URBANA- The Urbana Hawks boys soccer team know where they stand as a unit. That they have the talent to win any game on their schedule and be state championship contenders in class 3A, but also understand the capability of their opposition.
They know that if and when they find themselves down during a match that everything will pan out if they continue to focus on the things they can control – attitude and effort. It’s something that head coach Scott Schartner drives home on a consistent basis.
No matter the circumstance, Schartner’s group doesn’t press the issue or be something that they’re not. Coming into Thursday nights match against rival Linganore, the Hawks were the heavy favorites. But, like any other game, Schartner didn’t see it that way.
Instead, he knew what he and his Hawks bunch needed to do to come away on the winning end – to just play their game confidently and whatever happens, happens.
“We go to great lengths to make sure that we’re confident, but also respect every opponent that we play,” Schartner said. “I preach everyday in practice that if we focus on the things we can control, things will fall into place.”
Last night, Schartner’s Hawks would be tested early. Linganore’s Adam Needle took advantage of an Urbana defensive breakdown – darting a lead pass to his brother, Caleb Needle, in which he dribbled past a Hawk defender and found the back of the net with 37:57 left in the first frame.
Before Urbana could blink, they found themselves down 1-0 not even three minutes into the game. It took Schartner by surprise.
“That was a shock for us,” Schartner said. “But, we weathered through the storm and fought back.”
Composure – it’s a word that separates the elite teams from the rest and having the wherewithal to overcome adversity. When the Hawks (5-1 overall) got down early, they didn’t hang their heads, but rose to the occasion and scored the games final two goals to upend Linganore (0-5 overall), 2-1.
“Were we pleased that we got scored on early? No. But this group has a lot of composure and confidence in their teammates to overcome that,” Schartner said.
The Hawks knotted the game up at one a piece courtesy of a score that was netted by freshman forward Fabian Valenzuela-Ruz at the 19 minute mark in the first frame.
“My teammate Kyle (McQuillen) made a great pass over a couple defenders feet to me while I was cutting towards the net and I happened to get that ball through and into the back of the net,” Valenzuela-Ruz said.
As any rivalry would, each team went back and forth – trading shots at each other until something gave in. That’s when senior midfielder, Colin Anderson, had enough. The frustration of watching his teams miscues was mounting inside of him.
Just past the 60th minute, the ball was bouncing around in no particular possession about 35 feet from Urbana’s goal. Anderson whipped his leg back and fired a rocket towards the net that sailed passed Lancer net-minder, Matt Milner to put his Hawks up at the 62nd minute.
“That was just pure frustration,” Anderson said, referring to his game-winning goal that he batted out of the air. “I just turned and hit it as hard as I could and it went in.”
Linganore, meanwhile, drops their fifth game in a row to start the season. And though they walked out of Urbana last night with a loss, there was a lot to take away from the effort that was displayed being up on a prominent Hawk team for the first 18 minutes of the game.
“We came out with a lot of energy,” said Milner, the senior goalkeeper who recorded 14 saves. “Despite the score, all-in-all it was a pretty good game for us. It’s a good eye opener for the future.”
Urbana travels to Tuscarora next Monday looking to carry on their state title aspirations.
“I’m proud of my guys,” Schartner said. “We did a great job of persevering through the early adversity to get the result at the end.”
Urbana out shot Linganore, 28-11 with 16 of those being on goal for the Hawks and nine being on goal for the Lancers. Urbana’s Kyle McQuillen registered five shots and one assist and Hawks goalkeeper Riley Barry recorded eight saves.
You can follow me on Twitter at @k_fadd and Maryland Sports Access @MDSportsAccess.
Box score
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| LIN | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| URB | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Scoring summary
| LIN | URB | ||||
| 1st | 2:03 | LIN | Caleb Needle assisted by Adam Needle | 1 | 0 |
| 18:01 | URB | Fabian Valenzuela-Ruz assisted by Kyle McQuillen | 1 | 1 | |
| 2nd | 62:13 | URB | Colin Anderson unassisted | 1 | 2 |
