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The postseason stat line: 20 goals scored versus 2 allowed in four games, all victories.

There is perhaps no hotter team in field hockey right now than the 3A West Region champion Bengals (9-7), which jumped all over 3A South representative Northern (Calvert County) early in Monday's state semifinal. They amassed a 4-0 halftime lead en route to a 6-0 statement win at Arundel High in Gambrills.

"Defensively, we ran to the ball really well and we converted on our corners, which is something we've been working on," said Blake head coach Patrick Howely. "We got better as the season went on; our schedule really challenged us and really prepared us for where we're at now."

Howley coached the current crop of seniors as freshmen on junior varsity, switched to soccer and came back to coach field hockey for the first time at the varsity level this season.

The offense was relentless all night for Blake. Northern controlled the action for the first few minutes of the game, but after that the Bengals kept the play solely on the Patriots' side of midfield. Senior forward Justine Allen, who leads Blake with 17 goals and 6 assists, was the offensive star with 4 goals and 1 assist Monday.

"All the shots I had came from really good passes from my teammates," Allen said. "I thought our [regular season] record didn't represent who we were as a team. ... I think this is where we should be."

Allen and freshman forward Caroline Wannen were simply too fast for the Northern defenders. Coupled with superior technical skill on the ball, that led to numerous chances for the Blake offense.

Its first goal came in the 13th minute, when Wannen beat three Northern defenders on a counter run and her perfect cross found forward Sarah Hagan to put Blake up 1-0.

"We had a tough season, but we've played great in the playoffs," said Wannen. "We work a lot on cross-field passing and chemistry, so we know where each other are."

Less than 2 minutes later, on a penalty corner, Jane Grenaldo found Allen for her first of the night, a rocket from the top of the circle. Any chances Northern had were quickly turned away from the overshadowed but strong Blake backline, led by stopper Bridget Hawvermale.

Wannen's second assist was another timely cross to Allen for a 3-0 lead in the 25th minute; Allen would have the hat trick before halftime on another penalty corner from Grenaldo in the 29th minute.

The shellshocked Patriots (9-8) never recovered from the bombardment, while the Blake onslaught continued in the second half with a goal each from Wannen and Allen; the two forwards combined for 5 goals and 3 assists on the night.

The year of firsts continues for the program; it was the first time Blake won the 3A West Region, and it dominated its first ever state tournament game with a first-year head coach.

Now, it has earned a chance to play for its first-ever state championship, against Hereford (Baltimore County) at Washington College in Chestertown at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.