Nearly three weeks after the teams needed penalty strokes to decide their Southern Maryland Athletic Conference Chesapeake Division clash, the Chopticon High School field hockey team avenged a prior setback among similar circumstances to defeat Northern High School in strokes on Wednesday afternoon in a Class 3A South Region Section II semifinal.
Chopticon (9-4 overall) had scored the game's first goal with just less than two minutes remaining in the first half when senior Bella Lehr wristed a shot past Northern goalie Lauren Daugherty. But the Patriots (10-5) got the equalizer in the opening minute of the second half when sophomore Natalie Mellen deflected a shot from senior Brylin Adams past Braves goalie Blair Vallandingham.
Both teams had ample good scoring chances throughout the second half and during both 10-minute overtimes, but neither squad could get on the board again and for the second time in 19 days the Braves and Patriots headed to strokes.
When Northern's Jessica Tolson drilled a shot off the right post and past Vallandingham and Daugherty stopped Chopticon's first attempt, the Patriots looked headed for another victory. But Tolson's goal proved the be the final highlight for the Patriots this fall.
Northern's Sarah Donaldson had her shot smothered by Vallandingham and senior Sarah Sweeney followed with a goal that tied it. Vallahdingham then stuffed a shot by Northern's Julie Barksdale and Reilly Aud gave the Braves a 2-1 lead with a shot that eluded Daugherty.
Immediately after Vallandingham knocked aside the stroke by Northern's Libby Dickinson, Lehr promptly ended the drama when she wristed a shot past Daugherty. Nearly three weeks to the day after suffering a setback to the Patriots in strokes, the Braves kept their season alive with the playoff victory amid identical circumstances.
Chopticon will play Monday in the section final versus the winner of a Thursday section semifinal that had fourth-seeded Great Mills taking on top-seeded Huntingtown.
"That was my first in-game stroke," Lehr said. "So, I was really nervous. But when I hit it, I knew it was going in. It was such a great team win. Sarah and Riley came up with those first two big goals in strokes and Blair made some really great saves."
Vallandingham, whose mother Anne Vallandingham, is the Braves' head coach, admitted she put aside the disappointment of allowing the opening tally by Tolson to focus on the next three Patriots. Then when Lehr ended the extra session she finally felt a giant sense of relief.
"That first stroke the Northern girl [Tolson] hit a good shot and I was still trying to get my focus," Vallandingham said. "But after that first one I felt confident I could stop the others. It was just a matter of staying focused and keeping an eye on the ball. I was ready for them wherever they wanted to shoot."
Lehr had scored the game's first goal off a penalty corner late in the first half sent in by Michaela Adams to Sweeney, who quickly sent the ball into the circle. Sweeney scored the Braves' first goal in strokes on a day when she had been inadvertently hit in the face by an opponent's stick and later took a shot to the ribs.
"It was definitely a rough one today, but it was all worth it," Sweeney said. "We lost to them in strokes earlier this season. We knew it was going to be another close game. I felt confident that I could score and I knew Riley and Bella would score and Blair made some really good saves. It was a great team win."
While the Braves could celebrate a chance to advance in the 3A South Region tournament, Northern players meandered off the field in disappointing fashion amid enthusiastic support onlookers ranging from their parents and classmates to members of the Northern football team who convened in the bleachers after their practice ended.
"We knew it was going to be very close," Mellen said. "Every time we face Chopticon it's very competitive. This is the third time we've gone to strokes with them. After Jessica made that first goal in strokes, I think we thought that we had it."
Adams, who was next in line for the Patriots in strokes if Lehr had been thwarted in her attempt to seal it, also sought to defuse the disappointment of competing in her final field hockey game at Northern.
"When they scored that goal in the last minute of the half, we started to hang our heads a little," Adams said. "But at halftime we talked about how much we had dominated the game in the first half and we came out strong in the second half and scored right away. Both teams had chances in the second half and overtime. It's tough when it goes to strokes because it's 50-50 at that point and really the results can be kind of random."
