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With his top-seeded team leading 2-1 with six minutes left in Thursday's Class 4A West Region semifinal against visiting Whitman, Churchill girls soccer coach Haroot Hakopian sent in junior midfielder Julia Bell.
Bell is typically a defensive minded player, but she proved in the final 30 seconds of Thursday's clash that she can be a threat at the other end of the pitch. After the Vikings tied the game, 2-2, Bell finished a well-placed cross from senior Pam Vranis just inside the near post to seal the Bulldogs' 3-2 win and their first regional final appearance in a decade.
"That shows how brilliant I am; I put in a defensive sub and she scores the winning goal," Hakopian said. "I love the fact that Julia scored the winning goal. She is not one of our starters. I put her in because of her fitness. I put her in because she is more defensive."
Churchill will face reigning Class 3A state champion Bethesda-Chevy Chase, a 2-1 winner over Blair Thursday, on Tuesday at Richard Montgomery at 5 p.m.
Bell's game-winning play was one Churchill (14-0-0) spent much time practicing over the week. Vranis is typically the target of double- and triple-teams, but that opens up scoring opportunities for her teammates.
Vranis darted up the left side of the field, drew Whitman's defenders out and, with 28 seconds left on the clock, lofted a left-footed cross mere feet from the goal for Bell to get a head on.
Sophomore Jenna Cantor's goals in the 37th and 48th minutes gave Churchill a comfortable lead, and the Bulldogs appeared to be in control of the contest.
But Whitman (8-7-0), led by senior Kat Barth, junior Lucy Arledge and sophomore Kim Anderson, had pressured Churchill's defense throughout. Despite trailing 1-0 at halftime, the Vikings appeared to have the better first half.
Anderson's bang-bang goals in the 75th and 77th minutes gave the game a whole new dynamic.
Churchill only allowed 3 goals in 13 previous games. Anderson's two on Thursday were the first shots to get past junior goalkeeper Krista Quicker since Oct. 1.
As Hakopian prepared himself for a possible overtime situation, his charges took matters into their own hands. Rather than sit back and try to drain the clock, the Bulldogs pushed forward quickly. And it paid dividends.
Two minutes before her beautiful cross to Bell, Vranis broke through the middle and took her own close-range shot, but Whitman junior goalie Hannah Sasscer came out to stifle that attempt.
"I would never admit this before the game but I was worried coming in that we hadn't been scored on in so long and I wasn't sure how we would handle it," Hakopian said. "But the girls did a great job. They did not get down. I like that [it was a close game]. It's more emotional. It's something we can't say was easy. The girls were tested. It's nice to be in our first regional final in a long time."
B-CC knocks Blair out
When B-CC senior forward Owyn Manson has the ball, it is hard to know what's going to happen.
She has the speed, power and sheer athleticism to do just about anything, but can be inconsistent.
Manson played like the NCAA Division I athlete that she will be next year at Howard (D.C.) University in Thursday's 2-1 regional semifinal win over Blair. With the Barons (15-1-0) and Blazers (11-2-0) locked at 1-1 and just under 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Manson got the ball about 30 yards out, blasted up the right side, cut in and hammered a shot into the net.
"That Owyn, she was not going to be stopped," Blair coach Bob Gibb said. "I think she just knocked like five people out of her way. It's not like people weren't trying to stop her."
Added B-CC coach Rob Kurtz: "Owyn is an enigma. She can have a big impact on a game. She can be the difference. But she has multiple personalities. Lucky for us the All-American Division I Owyn showed up."
B-CC and Blair play contrasting styles; the Barons prefer to methodically move the ball up field while the Blazers play more directly to Jamie Kator and Sofia Read up top.
But B-CC has more big-game experience and the Barons seem to be able to put things together and win when they most need to. Both of Blair's losses this year were at the hands of the Barons.
Junior midfielder Alex Doll put B-CC up 1-0 in the fourth minute. Kator tied it up minutes into the second half.
"We are happy to be moving on," Kurtz said. "And we could not be any more prepared for any situation. We've been through it all: up by a goal, down by a goal, overtime."