While winning a region championship is a special feeling, an even sweeter victory is defending your title of champions. The Centennial Field Hockey team was able to do just that, clinching their second straight region championship after a tight 2-1 battle with River Hill high school.
The Eagles entered this season with a different level of confidence, coming off of a regional championship and insistent that they could do it all again. Although they had lost some seniors who had played a crucial role in last year’s success, there was a plethora of underclassmen players who were ready to accelerate their role this season and make up for what was lost.
The Eagles started off their season firing on all cylinders with four straight wins, anchored by the dominant play of goalie Jane Baldy, whose quick defensive skills blocked all goal attempts in the first four games. After a tough loss to Glenelg, the girls were able to quickly bounce back with a thrilling win against River Hill after an overtime goal from midfielder Ava Rudy. The Eagles racked off another winning streak of three games, which brought their record to 7-1 with only four games remaining in the regular season. Finishing out the regular season with a final record of 9-3, Centennial field hockey was poised for another playoff run.
Rewarded with the number one seed in the region which included River Hill, Hammond, and Oakland Mills, the Eagles hosted a first round matchup against Oakland Mills. The Eagles cruised to a 9-0 victory which saw a balanced attack with goals from Caroline Cudzilo(10), Anabelle Arrington(10), Maddie Stachera(9), Claire Whipkey(11), Gia Morabito(10), and Gabby Rollins(9).
This first round win set the Eagles up for a game against the River Hill Hawks; a rematch of last year’s regional championship, and another opportunity for a victory. The Eagles had to work twice as hard to beat the Hawks, who were determined to get over the hump after their loss from last season and had a ton of motivation to do so.
Centennial started off the game strong, scoring the first two goals, both by junior Claire Whipkey in the first half. Whipkey’s goals gave Eagles some breathing room, but the Hawks refused to give up and added some pressure scoring a goal making it a 2-1 game with time still remaining for River Hill to knot things up. The second half started to get a bit chippy on both sides, with both teams knowing how important this game was and what was at stake. The Hawks continued to apply pressure on the Eagles defense, but Baldy was able to make some crucial saves in one-on-one situations. Centennial was able to stand their ground to finish the game at 2-1 and capture what had been their goal all season long. A second straight regional championship win for the Eagles had become a reality.
“Winning felt even more special this year because we knew that River Hill wanted to avenge their loss from last year”, said Whipkey.
Whipkey delivered in the biggest game of the season and coming through for her team when they needed it was something extremely special to her. “It always feels great to score. The second goal was so important to me and the team because it really sealed our win. After that I was very confident that we could hold down our lead and win the game.”
After accomplishing their goal of a regional championship in back to back seasons, the Centennial field hockey team will look to continue to build the program and keep their success going into next year.
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