More News

The Clarksburg boys soccer team is one win away from a state championship.

The Coyotes started slow in Saturday's 3A state semifinals, but Arjona's magnificent, 35-yard goal opened the floodgates to an offensive explosion and a 4-0 victory over Calvert County's Northern at CCBC-Essex Stadium in Baltimore.

Now, only Baltimore's Hereford —who needed penalty kicks to beat Atholton in the other semifinal — stands in the way of Clarksburg's (13-1-3) first-ever state title in a fall sport.

"I think this is the best we played this year," said Reyes, whose defensive brilliance highlighted the team's 12th shutout of the year.

That hardly appeared the case in the first 20 minutes. The previously unbeaten Patriots (17-1) were big, fast and exceedingly physical, with forwards Dane Slavin and Andrew Turgeon creating several dangerous opportunities in the early going.

But Arjona's individual brilliance changed the momentum almost entirely. Intercepting a goal kick from Northern's Chris Glasgow, Arjona settled, hook turned to his left, and went upper 90 right side to give Clarksburg the lead in the 28th minute.

"I hit like three in a row before the game," said Arjona. "I wouldn't even normally shoot like that; I'm a defensive midfielder. But when I saw it dipping, I said ‘Oh my God, it's going in.'"

From that point on, Clarksburg was brilliant. Northern's offense was nearly nonexistent in the second half, though on it's one chance — a shot in traffic by midfielder matt Cross — goalkeeper Austin Fiedler dove to his left to save the day.

Offensively, the Coyotes were at their finest in the second half. Forward Jonathan Kukapa created a myriad of chances, showcasing deft touch and instinct belying his fifth varsity appearance. Midfielder Nick Civetti ran onto a fortuitous bounce and scored top shelf in the 63rd minute, essentially clinching the win. Strikers Nelson Escobar and Fernand Fekeu added icing on the cake in the final 10 minutes.

The 3A state title game will be played at University of Maryland-Baltimore County Stadium this week, with a time and date to be determined.

"We saw them," Arjona said of Hereford. "It's going to be a battle."