Sports

Centennial Varsity Girls’ Soccer Loses Close Match on Senior Night

Words: Joey Sedlacko

Photos: Sara Ferrara

The Centennial Varsity Girls’ soccer team lost their second in-county game of the season after a close 1-0 match versus River Hill High School on Tuesday, October 15.

Before the game, the soccer program celebrated the accomplishments of their eight seniors: Leah Alkire, Ashley Bilger, Gabrielle Castle-Smith, Maddie Hasson, Selia Jackson, Carolina Pellegrini, Sarah Sopchick, and Hannah Souba.

In the first half, it was a back-and-forth game and both teams had many scoring chances. It was not until 5:24 left in the half when River Hill scored the first goal of the game.

With eight seconds remaining in the first half, Centennial was awarded a penalty kick, but the River Hill goalie made a crucial save to keep the Eagles scoreless.

The Eagles offense generated many opportunities throughout the second half, but were unable to finish. In the end, River Hill held on to their 1-0 lead and won the game.

The soccer team will face Marriotts Ridge High School on October 17 for their last regular season game.

 

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For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

Sports

Centennial Suffers Tough Loss on Senior Night

Words: Shawn Kruhm

Photos: Melissa Notti

On Monday, October 14, the Centennial Field Hockey team celebrated their seniors in one of their last regular season home games. 

Juniors on the Varsity team made individual posters for their senior teammates. The seniors walked out in all red and princess crowns as they were announced from the press box. 

Unfortunately, the girls were defeated by River Hill High School with a final score of 3-0. 

Regardless of the score, Centennial played great offensively. The Eagles had possession for much of the game, creating many opportunities, but the girls struggled to finish. 

“Despite our loss, the entire team fought until the end to support the seniors in one of their final games on the team,” said senior Sara Ferrara. 

The Field Hockey team will host Glenelg High School in their final home game of the regular season tomorrow at 3:30pm.

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For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

Sports

Centennial Boys’ Varsity Soccer Dominates on Senior Night

Words: Joey Sedlacko

Photos: Sara Ferrara & Eliza Andrew

The Centennial Boys’ Varsity soccer team faced off against opponent Long Reach High School on Thursday, October 10, defeating the Lightning 4-0 after a strong all-around performance from the Eagles.

Before the game, senior players and their families were recognized for their commitment to the soccer program. Seniors Ryan Zaman, Kyutae Sim, Darian Avery, Zach Grable, Rob Hix, Elliott Keppler, Radwan Mezghanni, Toby Moser, and Kieran Senisi were all honored.

The Eagles’ offense took advantage of scoring opportunities in the first half. Juniors Bryson Baker and Kevin Salazar, as well as sophomore Sammy Molz, each scored a goal to put the Eagles up 3-0 going into halftime.

The defense for Centennial continued their solid play from previous games and held their opponent to zero goals for the third straight match.

A goal by senior Elliott Keppler sealed the victory for Centennial.

“It was a very good team win. We made smart decisions and played calm in the back. We also controlled the midfield well and finished our chances,” said Baker.

With this win, the Eagles are now 5-3. In their next game on October 15, the soccer team will face River Hill High School, the toughest opponent in the county.

 

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Clubs, Feature

Senior Sisters Create New Native American Club

Words: Alexandra Valerio

The Native American Student Union, founded by Seniors Kayla and Autumn Moore, is now a fully sanctioned club at Centennial High School. 

According to the club President Kayla Moore, the goal of the Native American Student Union is to “raise awareness on issues in the Native community [and] raise money for the Native American Human Rights Fund.” 

Kayla also hopes the club provides a safe environment for all indigenous and non-indigenous people. “The club is for anyone who wants to learn about the culture, Native or not.” She emphasizes that the club is happy to have new members and would like to hold elections for the Native American Student Union. 

Kayla and Autumn are members of the Lumbee Tribe, centered in North Carolina. Kayla feels that the Native American community is one that is “severely overlooked and appropriated.” Their objective as the Native American Student Union is to provide knowledge of Native American heritage.

Kayla’s biggest inspiration for creating the club was her late grandfather Hebert Locklear, who founded the Baltimore American Indian Center.

“I was thinking of ways to create my own Native community at Centennial and figured a Student Union would be the best way to do it,” Kayla said. 

To reach the Native American Student Union, the club’s Instagram is @chs_nasu and their email is chsnasu@gmail.com. The Native American Student Union meets every other Tuesday in Room 908.

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Sports

Bull Run Interview with Coach McCoy

Podcast by: Casper Ambrose, Julia Stitely, Noelle Deal, Keith Hitzelberger

The Wingspan media team interviews Cross Country coach Kevin McCoy on Centennial’s participation in The Bull Run.

 

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For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

Sports

Centennial Field Hockey Defeats Wilde Lake in Pink Out Game

Words: Shawn Kruhm

Photos: Noorie Kazmi

On Friday, October 4, the Centennial Field Hockey team hosted Wilde Lake High School in hopes of acquiring their third win of the 2019 season. The team wore pink socks, hair bows, and eye stripes to promote breast cancer awareness. Players and parents held a tailgate following the game in support of the cause.

The girls not only won the game, but they shut out Wilde Lake with a final score of 11-0. 

Despite Wilde Lake’s few opportunities on offense, Centennial senior goalie Casey Stratton made several impressive saves. 

Due to the Eagles high offensive possession time, they were able to create countless scoring chances. Seniors Sara Ferrara and Eliza Andrew played exceptionally well, as they finished the game with four combined goals.  

Despite the team’s early struggles this season, they improved dramatically and will take these next two weeks to prepare for playoffs. 

“We knew coming into the game that Wilde Lake’s Field Hockey program has improved from previous years, so we had to work together as a team to break their five game winning streak,” said Andrew. “We came out with intensity at the start which continued throughout the rest of the game.” 

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For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan. 

Sports

Centennial Golf Continues to be Overlooked

Words: Jeramy Stavlas

Photos: Noorie Kazmi

Walking around the hallways of Centennial High School during the fall sports season, a typical student will hear about the soccer team’s huge win, the football team’s latest game, or the field hockey highlights. One thing no student ever hears of though is the Centennial golf team’s outstanding performance. 

This season, the Eagles’ boys and girls teams have each won five of their six matches, only losing to the perennially good Marriotts Ridge team. Led by seniors Ty Sams and Morgan Taylor, the Eagles look to capture this year’s county championship. Not only are they winning their matches, the competition isn’t even close, highlighted by a 52-0 win over Long Reach by the girls, and an 80-29 win over Hammond by the boys. 

Centennial’s recent loss to Marriotts Ridge was upsetting for the Eagles as it was their biggest match of the season yet, but they will still go on to play in the county championship, seeking their revenge. According to seven-year head coach Stephen Lee, this is the team’s best chance to defeat Marriotts Ridge, who is competing for their sixteenth-straight county title. 

Lee believes this is the strongest team he’s had in all his years of coaching by far.

“We play as a team of four, so usually we have a good one and two, but the three and four aren’t quite there to support them. This year our number three and four and actually five are all right within that mix.”

Coach Lee believes the students’ minimal focus on the golf team is due to the school having a small team and a lack of understanding for the sport. He also says that due to a short season, it’s hard to gain attention from students as they’re more focused on starting school.

“We already had two matches before school even started,” Coach Lee said. “We’re wrapping our season up pretty soon, and everybody is just getting into school.”

Team captain Ty Sams has played for the team all four years of high school and has made the all-county second team twice. He is currently competing for his third appearance in his senior year. In that time, he has represented the Eagles at states twice. Sams says he’s not bothered by the lack of attention surrounding the golf team.

“It doesn’t really phase me much,” he commented. He is more focused on making sure he plays his best, whether he gets recognition or not. “Some of my friends, they mess around and say that golf isn’t a sport, but then I take them out to the course and they struggle to get the ball in the air, so it kind of humbles them after they see that.”

Over the past couple years, the team has slowly started to draw more interest as many underclassmen are joining the team and making a big impact early in their high school careers. Freshman Erin Jeong has stepped into a top-two role on the girls’ team this year, and quickly fit in with her new teammates.

“At first I was really nervous because I had never played before and it’s my first year of golf, but my team was really nice, so it was really fun this year,” Jeong said.

Jeong believes that if the team is able to continue their success through the end of the season, more students will hear about the team schoolwide, and some might decide they want to start playing for the team in future seasons. “If we get the county championship, we can maybe convince other students to play golf.”

With a bigger roster and a county championship, the Centennial Golf team could possibly start to get the recognition they deserve.

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