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Escaping with a 5-3 win, the Middletown High girls soccer team got a parting lesson from visiting archrival Walkersville in the Class 2A West Region quarterfinal on Tuesday – a good start can be ruined by a bad finish.

The Knights (13-2) had one of their best regular seasons under head coach Heather Kline, who guided them to a state title in 2004 and to state finalist status in 2005 as well.

So naturally, it's tempting for Middletown to start plotting for a third appearance in the state finals.

"We go game by game," Kline said. "I just keep saying we can't look ahead to that."

Against the Lions (8-8), Middletown was up 2-0 at halftime and 4-1 with 10 minutes left to play.

The Knights dominated the first half, out-shooting Walkersville 6-2. The Lions didn't get their first shot on goal until six minutes were left in the half, off their third corner kick.

Middletown junior forward Jacky Kessler had two goals and an assist, improving to 20 goals on the year. While she's not keeping track of her total goals, she was keeping track of how nervous the last 10 minutes of play made her.

"We started moving people around in different positions, and we started making mistakes," Kessler said.

Walkersville junior midfielder Erin Claro started Middletown's panic with a goal in the 71st minute.

Only six minutes later, senior midfielder Carrie Ingram booted in a long-distance bank shot that hit the sidepost and bounced in for the Lions' third goal, drawing the visitors to within a goal at 4-3 and completely destroying the Knights' comfort zone.

It wasn't until the final two minutes of play that Middletown was able to breathe easy again, after freshman Mackenzie Noel scored a breath-taking goal by leaping over a pile of players and booting the ball in an open net.

Junior Tara Staley added a goal and an assist for Middletown, while junior Jenna Caudle also registered a goal.

The Knights came into the game with a wave of confidence, shown by what is now a seven-game win streak. Key victories over Urbana, Linganore, Tuscarora and Gov. Thomas Johnson made the run even more impressive.

"It was nice getting that 6-0 run through the big teams in Frederick County," Kessler said. "It gives us good hope for the playoffs."

There was also the first battle against Walkersville, which Middletown won 2-0.

But the Lions also had a reason for confidence, after beating Wheaton 6-0 in the first round of playoffs. Junior striker Mampy Beck had three goals in that game, but was scoreless against the Knights.

Junior midfielder Danielle Duffy scored the other goal for the Lions.