Who are the state title contenders in Maryland?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>High school season in soccer is beginning to get very interesting in Maryland. In some other sports, the debate that club season is so much more important, and quality drop offs in the High School ranks for both players and coaches, is turning players to skip HS season and just train for club season. You're starting to see some of the girls already committed skip their senior seasons, and some girls in the all-important Sophomore and Junior seasons decide that the injury risk and missing their whole showcase season with their club team isn't worth the risk. So that changes the balance of High School Soccer as for some schools losing that one top flight player is the difference between a state title and a quarters exit. While it's not prevalent yet, there are a few here and there I've talked to, but this is a rough look at what High School season should look like in MD. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>4A - 2024 Champions - Walt Whitman over Crofton 3-0</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2025 Contenders:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Crofton</strong> - A team loaded with talent, lost a couple key figures from the championship game last year, notably stalwart defender Becca Flom, and perennial scorer Alex Sarrach. The Cards have a very veteran roster led by GK Kaelyn Richardson, Forwards Soraya F-Shahraki, and Sophie Osborne, and Defenders Jackie Dutton, Arianna Leonard and Abigail Magorka. Sometimes, it's harder to coach with too much talent, instead of not enough, and the only real nemesis for this team is internal. They have all the pieces, and then some, but getting the right players in the right spots and combinations without tinkering TOO much will be the key to their success. Off to a 3-0 start is a good jump, but due to restructuring their playoff path is much harder now, having to go through Leonardtown, where previously it was a much weaker division. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Leonardtown</strong> - Led by Ali Burks, who plays club for St. Mary's Soccer and veteran of Maryland's ODP team, she's the poster child for the kinds of players you hunt for in Maryland. There are the big alphabet league clubs out there, but there are also very solid players that have played for smaller clubs or only in EDP that largely go undiscovered because they don't get the showcase exposure the larger clubs give. Ali is a scorer, and if there are three positions constantly coveted by college coaches, Goalkeepers, Ball Moving CB, and Shooting/Scoring Forwards are the 3. She's a sleeper for me that could go on to have a top college career if she chooses. Leonardtown is off to a 4-0 spot and looks to be a top 4A contender. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quince Orchard</strong> - QO has been in the mix and putting up a fight the past couple years, but could never get past the juggernaut that was Walt Whitman soccer. All good things must come to an end however, and it looks like Whitman's title run may just be there. QO is off to a strong start at 3-0 this season, including knocking off a tough Churchill team last game. Tonight they face another stiff test in a 2-1 Walter Johnson team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season. Should they get past that, next week defending champion Whitman is waiting for them, albeit a team that lost a lot of key seniors and may be approaching a rebuild off to a 1-2 start this season. If they get through this murderers row, the rest of the run looks favorable and they should be right at that level of Crofton or Leonardtown, looks like the 4A playoffs may have some tough matchups this year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>3A - 2024 Champions - Severna Park over Towson 4-0</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2025 Contenders: </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Severna Park</strong> - Things usually start and end with Severna Park when talking girls soccer. They've been a powerhouse for years. This year with the restructuring there are new faces and new teams along the way, but Severna Park remains a team to worry about. The Scott twins, Ava and Emerson who have played Varsity since freshman year, which is a feat in itself, where SP is notorious for being so deep they don't play freshman on Varsity. These two standouts at Midfield and Defense have anchored this team to state titles, and are prepared to take their talents to Flagler College after high school. They play ECNL for MD United and have had quite a run here in HS, with one last shot at a title before they leave. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Chesapeake AA</strong> - Chesapeake was a power in 4A for years not too long ago, constantly in the state title hunt. They have been creeping back towards their former glory, slowly adding players and talent and determined to make themselves a problem. Last year they fell just slightly short, losing a tough 1-0 game to Severna Park in the semis. This year they've added a few freshman from a talented class, and look to bring their tough, physical style back to the title hunt where last year they knocked off contender Howard, and then lost to eventual champion SP. They have a pipeline of talent, and some of their best players may be trapped on JV, they will be one to watch. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Howard</strong> - Off to a good 3-1 start this season, Howard is the favorite to come out of Howard county into the playoffs where last year they played well and lost a tough 2-1 loss to Chesapeake in the quarters. One bounce differently and it would have been them and Severna Park in the semis. Noelle Hall, is a pesky scoring forward for Ellicott City Club, and a player to fear. She's got a motor that never quits and a nose for the net. With her and 7 other returning starters, Howard is going to have some say in how the 3A title is decided. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Arundel</strong> - A dark horse to put in the mix for a state title, Arundel has had a few down years lately. This year however, they got their share of a massively talented '29 class with Hannah Slifer of Maryland Rush, and a few girls from the infamous 2011 Rush Azzurri team who all jumped straight to Varsity. I'm not ready to say they are going to contend this year, but they are a couple pieces away, and could be key in some upsets for the other contenders, people who don't do their research and take them lightly may wish they hadn't. With the right management, and spreading the resources, this can be a real up and coming team, that stands to pick up some talent from Crofton in next year's county redistricting and that could be the last piece to throw them into the mix. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Oakdale, Tuscarora, and Westminster</strong> are all off to 3-0 starts, but all play in the same division and will have to tear through each other to see who escapes deeper into the bracket. <strong>River Hill</strong> will also be in the mix returning Marella Vermani who had 23 goals and 11 assists last year as one of the top offensive players in the state. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>2A - 2024 Champions - Queen Anne's County over Sparrow's Point 2-0</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2025 Contenders:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Winter's Mill</strong> - Led by one of the state's best scorers, [player_tooltip player_id='288453' first='Hannah' last='Neske'], Winter's Mill is off to a fantastic start at 5-0 and looking like a clear favorite to be in the mix. Hannah is one of the fastest forwards in the state and has the ability to score from any third of the attacking field, left, right or up the middle. She's smart enough to shift and find teammates when defenses try to adjust for her, and is going to create mismatches for most teams out there. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sparrow's Point</strong> - Off to a great 3-0-1 start, they are on their way back to the title scene. Losing in the finals last year has left them hungry. They lost a couple college commits and a number of seniors, but were so deep that it shouldn't drop them much. They still return Baltimore Union Elite players Allison Forsythe and Ami Walters in their senior season, and versatile defensive player Aubree Snyder, and offensive player Lilly Williams, they should have enough in the tank to be the team to go through in 2A. This may be another one of those teams where too many choices make things more difficult than it is for other teams who just trot out their best 11 and go for it. Getting the right skill sets in the right parts of the field is tough when there are more potential options, or girls that may play different positions in club season, it's one of the trickier parts of being a HS coach these days. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Queen Anne's County</strong> - Defending champions. I'm not exactly sure how they lost to Kent Island last year in a single elimination tournament, and then moved on and ended up winning. I feel like there's a story here I'm not getting. But they are off to another 3-0 start. Quite possibly result of the division their in, and lack of competition. Winters Mill has to go through Hereford, and Sparrows Point has to go through Fallston, QAC has Kent Island and N. Caroline which are both 2-0 so far, but I still would like to know how you survive elimination in a single elim tourney. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>1A - 2024 Champions - Liberty over Mardella 3-0</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2025 Contenders:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Liberty - Ok full disclosure I just don't know enough about any of these teams. The only one I know vaguely anything about is Chesapeake Science Point who lost 13-0 to Brunswick in the quarters. Hereford Tech had a good run before hitting a wall 1-0 against Mardella in the semis. I'm just going to go with Liberty to run it back, although South Carroll has some good soccer in it's area, a couple of clubs that feed into there and with enough in a 4 year window could probably steal a state title as well. Going to have to see this one play out. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Club season is knocking on the door, with players starting to train already. The first tournaments in the area will be firing up in less than two months, so maybe a couple in depth articles on some of the key players in HS season, and then we'll be looking at club, who is playing where and when, and trying to get a base to get rankings started in the area. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->