More News

Whitman junior Johnny Mehrez's 15-yard cross inside the far post in the 85th minute Friday clinched the Vikings' 1-0 overtime win over Urbana (12-7-0) in the Class 4A state boys soccer final at University of Maryland-Baltimore County.

The goal gave Whitman (12-5-2) its eighth state championship, but first since 2000. The Vikings overcame a middling regular season just to reach the state final, where Urbana was making its first-ever appearance.

"I am obviously very happy with the win," said 16th-year Whitman coach Dave Greene. "I felt like we deserved to win. We played well against a very hard-working opponent. We never underestimated Urbana; we knew they would work hard and be organized defensively. The fact we won 1-0 in overtime as opposed to 1-0 in regulation doesn't make a difference because ultimately, we got it done."

Early in the game, a Whitman win appeared to be inevitable. Led by Mehrez and leading scorer Scott Gerfen (10 goals) up top and senior Dominick Yin in the middle, Whitman set up chance after chance, putting 10 shots on goal compared to Urbana's three.

"It was frustrating, but we knew if we kept going one would go in," Gerfen said.

Senior midfielder Sam Lilek's shot off the left post 10 minutes in got things started. The Vikings relentlessly pushed forward and had the ball in the Hawks' half of the field the majority of the game.

It was reminiscent of Whitman's first seven games this season, when it won just twice, largely because of an inability to finish. With a state title on the line the Vikings seemed to regress, taking too much time in the box and sending good opportunities over the goal.

But like the Vikings found their stride late in the season, scoring eight of their 24 goals in the playoffs, Whitman settled down in overtime Friday.

Lilek, whose 5-yard rocket ricocheted off Hawks goalie Alex Vert's face with two minutes left in regulation, broke through the middle midway through the first overtime and sent a pass up to Mehrez on the left. Mehrez's cross/shot won it for the Vikings.

"At the beginning of the season we were able to move the ball and had the potential to be cohesive as a group, but there was some piece of the puzzle missing," said Yin, bound for the University of Pennsylvania. "Maybe it was the fact that we were not able to score. Now we are moving the ball just like we always did but added that final piece of the puzzle."