Adam Fowble’s game-winner puts Centennial boys soccer past Mt. Hebron | Howard County sports roundup
Adam Fowble’s goal in the 62nd minute was all Centennial needed to defeat rival Mt. Hebron 1-0 on Tuesday.
Fowble, a junior, is playing in his first varsity season, and his game-winner was the first goal of his career.
“Fowble is a smart player. He puts himself in good positions,” said Centennial coach Justin Thomas. “If he gets him front of goal and he has an opportunity, he can be deadly. It’s huge for him to get this goal here. This will be huge for his confidence.”
The forward was in the perfect spot after Andrew Fritz’s sizzling shot deflected off the hands of Hebron’s goalkeeper. Fowble recovered the rebound, evaded the goalie and had an easy shot less than five feet away. Instead of simply tapping the ball into the net, Fowble took the shot with gusto, firing it as hard as possible before running to celebrate with his teammates.
“This feels amazing,” Fowble said. “We had all these fans in the stands. I knew that if I smashed it into the net that everyone would get hyped. I took a touch and I smashed that thing.”
Both team’s defenses were stout in the first half, with few scoring chances on either side. The contest at Mt. Hebron High was between two of the top teams in the county this past spring. Centennial finished second in the county tournament, while Mt. Hebron went undefeated in the regular season and allowed only five goals in 10 games.
“We were anticipating a low-scoring game,” Thomas said. “I feel like our defense is our strong point, and I think they probably feel the same way about their defense. Whoever got the first goal here was going to be in a great position.”
“Honestly, we were totally outplayed and outcoached by Centennial,” said Mt. Hebron coach Mike Linsenmeyer. “They deserve to win the game. There’s no doubt about that, not even close.”
The difference in the game was Centennial (4-1) took advantage of a Vikings mistake, while Mt. Hebron didn’t capitalize on the Eagles’ biggest miscue. For the Eagles, Fowble’s goal came after the Vikings’ defense allowed Fritz a clean shot at keeper Logan Dunn, who did a good job to save the shot before the rebound found its way to Fowble.
“We were sort of in the correct position, but we weren’t courageous enough to make a play on the ball,” Linsenmeyer said. “Going halfway against a good team isn’t good enough.”
Fifteen minutes later, an Eagles defender fouled Hebron’s Mark Adja in the box, earning the Vikes a penalty kick. Liam McCaffrey took the PK, but his attempt bounced off the right post.
“He’s a great kid. There’s nothing to say. The reason he’s taking that is because he’s our best guy. The next time he takes one, he’s probably going to make it.”
Adding to the impressiveness of the Eagles’ win, Thomas’ squad was playing in its fifth game in six days. Centennial played on Sept. 9, twice on Sept. 11 and on Monday.
“We came prepared. I am immensely proud of them,” Thomas said. “In a game like this when you have to be concentrated for 80 minutes, I felt like this was a great team effort.”
Centennial 1, Mt. Hebron 0
Goals: C — Adam Fowble.
Halftime: 0-0.
Records: C 4-1; MH 1-1.
GIRLS GOLF
Marriotts Ridge 83, Glenelg 72 (Waverly Woods)
In a battle of unbeaten teams, the Mustangs used a one-under-par round of 28 points from Alana Alexander-Giles to help hold off the Gladiators. The Mustangs also got impressive performances from Lila Becker (23 points), Erin Jeong (19) and Morgan Swidersky (13). Giles has now scored 28 points in three of her four matches, with the other score being a 27.
Glenelg hung close all day behind Megan Kirkpatrick (team-high 25 points) and Lauren Paik (21). Paik’s round was highlighted by an eagle on the eighth hole. Amber Kostick (15 points) and Norah Vanderpool (11) rounded out the team’s scoring.
MR (4-0): Alexander-Giles 28, Becker 23, Jeong 19, Swidersky 13.
G (2-2): Kirkpatrick 25, Paik 21, Kostick 15, Vanderpool 11.
Reservoir 44, Mt. Hebron 22 (Willow Springs)
Sophomore Riyana Patel continued her strong play this fall, scoring a career high 22 points to help the Gators earn their first victory of the season. Patel has now scored at least 18 points in each of the team’s four matches for an average of 20 points per match — currently ranking her among the top five girls in the county. On Tuesday, she made four pars and five bogeys. Payton Pullen also had a strong day for Reservoir in the win with 16 points.
Re (1-3): Riyana Patel 22, Payton Pullen 16, Kaitlyn Ro 3, Kira Le 3.
MH (0-2): Katie Katcheves 9, Danielle Bodziak 8, Julia Morton 4, Quinn Carberry 1.
Centennial 53, Long Reach 27
C (2-1): Hannah Fang 17, Sanika Shah 17, Regan Hubbard 12, Cloe Moon 7.
LR (0-3): Emma Koech 14, Grace Simpson 12, Taylor Slade 1.
BOYS GOLF
Marriotts Ridge 84, Glenelg 74 (Waverly Woods)
The Mustangs continued their unbeaten streak (which dates back to 2013) thanks to the team’s top three players — Jonathan Moon (25 points), Sangmin Lee (24) and Daniel Tuma (23) — all scoring four-over par or better. Glenelg stayed close all afternoon thanks to Michael Gloth (25 points), who made three birdies, and a personal-best score of 23 points from Ellis Waak.
MR (4-0): Moon 25, Lee 24, Tuma 23, Farrell 12.
G (3-1): Gloth 25, Waak 23, Glassman 13, Roeckline 13.
Mt. Hebron 48, Reservoir 18 (Willow Springs)
MH (1-1): Chris Bone 14, Beckett France-Kelly 13, Ethan Kang 11, Gavin Fleck 10.
Re (0-4): Jack Holmes 9, Finn Riley 6, Ian Withers 2, Keiran Green 1.
Centennial 72, Long Reach 52 (Willow Springs)
C (3-0): Dustin Stocksdale 25, Dominic Trojillo 20, Ty Beck-Winter 17, Krish Ghosh 10.
LR (0-3): Ethan An 18, Jake Filler 14, Matt Peters 10, Shan Husain 10.
Don’t see scores or stats from your favorite team? Send results and any game information to Jacob Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com.
