Budding giants: Titans receive four goals from freshmen to win girls county title

Apr. 16—With eight freshmen on their roster, returning Tuscarora girls soccer players Skylar Andrews and Cali Cammarata admitted they weren't initially sure what to expect when matches began.

It didn't take long for them to realize those young players would be a help, not a hindrance. Anyone who watched Thursday's Frederick County Public Schools championship match likely reached the same conclusion.

Every goal in the match was scored by a Tuscarora freshman, including two from Madison Slater, as the host Titans beat Brunswick 4-0.

While Tuscarora once was a major power in soccer-rich Frederick County, winning three state titles during the 2000s, the Titans had been overshadowed by county heavies like Urbana, Linganore and Middletown in recent years.

Not this season, though, not with a county title to its credit. And since the MPSSAA didn't hold a state soccer tournament this season, which was belated and abbreviated because of coronavirus pandemic, the county title was the only championship the Titans could vie for.

"It's just really sweet, to leave after four years with some type of championship that we were able to get this year," Andrews, a senior, said. "It'll be a great memory, the last memory that I have on this field."

The Titans (9-1) were solid throughout the season, with their lone loss coming to Middletown, and coach Troy Bowers thought they were hungry after suffering a loss to Linganore in the 2019 regional playoffs.

"And we didn't have a lot of seniors last year, and we don't have a ton this year," the coach said. "The seniors we have, have been impactful. But it's a very young driven team right now, so many good freshmen at high levels."

One of those freshmen was Slater, who scored the match's first goal by taking a right-to-left cross from Cammarata and quickly hitting the ball with her left foot as the keeper charged.

Slater contributed on two more scores in the final two minutes, when her corner led to fellow freshman Payton Pilson's goal and she scored on another Cammarata assist.

Two other freshmen teamed up for the match's second goal during the second minute of the second half, when Nina Connors took a cross from Ella Sheridan and fired a shot just inside the left post as the keeper charged.

Cammarata — a junior who joined the Titans in 2019 after transferring from St. Maria Goretti — is no longer surprised by such production from her younger teammates.

"We took on eight freshmen this year, so I was unsure about the chemistry in the beginning," she said. "But we really proved it from the beginning. Even in our fall league, when we were allowed to play, we were undefeated in that, and I knew this team was special."

It could be special for years to come with so many freshmen contributors.

"They're great. They're going to be really good," Andrews said. "I see a lot more championships in the future ... if that's in the future, I'll be there to watch and cheer them on."

Andrews, a midfielder, was one of the players who was instrumental in generating the Titans' strong passing game, which bolstered the attack.

"We all knew each other, but once we started playing with each other more, we started working as a team more and we started developing more passes and everything," Slater said.

Practice helped in that department.

"We go out there on that softball field and we keep it tight and we pass and we move and we work," Bowers said. "We're trying to trust each other, we try to stay active."

With such cohesion, the Titans applied plenty of pressure on goal throughout Thursday's match. While they got the bulk of the match's scoring opportunities, Tuscarora keeper Mia Hill made a couple nice saves.

A slew of clears from Brunswick defender Shianne Tibbs and some saves from keeper Madison Shaffer kept the match from getting out of hand until the final minutes.

Brunswick enjoyed a fine season under first-year coach Dara Demich, starting off with a head-turning win over perennial power Middletown and earning a spot in the county championship match.