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Catoctin High senior Amanda Kline didn't cry as she unfastened her goaltending equipment following Thursday afternoon's 4-0 loss to Carroll County's Manchester Valley in the Class 1A West Region finals.

Though her last season as a Cougars' field hockey player ended on a sour note, the setback won't affect how fondly she'll look back on the 2009 campaign, which she called her favorite at the school.

Fifth-seeded Manchester Valley advances to play the winner of the South Region championship game between Kent County and Bohemia Manor of Cecil County.

Manchester Valley a school which just opened this year, peppered Kline's net throughout. The Mavericks pushed No. 3 Catoctin back onto its heels, particularly in the second half.

Following a scoreless first half, freshman Colby Unkle gave the Mavericks a 1-0 lead off a Miranda Daskins feed less than two minutes after intermission. Erin Pace deflected in a Sarah Boch pass with 6:51 remaining for a 2-0 advantage.

Down 2-0 with the clock ticking away, Catoctin couldn't establish any semblance of offense. Manchester Valley's Mandy Gates and Daskins combined to put the game away, with two late scores both punched in by Gates.

"The first half was really good," Kline said. "We stayed strong, but something happened. We lost something in the second half that we didn't have in the first half. Once they scored the first goal, I don't know what happened."

The Mavericks (5-8) attempted 12 penalty corners, scoring twice. They out shot Catoctin 10-4 and got four saves from net minder Rebecca Leftkowitz.

Chances were few and far between for the Cougars. Perhaps the best opportunity occurred midway through the second half, when junior Carly Farr redirected a corner from classmate Ashley Smith wide right of the goal.

Catoctin, which hasn't claimed a region title since 1982, couldn't muster up any of the magic which carried it over Baltimore's Carver A&T in the semifinals after an opening round bye. The Cougars finished at 4-9-1.

"We had high hopes just because we wanted this so bad," Kline said. "Our season doesn't show what we went through with practicing and stuff. I think we won four games and it's been tough, but we were really looking forward to this today."