North East Indians win Regional Championship 1-0 over Bohemia Manor

By Kevin Phillips

CHESAPEAKE CITY–North

East and host Bohemia

Manor engaged in a tight, defensive battle in the finals of the 1A North, District 1 tournament Wednesday evening.

Ava McMillan scored in the game’s 10th minute to give the fourth-seeded Indians the lead, and that would be all North East needed in a 1-0 victory as its defense and goalkeeper Tess Keatley stepped up in the second half to preserve the victory and clinch a regional title.

“I mean it’s exciting.

I’m a kid too. Today, I was a whole ball of nerves. I felt like I was going to throw up all day just like them,” North East head coach Kendie Sandridge said. “It’s exciting to see them excited after all of the time they put into it over the summer, over the spring and over the winter. They all do so much outside of it that they can keep coming into it. It’s really awesome to see what they’ve built since August.”

The Indians slowly tilted the action towards their attacking half of the field in the first quarter, and after a restart following a whistle, the ball went into a crowd of players in front of the Bo Manor net.

Eventually, McMillan got possession of the ball near the goal line, and she shot the ball into the cage to give North East a 1-0 lead with 5:37 remaining in the first quarter

“It was kind of there. It was just set up perfectly,” McMillan said of her goal. “Our team worked to get the ball down the field. We work well together. There was a lot of passing, and it all came together.”

The Indians controlled the tempo in the second quarter but could not add to its lead as the Eagle defense held strong around the net. Bo Manor had some promising counters in the second quarter, but the North East’s speed on defense stamped out any surge down field, keeping the score at 1-0.

The Eagles recorded their first shot midway through the third quarter and notched their best chances in the final moments of the frame, but Keatley, made a sprawling save in the final 10 seconds of the third, and the Indian defense made the stops necessary, to keep Bo Manor off the board.

Keatley, who finished with three saves, credits her defense for helping her protect the Indians’ precarious lead down the stretch.

“Our team is good offensively, so I can do what I can do to support them defensively,” Keatley said. “I blocked a shot on that attempt and did what I could to block it. I got pretty lucky, and one of my defenders had a nice defensive save, too. It wasn’t just me. I had plenty of missed shots where the defense saved me.”

Keatley’s third and fourth quarter performance is something that does not surprise Sandridge as she sees it everyday in practice.

“She’s like that. She works hard every single day. The other thing she does really well is that she pushes the other goalies. She pushes the defense. She pushes herself. She pushes herself every single day. So, does that surprise me? No.” Sandridge said. “I think she was really prepared. I mentioned this before, but playing those upper division teams, she’s had to face hard shots over and over and over again. Our defense knew that they had to work together and keep going.”

North East withstood several strong pushes from the Bo Manor attack in the fourth quarter to hold on to the victory, and when the final horn sounded, the Indians celebrated in a mob near their defensive goal.

With the win, North East advances to the 1A-State Tournament where they travel to Patuxent on November 5th, and both Keatley and McMillan both said they just want their sea- son to continue.

“As a senior, that feels great. One more day to play is one more day I can appreciate. I am thankful to play one more game,” Keatley said.“Just expanding my season since it’s my last. It’s my last chance of glory. I’m grateful for it. We’ve played some good teams this year.” “I’m ready for the next game. I’m ready to keep going. I’m not ready for the season to be over yet,” McMillan added.

While the loss ended the Eagles’ season just short of the state tournament, head coach Caitlin Gartland expressed so much pride in what her team accomplished this season.

“Every player on this team is every coach’s dream. They work hard. They come out every day just ready to be the best players they can be. They have just changed the trajectory of this program,” Gartland said. “To get this game two years in a row as the smallest and most inexperienced team is a testament to their work ethic, their hunger and their desire to be the best players they can be. I just can’t ask more from them.”