The 14-1-1 girls soccer team made it one step closer to a state championship after defeating the 7-7-1 Wootton Patriots, 3-0, Nov. 5.

The team was lead by a balanced offensive attack and its usual strong defense to hold the Patriots to only five shots on goal.

“The work rate of the back line is probably our biggest strength,” defender Emily Martin said. “If we get beat, we immediately recover and fill each other’s spots. We also have a confidence in one another that they will be in the right place at the right time, and stop the other teams’ attackers when the time comes.”

The girls got on the board just 19 minutes into the first half on a goal by forward Cristina Valianatos after a quick pass into the box that pulled the Patriot goalie out of the net and gave Valianatos an open goal. Her first shot, however, was blocked by a Wootton defender but she was able to recover and score the easy goal to give the Vikes an early 1-0 lead.

The rest of the first half remained scoreless, and while the second half offered the Patriots a few more chances to score, they were unable to get anything going. Wootton soon found themselves in a 2-0 hole following midfielder Aliza Wolfe’s snipe from 30 yards away that flew right over the surprised goalie’s head and into the back of the net.

Then, only one minute later the Vikes scored again after midfielder Anna Gurney drove through the Patriot defense on a fast break and took a shot on the rattled Patriot goalie that hit off the left post and bounced into the goal to put the Vikes up 3-0.

The lead was more than enough for the Vikes, who secured a trip to the state semifinals and a chance to play the 14-3 defending state champion South River Seahawks.

The Seahawks beat Severna Park 2-1 in the 4A East Regional Final, advancing to its second straight state tournament.

The win was redemption for the Vikes, who a year ago suffered a tough 1-0 loss to B-CC in the regional final.

“It’s honestly awesome,” Martin said. “I’ve been on the team since freshman year and we’ve never won regionals. Especially after last year’s heart-breaker against B-CC, this win feels amazing.”

The Vikes will take on South River at Richard Montgomery at 2:30 pm Sat. Nov. 9.