Box Score
BEL AIR, Md.—CCBC-Essex scored in the 89th minute to tie the game at one, but freshman Beth Lambros (Forest Hill, Md./North Harford) scored just over three minutes into the second overtime period to give the No.1 Harford women's soccer team a 2-1 (2OT) win over No. 5 CCBC-Essex in the Region XX semifinal on Thursday night at Harford Stadium.
With the win over the Knights (7-10), the Fighting Owls (16-2) advance to the Region XX Championship on Saturday where they will meet No. 2 Anne Arundel for the second straight year. The Pioneers (12-2-1) advanced to the championship game by virtue of a 3-0 win over No. 3 College of Southern Maryland earlier in the day on Thursday.
The 2009 season will mark the second straight year that Harford and Anne Arundel meet in the Region XX Championship after the 2008 title was decided by penalty kicks, 4-3 in favor of the Pioneers. The teams also kicked off the 2009 season with a September 1 matchup which saw the Owls pull out a 2-1, overtime victory. That season-opening game is just one of two games this season during which Lambros has not scored a point and Thursday night marked the 10th game which has seen the rookie forward score two or more goals.
Lambros notched the game's first goal during the 19th minute as redshirt freshman Lyndsie Ludwig (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright/Wilmington) dribbled more than halfway down the field on the right side and fired a cross from the far corner before Lambros finished the ball into the lower left portion of the net from eight yards out.
The Harford defense was stifling for the rest of the period, allowing just two Essex shots, while the Owl offense pelted Knight keeper Megan Heath with 15 shots during the first half.
The second half saw Harford continue its dominance, both offensively and defensively, recording another 15 shots and holding Essex to only two shots, before Jessica Scoggins headed a ball over the head of freshman keeper Cierra Stinson (Parkville, Md./Mercy) that just managed to bounce past the goal line before a Harford defender could get a foot on it to knot the score at one with 1:43 remaining in regulation. Time expired before Harford would get another scoring chance, sending the game to overtime.
The Owls' control of possession continued into the first overtime period, as they managed three shots, two on goal, while holding the Knights scoreless, and ten more minutes would pass before a second overtime period.
The game would just be entering its 104th minute as Harford was awarded a corner kick. Sophomore Becca Bazemore (Churchville, Md./C. Milton Wright) would send the ball in from the far left and it would bounce around a bit in front of the goal before an Essex defender got a piece of it and sent it high into the air. The deflection was just enough of a chance that Lambros needed as she headed the ball from the left side of the goal to center to notch the game-winner and give Harford a 2-1, double-overtime victory.
Harford outshot Essex, 34-5 and held a 12-2 advantage on corner kicks while being called for nine fouls to the Knights' 15. Essex would also pick up the only cards of the game as Sarah Hoar, Melissa Wampler and Jenna Riordan were cautioned during the eighth, 26th and 70th minutes respectively.
Heath tallied 15 saves and an Essex defender added one more team save in 103:18 while Stinson stopped four shots during the course of the game.
The Fighting Owls face Anne Arundel in the Region XX Championship on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at Harford Stadium, with the winner advancing to the Mid-Atlantic District Championship on Nov. 7 against the Region X champion, played at the site of the Region XX champion.
