Following a season of highs and lows, the Knights varsity girls soccer team opens the playoffs on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m., opening with a home game against Catoctin High School. Finishing with a record of 7 wins and 5 losses, the team is ranked as the third seed, behind first-seed Mountain Ridge, a team whose pristine record is earned playing predominantly Class 1A teams, and second-seed Oakdale, a team with a better record but whom the Knights defeated 1-0 earlier in the season. The game against sixth-seed Catoctin (3-7-2) could be the pick-me-up the Knights need, following a three-game losing streak and a seemingly inability to score.
“This year we have struggled with consistency,” said senior captain and leading scorer Alizah Johns Boehme. “The team this year has a lot of heart and we just need to keep up our mentality and take care of the little things. “ The mentality Johns Boehme refers to is the team motto: 212 degrees. Watching a girls soccer game, it is not uncommon to hear one player shout to the other, “2-1-2!” The slogan originates from the boiling point of water, 212 degrees. The last degree of effort, from 211 to 212, is what takes it to the next level, much like the effort of the players on the soccer field.
The heart of the motto is that the team’s work is not done; the Knights’ current mission is to ensure the practices proceeding playoff games will not go to waste. “We need to work on scoring goals,” said senior striker and captain Haley Dalphon. “We lost the last few games of the season because we just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net, and that really hurt us.”
Head coach Heather Kline, who has led Middletown to numerous state championships, often advises her roster to “stay hungry” in the face of the goal and want to score more, rather than being complacent with a one- or two-goal lead.
“Too many times in the past, we have let teams hang on and that has only made it harder on ourselves,” said Johns Boehme on the recent lull at the end of the season. Most losses this year have just had a one-goal margin, including games against county powers such as Urbana or the undefeated Linganore. Although the Knights’ efforts are successful on the field against such tough teams, the scoreboard and standings won’t reflect this until the team can capitalize on their opportunities, namely shots on goal.
“Even if the score wasn’t in our favor, we did not give up. We always fight until the end, and I’m really proud of the team for that,” says keeper Maria Tartaglia on the losses at the end of the season. Even if the Knights were down in points, the team prides itself on keeping shots on goals coming until the whistle blows, as it did against countless teams who won the game but not the majority of possession. But, as the senior captain Tartaglia pointed out, “Playoffs are a whole new season, a clean slate, a chance to prove ourselves. And we definitely have potential.”
Potential, a word often used to describe the Knights sports teams based on the extremely athletic community from which the school gets to draw players, is complimented by the work ethic that the girls team are attempting to prove they have. When everything clicks, the Knights can move the ball from the defensive third to the offensive goal with ease and flair.
“We are our best when we all work hard and everybody wants to be successful,” said clutch defender and captain Sarah Kovalchick. “We all know what it takes to get through playoffs, so our mentality is trying to get focused and prepared.”
Looking forward to the next round of playoffs, the captains have their sights set on a team not too far away. “Oakdale is always a team to watch,” said Dalphon. “We’ve knocked them out of playoffs for years, and they’ve never beaten us, but we also only usually win by a goal or two.”
Of the regular season game against Oakdale, Kovalchick said, “That was definitely the highlight of the season. We really did what we needed to do.” Neutralizing the Bears offense, making efforts to win 50-50 balls in the midfield, and capitalizing on offensive chances led the Knights to a victory.
When looking at the highlight reel, it is unquestionable that the Knights can indeed go far in the playoffs this year, but it will take an unwavering work ethic and a determination to put the ball in the back of the net. “Ultimately, I believe that this team has what it takes to go to states, but it is going to take everyone giving 100 percent. We cannot afford one person not giving it her all,” said Johns Boehme.
