The girls soccer team defeated the Bethesda Chevy-Chase Barons 5–1 in round one of playoffs. The rivalry between the Vikings and Barons is always a matchup, and that’s exactly what happened Friday night. 

The story of this game was rivalry, with bad blood in the air. The pace and physicality of this game were high. BCC’s game plan seemed to be to try and apply as much pressure as possible and be physical and aggressive towards the Vikes to make them uncomfortable. But for the reigning two-time state champs, it was no challenging feat to keep composed and play to their strengths. The game’s physicality resulted in many penalties between the two teams and hostile exchanges between opposing players. The Vikes started with a free kick by senior Sheridan Snow from near midfield, where she placed it high up into the box. The goalie rushed towards the ball, trying to grasp it with her arms and chest, but failed as the ball dribbled over her head. Junior Evelyn Javers was at the right place at the right time and got an easy tap-in goal to make the score 1–0. After that, the game was taut, with neither of the teams scoring, yet the Vikings were getting many promising opportunities. The next goal came exceptionally late in the first half when senior Riley Demartino got a one-on-one opportunity with the goalkeeper, where she squeezed the ball to the right to make the score 2–0 going into the half. 

During half-time, Whitman’s spirits were high, and the Barons’ spirits were low. Everyone in the stadium could tell the Vikes would run away with this one. And that’s precisely what they did. Quickly, the Vikings elevated the score to 4–0, with one of the goals coming from a BCC’s own goal. The Barons tried to bounce back and scored one goal of their own, but it was too little too late as the Vikes scored one more to make the final score 5–1. 

The Vikes are looking strong and have a real possibility of gaining their third consecutive state championship as they move forward with their toughest opponent ahead of them. They will play the Quince Orchard Cougars (10–0) this Tuesday on Halloween. This will be a rematch of last year’s state championship, where the Vikes defeated the Cougars 2–0. However, the Vikes fell to the Cougars 1–0 early in the season in an overtime thriller. If Whitman can pull off a victory, they will have a shot at yet another state championship.