty kick was his team-best 15th goal of the season and gives him four goals in three playoff games this fall.

In the first half, though, not even Villarroel managed to get anything going against Mt. Hebron’s defense. The Raiders managed only four shots in the first 40 minutes, and the Vikings didn’t do much better — getting off only three attempts.

After halftime, however, Villarroel pushed the envelope.

“As a team we knew we had to do something if we wanted to advance to states, not necessarily me, but I definitely came out hard right there at the beginning (of the second half),” Villarroel said. “Everyone knew first goal was probably going to win.”

Villarroel made sure that first goal belonged to the Raiders by tucking his penalty kick into the right side of the net past Mt. Hebron goalie Drew Staedeli (seven saves).

During the final 34 minutes, Atholton’s defense made the one-goal lead stand up. The Raiders, who got a boost by the return of two starters, Derek Chan and Billy Harris, from injury and illness, have allowed only one goal during the postseason.

“It was great getting them back, they have a lot of heart and they’re a big part of what we do on defense,” senior defender Connor Cortes said. “Aside from giving us more depth, they also allow everyone to push up strong because they are fast and can cover for us.”

Mt. Hebron did get one final flurry of offensive activity in the final two minutes, generating two corners and a long throw on the end line, but couldn’t get the equalizer.

“I’m just so proud of the way our guys played all season ... they’re great kids, it just wasn’t our night,” Mt. Hebron coach Mike Linsenmeyer said.

Atholton will face Hereford at CCBC-Essex in the 3A state semifinals.

2A South Region

Up against a Central team that Marriotts Ridge coach Kevin Flynn said was “faster than us all over the field,” the Mustangs negated some of that speed by jumping out to an early lead. Just 30 seconds in, Kyle Mercer took a cross from Josh Stover on the far post and converted.

“I watched their (semifinal) game against Hammond and saw the emotion they got from going ahead. We needed to be the aggressors ... get one before they could settle in,” Flynn said. “Falling behind against them on their field would have put us in some trouble.”

Midway through the opening half, Central did pull even on a give-and-go goal on the left side by Milkayis Bayisa. However, thanks to a breakaway goal by Pat Sullivan five minutes before halftime, Marriotts Ridge went into the break with the momentum.

“Stevie Milak played me a good through ball and their goalie didn’t really come out on me. I was able to play it over his head,” Sullivan said. “There really never was a point where we were that worried, even after they tied it. We just had to relax and play our game.”

In the second half, Marriotts Ridge maintained its one-goal lead until Stover shut the door on Central's comeback hopes with 12 minutes left on the clock. His header off a pass from Mike Glazer was the final goal in a 3-1 victory.

The Mustangs advance to face Century in the state semifinals, which is where the team saw its season end last season.

“We’ve been focused on getting to this point all season,” Flynn said. “Last year we felt like we deserved a better result and now we have another shot at it.”

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