North Hagerstown tops Williamsport for unofficial WCPS boys soccer tourney title

WILLIAMSPORT — The regular-season boys soccer match between North Hagerstown and Williamsport on Thursday night had several layers of significance to it.

Not only were the Wildcats unbeaten on the season and hosting a formidable Hubs squad, the game also served as the championship of the Stan Stouffer Showcase, which this year was treated as the unofficial Washington County Public Schools tournament.

North (7-2) went home with all of the honors, scoring three goals off penalty kicks to win 3-0 for its sixth shutout of the year while handing Williamsport (7-1) its first loss.

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“It’s a great win against a great team, an undefeated team,” said Hubs coach Uriel Galvan, after being presented the championship plaque by Stan Stouffer, the former longtime Williamsport boys soccer coach who guided the Wildcats to state titles in 1979 and 1996.

“Williamsport has all the tools to win states. It’s a quality win,” Galvan continued. “The plaque is just an addition to it. It’s better to think about how we performed, and I’ll take the performance.

“The kids enjoyed it and worked hard for it. They knew this was a final, and they showed up and played.”

North capitalizes on PKs

The Hubs went up 1-0 in the ninth minute. After Wildcats goalie Braydon Blair received a yellow card for tripping in the box, North’s Bryson Rohrer faced backup keeper Gavin Sprout for the penalty kick.

Sprout blocked the shot, but the deflection went straight back to Rohrer, who easily punched it in for his team-leading eighth goal of the year.

North extended the lead to 2-0 in the 52nd minute after Blair received a second yellow card for tripping in the box, resulting in his ejection.

Teague Eichelberger blasted the PK into the net past Sprout, but the goal didn’t count due to encroachment by a North player.

Eichelberger had to retake the shot, and this time his successful attempt counted for his third goal of the season.

With just under three minutes left in the game, Williamsport again was penalized for tripping in the box. Thiago Moreira converted the PK for his first score of the year.

“A real strange game, just a couple things I’m kind of puzzled by,” said Chris Downs, who’s in his 15th and final season as the Wildcats’ coach.

“I’ve never seen that in my life, just the three penalties. … (Blair) has to be allowed to stand his ground and play ball.”

Tough week for the ’Cats

Williamsport had to face North just two days after its 3-2 win over Brunswick, the two-time defending Class 1A state champion.

“We expelled a lot of energy on Tuesday night in our Brunswick win,” Downs said. “We knew coming in that it was going to be a challenge. (North is) a good side, so I was pretty pleased that we really didn’t give up a lot of quality opportunities. That says a lot about our kids, the fact that we fought. That’s something we’ll build upon moving forward.

“We’ll pick up and we’ll go again Saturday (against South Hagerstown),” he added. “We’re still in really good shape in the region (2A West Section I), two games up for the 1 seed. We’re in a good spot, and in some ways I think we needed this.”

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‘Something to play for’

For the first time, the Stan Stouffer Showcase, annually hosted by Williamsport, was comprised entirely of the county’s six public-school teams and no longer treated as just a mixer.

After first-round matches, North defeated South 4-0 and Williamsport edged Clear Spring 2-1 in the semifinals.

Because the teams were unable to add a championship game to their schedules, their regular-season match turned into the final.

“We were trying to give the kids something to play for, and if we can tie it in with the way we honor Stan here, it’s even better,” Downs said. “Stan’s been a pillar of this community for many years, and I’m very close to him. It would have been nice to win that in my last year, but it’s OK. I’m just glad the kids had something to play for.”

Hubs continue their climb

With the win Thursday, the Hubs also got a leg up on the Wildcats in their chase for a second straight Tesla Cup, awarded annually to the Washington County public-school team with the best regular-season record against the other WCPS teams.

“I don’t pay attention or make a goal to win this or win that,” Galvan said. “If you do your work, you’re going to get those along the way. If you don’t, then you still continue working on it. It’s not a failure. You’re just working toward something. We’re just climbing a mountain. That’s what I tell the kids.”

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: North Hagerstown takes down Williamsport in boys soccer