Marriotts Ridge sophomore Zoe Stukenberg looked at the clock and knew it was time to make a move.
The No. 10 Mustangs' game against No. 14 Glenelg was tied, as it had been for long portions of the second half, but the clock was winding down and overtime was looming.
Stukenberg had the ball behind the crease and was thinking of trying a left-handed crease roll. "Before I dodged, I looked up and saw there was seven seconds left and I said to myself, 'Oh, I guess you've got to shoot.'"
Stukenberg's shot with 3.6 seconds left to play got past Glenelg keeper Katie Becker (14 saves), giving Marriotts Ridge an 8-7 victory. It was Stukenberg's fourth goal of the game.
"Last year Glenelg beat us on our home field and I think we never really got over that," Stukenberg said. "We wanted to play our best and leave it on the field. We got some breaks and our defense came up huge."
Glenelg and Marriotts Ridge tied for last year's Howard County championship -- each team had one county loss.
Glenelg (3-1) tied the score at 7 when Danielle Baker shoveled in a goal with five minutes remaining in the game. Soon after, two Glenelg defenders picked up yellow cards in quick succession, which left the Gladiators playing short. They weren't back to full strength until the last minute of play.
"Glenelg always shows up to play," said Marriotts Ridge coach Natalie Gaieski. "We needed this game. We needed to feel the pressure. We needed to feel nervous and get used to that."
Glenelg coach Ginger Kincaid said she was proud that her defense could hold Marriotts Ridge (5-0) scoreless for as long as it did. The Mustangs were averaging 20 goals.
"A ground ball here and a ground ball there and it's the difference in the game," Kincaid said. "When you lose with 3.6 seconds to play, you played a great game."