Jack Hillman in mid-air after heading in the only Northern goal.
The 2013 boys varsity soccer team goes into the books as the best soccer team in Northern High School history. With a SMAC (Southern Maryland Athletic Conference) record of 11-0 scoring 47 goals and only letting in a measly three goals, the team went undefeated on the regular season. Making it to the finals was no easy task for the hard working Patriots. “We would never slow down in our training sessions or let ourselves take it easy,” said junior Ryan Knight.
The team also made it to the finals last year and lost, and came back determined to not let this one slip through their fingers. They took the state semi-final against C. Milton Wright, winning in a shootout to advance to States. In the state final on Saturday, Urbana and Northern both came in with perfect records of 19-0 and 18-0 respectively. With less than seven minutes left to go, the score was 2-1 with Urbana on top and the only NHS goal scored by junior Jack Hillman. Before regulation time ended, two more goals were put in the back of the net by Urbana, one of them on a penalty kick.
The team poses at UMBC where the final was held.
Despite the loss, the team left the field with a sense of accomplishment. “We had a bunch of players hurt,” said senior Adam Kratz, “but we still tried our hardest. Their team was really good and our best wasn’t good enough. I’m still glad we made it as far as we did.”
To watch a WNHS story about the soccer state final, click here.
–J. Dawson Fielding, The Patriot Press