Lady Falcons Oust Leonardtown to Claim Region Championship

Revenge is sweet. Revenge in form of a regional championship is even sweeter.

Facing a Leonardtown squad that eliminated Severna Park in last years regional finals, the Lady Falcons had one thing in mind at the start of this year - beat Leonardtown.

On Tuesday, they did just that, as Severna Park came away 2-0 victors in the Maryland state 4A East region finals rematch.

"It's the best feeling in the world. [Two] out of the four years in our careers Leonardtown beat us in the playoffs. It's the biggest redemption we could have ever had," senior Gabby Moreno said.

Moreno struck a beautiful bending free kick in the 19th minute of play to put the Lady Falcons ahead. A hard foul by Leonardtown set up Moreno for the 25-yard set piece.

"It feels amazing to finally beat Leonardtown, especially now that we've finished the regional finals," said Jennifer Nance, whose second-half goal sealed the victory for Severna Park. "It's just an awesome feeling."

The Lady Falcons have had the visiting Raiders on their minds since the season began, after losing 2-0 in Leonardtown at last years region finals.

"[I'm] very happy with how the girls played today, they played as a team. When we do that, they're pretty much unstoppable," Severna Park coach Todd Clark.

Three minutes into the second half, Leonardtown's Haley Wilson struck a low, hard shot toward the Falcon goal that curled just wide of the far post. It was the Raiders best chance of the evening, as Severna Park controlled the flow of play.

"We focused on making sure we kept the ball settled and played the ball on the ground the entire time," Moreno said. 

Severna Park outshot its opponent 20-7 during the contest.

With just under 10 minutes to play, Moreno fed Nance with a through ball toward goal. Nance beat the Leonardtown keeper to the near post, seemingly putting the game out of hand for the visitors.

"We work together so well in the middle. Every single ball she plays is awesome," Nance said about Moreno's importance to the team. "We just feed off her energy in the middle. She's definitely a playmaker."

Severna Park now travels to Richard Montgomery High School for the Maryland state semifinal. There they will face Eleanor Roosevelt, who defeat Bowie High in the 4A South region final. The time of the game is yet to be determined.

"The hardest tests are yet to come, so we have a lot of work to do. Hopefully we can come out with a state championship," Moreno said.

Severna Park 1 1 - 2

Leonardtown 0 0 - 0