On Tuesday, Oct. 28, the North Harford Hawks traveled to Bel Air to take on the Bel Air Boys’ Soccer team in the second round of the MPSSAA state playoffs.

Coming off of a first round bye, the Bobcats were fresh and ready to take on North Harford, whom they beat two weeks earlier at 3-0. The game started off as expected with North Harford pressuring the Bobcats, hoping to cause a mistake. The game was a lot of back and forth, but every time the Hawks cleared the ball, the Bobcats would shove it right back down their throats.

After 40 minutes off play, the score was knotted at 0-0.

“We needed to change how we played,” said Coach Rose. “What we were doing wasn’t working, so we needed to change how to attack them. We needed to ugly the game up.”

The Bobcats did change their style of play, playing more long balls on top of the Hawks’ defense, forcing uneasy clearances and multiple opportunities. North Harford did not give up however, almost scoring from a free kick 25 yards out. That was a wakeup call for Bel Air. With 9 minutes left in the game, the Bobcats took the lead off of a corner kick. Alex Munley swung the ball in to fellow senior Johnallen McKinney who launched the ball into the top of the net, giving the Bobcats the lead in a very nerve racking game. The Bobcats would score again 5 minutes later when JD Bruck played yet another ball over the defense, this time to Zach Memmo who headed the ball past the goalie, securing the game for Bel Air.

“I think we took them too lightly,” said Captain Evan Reinhardt after the game. “They are a good team that shouldn’t be underestimated. But we pulled it out in the end, that’s what good teams do.”

Bel Air’s next game will be against C. Milton Wright on Friday, Oct. 31 at 3:30 p.m. in the regional semifinals. Come out and support your Boys’ Soccer team!