Long Reach field hockey doesn’t hide from the program’s past struggles. In fact, they’re openly discussed.

That recognition creates a heightened awareness and appreciation for just how far it’s come. From 2010 to 2020, Long Reach finished .500 or better just twice. Three years ago, the Lightning’s current class of seniors won just three games. 2022 wasn’t much better as Long Reach finished 4-8-1.

Last year, they showed vast improvement finishing as Howard County co-champions and regional finalists. However, this year’s group has surged to new heights.

Friday night, the No. 2 seed Lightning edged No. 7 Dulaney, 1-0, advancing to the Class 3A state semifinals for the first time in 24 years. Long Reach (12-3) will face No. 3 Severna Park at a time and date to be announced.

“It’s honestly really emotional,” senior defender Delaney Daffan said. “We all talk about it all the time how terrible we were and now we’re in the state semifinals, which is insane. Sometimes I tear up about it. I’m really proud of this team and what we’ve accomplished together.”

Long Reach’s ascension as a program can be attributed to the growth of the current seniors, but also new additions. Junior Sam Legge and sophomore Leilani Stewart joined the Lightning last year and instantly made an impact. Legge transitioned seamlessly after playing her freshman year at Howard and Stewart quickly acclimated to the varsity level.

“It was a smooth and fun process,” Legge said. “Everyone here has always been very welcoming. Everyone has been great. We’ve gotten to build as a team and work together. We’ve built a lot of trust and that’s helped us go really far in the playoffs.”

The dynamic midfield tandem has spearheaded the Lightning attack throughout the season. Their connection is emblematic of the Lightning’s collective trust in one another. That belief played a direct role in the game’s lone goal. Midway through the first quarter, Legge surged forward through a gap in the Lions’ defense.

She fired a shot on net that slid past Dulaney goalie Maddie Feldhiem.

After Long Reach took the lead, Dulaney brought persistent offensive pressure. The Lions (8-7) had nine penalty corners in the first half. However, they were unable to convert as Lightning goalie Hollow Jay ushered several shots away with kick saves to preserve the one-goal lead.

Long Reach’s defense tightened in the third as the Lions managed just one penalty corner and one shot on goal. During a timeout in the fourth quarter, Lightning coach Stephanie De Wit encouraged her team to close the game out with intensity.

Despite never playing on a stage of that magnitude before, Long Reach remained composed down the stretch. The Lightning cleared away a trio of penalty corners inside of five minutes as they inched closer to the state semifinals.

Long Reach’s crowd began counting down the final seconds as Legge fittingly salted away the clock. Simultaneously, Jay jumped up and down in net, raising her arms and soaking in the moment. She hugged nearby defenders after the final whistle as Long Reach continued to put the program’s past struggles in the rearview mirror.

“It’s very gratifying,” De Wit said. “I started as a consultant their freshman year. So, the seniors now, I’ve been with all four years and one of them is my daughter. There is a lot of pride as a coach, but also as a mother and a fan of the team. I just hope that we can continue.”

Other field hockey scores

Crofton 5, Urbana 0

Fallston 4, Sparrows Point 0

Broadneck 10, Montgomery Blair 0

Football

Severn 21, St. Mary’s 13: Had sophomore Jack Schlein not wrapped his hands around Ty Bussard’s pass, Severn might not have defeated its rival for the first time in nine years.

Fourth-and-16 on the 35-yard line could condemn any team, and the Admirals hadn’t had much luck offensively yet in the first half. And with only 28 seconds left on the clock, Severn was facing the extreme probability of going to halftime down 13-0 to St. Mary’s.

Injuries shuffled Schlein in and out of the lineup, but Friday he was healthy and waiting for Bussard dead-center in front of the end zone. The offensive line bought Bussard time, and he wheeled out of the pocket and threw.

“I know he’s an athlete and he’s gonna make a play,” Bussard said.

Schlein’s touchdown sent Admirals players and student section alike piling on each other and screaming in the end zone, and equipped Severn (7-4) with all the fire it needed before taking on its first Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference playoff run since 2017 next Saturday against Archbishop Curley.

The rivalry belonged to St. Mary’s over the last decade. Severn’s last victory in the “Severn River Classic” was Oct. 31, 2015. Since, the Saints have claimed three MIAA B Conference titles. — Katherine Fominykh

Owings Mills 30, Hereford 11: Friday night in Baltimore County, it was a battle of the Bulls vs. the bullies. Chalk up one for the bullies.

Visiting Owings Mills’ large offensive line pushed Hereford all over the field, and the Eagles speed was just too much to bear in a win over the Bulls.

The Eagles (8-1, 7-0 Baltimore County Division II) were led by starting quarterback Rashad Williams, who rushed for 145 yards on 15 carries before leaving the game with a leg injury in the third quarter. His replacement, Ty Simpson, picked up right where Williams left off, running for 66 yards on 12 carries. Running back Nevaeh Elliott finished with eight carries for 119 yards.

The victory gives Owings Mills its second straight Baltimore County Division 2 championship and a likely No. 2 seed in next weekend’s regional playoffs.

“When our quarterback went down and they were loading the box and we could still run the ball, I thought that was the key to the game,” Owings Mills coach Travis Hall said. “The O-line was excellent and running backs did a great job.” — Mike Frainie, For The Baltimore Sun

Century 24, Liberty 23: When archrivals face off, coaches tend to dig deep into their playbook for a trick play or something new to throw off an opponent that knows them the best and has seen it all through the years.

Century and coach Dave Ferguson had different plans for Friday’s Liberty game: Keep it simple, keep it consistent and ride the wave that has carried the program to its best season in years.

“All week I’ve been saying we have to play our game,” Ferguson said. “We have a special team and we knew we could get the job done here tonight.”

Leaning heavily on a run game that controlled the line of scrimmage and the clock, the Knights found themselves ringing the Freedom Bell and dousing their coach with water after the final seconds ticked off the clock.

Behind a 199-yard rushing performance, Century defeated Liberty on Friday night, taking home the bell and clinching the program’s first winning regular season since 2019. In the process, the Knights denied their neighboring rivals the Carroll County championship. — Timothy Dashiell

Arundel 43, Annapolis 6

Old Mill 32, Meade 27

Southern 28, Chesapeake 23

Broadneck 56, Severn Run 0

South Carroll 10, Francis Scott Key 7

Girls soccer

Towson 4, Thomas Wootton 0: Towson got a pair of goals in each half and its stingy defense held Thomas Wootton without a shot on goal for over 74 minutes as the Generals cruised to victory in the Class 3A state quarterfinals.

It was the seventh straight shutout for the Generals (14-1), who advance to the state semifinals next weekend. It will be their first appearance in the semis since 2018.

“It’s been our curse; we couldn’t get past the quarterfinal curse. We finally did this year and any team that was going to do it is this one,” Towson coach Lauren Hanley said.

On the day after Halloween, the curse was lifted because the Generals played a flawless game with no scary plays on the defensive side of the field.

“We work so well together in the back and I feel like outside of soccer, we are all so close and it’s so easy to communicate and just do everything like very in synch,” sophomore defender Amelia Culbertson said. — Craig J. Clary

Liberty 5, Perryville 0

Sparrows Point 9, Lackey 1

Boys soccer

Montgomery Blair 4, Broadneck 2

Harford Tech 5, Perryville 0

Liberty 5, International HS at Largo 0

Volleyball

C. Milton Wright 3, Rising Sun 0

Bel Air 3, Edgewood 0

Fallston 3, North Harford 0

Patterson Mill 3, Joppatowne 0

Broadneck 3, Annapolis 0

Middletown 3, Century 1

Carver A&T 3, Forest Park 0

Howard 3, Atholton 0

Glenelg 3, Marriotts Ridge 1

Reservoir 3, Northwestern 0