The girls soccer team (13–1) defeated the Urbana Hawks (9–8) 3–1 to advance to the state semi-finals.
It was another game of ‘football’ under the Friday night lights and a cold one at that. The entire first half was spent with the Vikes dominating the time of possession of the ball but not scoring any goals. Urbana got the ball in the Vikes’ territory less than a handful of times and had no real scoring opportunities. The game went to halftime with no goals from either side due to some impressive saves by Urbana goalkeeper Olivia Fanning, who was the only thing keeping Urbana from being blown out. Although Fanning had her flaws, she played the ball aggressively, coming out of the box many times to try and get the ball, and twice in the first half, she ended up on the ground near out of the box without the ball. However, the Vikes did not capitalize on either of these opportunities, which kept the game scoreless.
Even with the tied score, the Vikes dominated but struggled to find the back of the net. Urbana would need a miracle to come out with a win. It was obvious that the team was not happy with their performance, knowing they should be dominating this game on the scoreboard. Senior Riley Demartino got Whitman started on scoring when she weaved through defenders and got an open shot from inside the box. Demartino hammered the ball to the top right of the goal to give the Vikes the first lead of the game. The pace of the game changed dramatically. The Vikes cooled down a bit, but that didn’t mean they took their foot off the gas with a goal from junior Evelyn Javers. Senior Sheridan Snow crossed the ball to Javers, who was next to the net, where she sent a missile of a shot to the top right of the goal that was practically unsavable. At this point, the score is 2–0. The Vikes can relax knowing that they have most likely won, as Urbana still has had very few chances to score. The final goal for the Vikes came from an assist from Javers to sophomore Kennedy Eva-Buckner. After this, the game was over, and both teams had put their subs in, with Urbana playing what looked like all seniors playing their final seconds on the field. With little time left, the ball trickled down to the Vikes goalkeeper, who attempted to boot it away. Urbana deflected the ball, which sent it into the net. This made the final score of the game 3–1, although Urbana’s on-goal was flukey at best.
The Vikes are currently a two-seed in state playoffs and will play the six-seed, the Glen Burnie Gophers, on Saturday, November 11th.
