B-CC 3, Magruder 1

By Calvin Cobb


On a temperate afternoon at Magruder, the Barons took their time shaking off the drive over, but once they got going they showed again why they are the class of Montgomery County, turning in a workmanlike performance and ultimately prevailing 3-1. It was the Barons final regular season game, finishing 10-2.

In stark contrast to the Damascus game two days ago, when the Barons came out flying, the Barons seemed to lack energy in the opening minutes – they did not quite move themselves into the open spaces to create passing lanes, they did not quite put enough on the ball to complete their passes, they consistently mis-hit free hits and shots in the open field; they were out of sinc.

Magruder, a good team, made it difficult for the Barons, but there was a clear sense that the malaise was self-inflicted. As the game went on, however, the Barons seemed to find the proper rhythm. After five minutes of sustained pressure in the offensive end, Danielle Harkaway helped break the game open by jumping on a loose ball in the circle and passing across to Rachel Ruda, who buried it for a 1-0 Barons lead.

But Magruder did not get to eight wins by accident – they were particularly adept at knocking down hard passes and controlling the ball on a bouncy surface, and managed a serious scoring threat of their own. Goaltender Lauren Serpan faced several shots in quick succession from point-blank range, holding her ground and making save after save until her defenders – Ruth Andrews and Meredith Storm in particular – could assert themselves and clear the ball. After a close scoring opportunity on a corner, in which Josie Lopes held the ball in the circle by stick-handling around three different defenders, the half ended 1-0, with the Barons having had the better of the play but with the game still in the balance.

After some gentle advice from Coach Amy Woods, the Barons came out full bore in the second half. Magruder was big and physical, but the Barons did not back down. A large player leaned heavily on Andrews in front of the goal during a long corner, trying to assert herself in front of the goaltender, but Andrews got lower and stronger and gave up not an inch. Paige Donnelly went under, around, or through her mark consistently; Jenn Dewey kind of prefers the contact; and Charlotte Kettler was scary intense – winning every confrontation regardless of the circumstances. The senior leadership rose to the fore – Andrews, Storm, Ruda, Sunny Cobb, and Kelsey Kiser joined in with Donnelly and Kettler to make sure this game turned in a positive direction.

The Barons extended their lead to 2-0 when Cobb passed across to Ruda who finished the play with a hard shot for her second goal of the game. Five minutes later the Barons scored again. Storm inserted to Kettler, who froze the defenders by looking back to Storm before passing across to Cobb. Given extra time and room by Kettler’s deception, Cobb stepped into a blistering shot that left the defenders with no chance.

Magruder tried to turn up the temperature but the Barons stepped up it up as well and the game went back and forth. Kiser and Dewey and Harkaway generated a number of near breakthroughs, but were unable to convert. In one close-net, pressure situation, Kettler made a goal-saving stop and cleared the ball in one quick motion.

Magruder worked the ball down field on a couple of occasions, and in one sequence earned several consecutive penalty corners. The last corner lead to a goal, and with five minutes to play the score was 3-1.

Amy's Apple went to Ruda for her strong play throughout the game.

Overall, this was not the Baron’s best game, but the sign of a great team is the ability to beat a good team even on an off day. The Barons stuck together, turned up the temperature when they needed to, and dominated the game more than the 3-1 score would indicate. If there is a message, it is that the Barons need to get themselves ready to play when they have to travel – Westminster will not be waiting around for them to warm up come playoff time, and the margin for error will shrink each round in the playoffs. But the Barons have many weapons, strong coaching, senior leadership, and a powerful tradition. It is time to unleash the fury.