Twice in Saturday's Class 2A state semifinal win over Century, Marriotts Ridge players found themselves in the right place at the right time.

The Mustangs (17-2) defeated Century, 2-0, at North Hagerstown High to advance to their first state championship game. They will play Fallston (17-1-1) Nov. 19, 20 or 21 at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.

Marriotts Ridge pressured Century the entire first half, but had nothing to show for it until just over a minute left before halftime, when Patrick Sullivan pushed a pass to the opposite side of the goal, where Kyle Mercer was able to tap it in uncontested.

“Stephen Milak played it wide to me on the left side and I fake-crossed with my right foot and cut it back to my left ... I saw Kyle in the middle and I just played it low and hard and he was able to one touch it in,” said Sullivan, who has eight goals and seven assists on the season.

“It was good to get one at the end of the half and build that momentum," Marriotts Ridge coach Kevin Flynn said. "I thought we played a little nervously in the first half. It just felt like we had to settle down."

Six minutes into the second half, Mike Glazer scored his 11th goal of the year when he pushed a free ball into the net after it was lobbed in from about 35 yards out and bounced off of the Century goalkeeper.

“Nick Koutrelakos played a long ball in, and Kareem (Najib) and I were both pressuring the keeper. Luckily, the ball popped out and I passed it into the goal,” Glazer said. “I was in the right spot at the right time.”

Glazer said that he and Najib were uncovered in front of the goal.

“We didn't mark very well. Two fundamental mistakes cost us the game,” Century coach Scott Smith said. “(Marriotts Ridge) played a great game … we just didn't do some things well tonight that we've been doing well all season. They pressured us and we just didn't have enough time to get the ball off of our feet.”

Smith cited the play of juniors Josh Titus and Adam Byrnes in the losing effort.

In the second half, Marriotts Ridge had one shot go off the post, one off the bottom of the crossbar and several more just over the cross bar. The Mustangs had four corner kicks in the win -- Century (14-4) had only one -- and outshot the Knights, 13-7.

"We had a lot of chances in the second half to put them away but didn't, but I felt like we really gained control of the game in the second half. We had a game plan and we started doing it a little more,” Flynn said.

Goalie Alec Bovill made seven saves in preserving the shutout, the Mustangs' 12th of the season.

Both Century (2000) and Marriotts Ridge (2005) are less than 10 years old, and the schools are 10 miles apart.

Century lost its first three games of the season before going on a 14-0 run to the state semifinal, while Marriotts Ridge lost two of its first three games before going on a 15-0 run. The Mustangs have allowed one goal -- in a 3-1 win over Central in the regional championship -- in their last 11 games.

Flynn said that he scouted Fallston in its 5-0 regional championship win over Dundalk on Friday, and he was very impressed.

“I'm proud of the guys, but I know we have to do better than this (in the championship game). Fallston is a really good team," he said.

The Mustangs, back-to-back Howard County champions, lost in the state semifinals last year.

“Last year we really thought we had a chance to win it all and we just fell short. Now to get to the state championship feels great,” Sullivan said.

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