Girls soccer: Rams eye 2A playoff win

That’ll be a tough feat, though. Rockville nabbed the No. 3 seed, but to get through the region it will have to surpass three strong teams in a talented bracket headlined by soccer powers, top-seeded North Hagerstown (8-1-0), No. 2 Winters Mill (9-3-1) and No. 4 Century (9-4-0). Montgomery County foe Clarksburg (6-6-0), Liberty (7-4-1), Middletown (5-5-1) and Walkersville (6-7-0) can’t be discounted either.

‘‘We would definitely like to win a playoff game,” third-year Rockville coach Mike Hayes said. ‘‘This group has never won a soccer playoff game, so that would be nice. But I want to take this one game at a time seeing that these girls don’t know what it’s like to win in playoffs.”

Rockville sits in the bottom half of the draw, away from North Hagerstown. After a first-round bye it meets the winner of Northwood-Walkersville. A showdown with Winters Mill looms in the semifinals.

Nerves could be a factor for the Rams early. With a winning record and top-four seed, Rockville enters Friday’s tournament with high expectations for the first time in seven years. But if it can get past its first opponent and settle, it’ll certainly be a threat for the title.

Rockville isn’t a high-scoring team, with only 11 goals. But its stingy defense, anchored by senior Mary Gorman and sophomore goalie Julie Cosmos, has allowed only 12.

Led by junior Michelle Carter and senior Emily Owen (5 goals each), the Rams have been able to score when they’ve needed — six of their seven victories were 1-0 wins. And that’ll be something to lean on in playoff pressure situations.

Clarksburg will travel to Francis Scott Key (1-11) Friday. The Coyotes defeated the Eagles, 3-0, at home last year for their first-ever postseason win before falling 2-0 to Century the next round. They’re looking to advance a step further this year but they’ll have to get through Winters Mill in the second round to do that.

Clarksburg has mastered the art of counterattacking. It’s been opportunistic, keeping itself in games with a strong defense and scoring when it creates chances. The Coyotes have options up top; it’s a matter of getting some shots off. Led by freshman Lexy MacCarty (4 goals), junior Daria Borowski (3 goals) and senior Ashley Layton (2 goals, 6 assists), six different players have tallied at least two goals.

Northwood hasn’t experienced the same early success as Clarksburg. But it’s competed well against the top teams — it held Class 3A West Region No. 1 seed B-CC to just two goals. The Gladiators have scored six goals in 2007, each one by a different player.

With talented senior Nora Swift out with a high ankle sprain, Northwood will rely on Hannah Von Rautenfeld to provide an offensive spark.

North Hagerstown has powered through its opponents in 2007. Its versatile front line, headed by Alluka Ogle-Moore (11 goals, 4 assists), Maria Borland (10 goals, 9 assists), Katie Ritter (8 goals, 3 assists) and Steph Borland (6 goals, 3 assists) has outscored its opponents 49-9.

And as difficult as the speedy and crafty Hubs are to defend against, they’re just as hard to score on. Goalie Lindsay Irving has been a stalwart in front of the net. She’s recorded four shutouts and 51 saves and boasts a .90 goals-against average.

North Hagerstown awaits the Liberty-Middletown winner in Round 2 and a possible match-up against Century in the semifinals.