Naomi Brookner/The Gazette
B-CC's Marilyn Hucek (#7) keeps the ball away from Paint Branch's Chelsey Conrad (#10) during the girls' varsity soccer game at B-CC on Wednesday.
|
It was a first this season: Two minutes of a Bethesda-Chevy Chase girls soccer match had gone by, and the Barons had yet to score.
But a down day for B-CC is still a darn good day for most other teams, and coach Rob Kurtz's squad still posted a convincing, 5-0 home win over Montgomery 3A/2A/1A East Division foe Paint Branch Wednesday.
Last year the Barons went 13-0, their first undefeated regular season in Kurtz's eight-year tenure. Wednesday's victory pushed them to 5-0 in 2008.
"We didn't have much energy," Kurtz said. "Paint Branch played hard, they really came after us. But we just really didn't have it tonight. We played Friday, a lot of the girls played a club game on Saturday, some played Saturday and Sunday, and then we had a game on Monday. We were very slow, very sluggish. But I think it says a lot about our team and where our program is at that we have the ability to win games against good teams when we're not at our best."
B-CC has won five Class 3A West Region tournaments since 2001 but fell 5-4 in penalty kicks to Urbana in last year's final. And that's resonated with the Barons. They're on a mission to get one step further and every game is preparation for that.
Powered by an intimidating arsenal of scorers, including four-year starter and three-year leading scorer Hannah Cooper (9 goals), sophomore Alex Doll (8) a U-15 U.S. National Team player, and four-year starting midfielders Zita DePetris and Hillary Goldman, B-CC has already outscored its opponents 31-4 this fall.
"We're putting a lot of numbers up on the board," Kurtz said. "If we put pressure on teams early and make them come out of their defensive shell, we can score a lot of goals. We've really capitalized on our chances."
B-CC plays a crafty style of soccer. The Barons knock the ball around and use the width of the field efficiently. They took a 2-0 lead Wednesday with first-half goals from Cooper and Victoria Gersh. The two, along with Owyn Manson, added goals in the second half, as well.
"We have our eyes on the big prize, there's no question," Kurtz said. "We've worked very hard in the offseason, hit the weight room. We want to win the division and try and get to the state final. But we don't discuss. We just all know that's what we're looking for."
