A year ago almost to the day, the Fort Hill Sentinels turned plenty of heads and made a giant statement in defeat.
Today they hope to do the same in victory.
Here's the dirty little secret about defense: Nobody really likes to play it. But the ones who play it best are the ones who become the best, regardless of the sport or the level on which it's played.
CUMBERLAND — Christina Russo, who helped lead Allegany to a triple-crown season, and Jenna Delaney, who led area goalkeepers in shutouts and save percentage at Mountain Ridge, were voted the Cumberland Times-News girls soccer Defensive Players of the Year.
The tie in the voting by area head coaches is the first in the 10-year history of the award.
CUMBERLAND — No one scored more goals than Northern’s Elijah Lais.
CUMBERLAND — Bishop Walsh’s Sam Hawkins, who showed the way again on defense, and Northern’s Zack Lipscomb, with an impressive season in helping lead the highest-scoring team in the area, were judged the best at their positions by area head coaches.
CUMBERLAND — Bishop Walsh senior Sam Hawkins, who repeated as the defensive player of the year, heads this year’s All-Area team, having been voted to the first team for the third year in a row.
The wind howled all night. Snow flurries marked the start of the game and snow showers flew at the end. The thermometer read 33 degrees when it was over. The second game of the soccer doubleheader was still 20 minutes from starting.
We try our best at the Times-News to be accurate. Words are the tools of our trade. It's important to choose not only the correct ones but the most precise ones in describing a event, whether it be a football game, a traffic accident, or a government meeting. But sometimes, despite our best efforts, mistakes are made.
The score, it could be argued, was a bit deceiving.