CHESAPEAKE CITY — Kent County successfully defended against four penalty corners in the final 2 minutes, 10 seconds of the first half, including two corners that were taken after time expired, and rode out a man-down situation with five and a half minutes remaining in regulation, but as the final seconds ticked away could not contain Rylee Dayton.
Bo Manor’s senior standout scored with 1:05 remaining to break a 1-1 tie, and thwart Kent County’s upset bid.
Thursday’s showdown was the second game of the week for the Eagles, who opened their season with a 4-3 sudden victory at Harford Tech, while it was the lid-lifter for the Trojans.
Bo Manor found the back of the cage about six minutes in to take a 1-0 lead.
KCHS netted the equalizer with 6:33 to play in the second quarter when sophomore Mali Wirth put back the rebound of classmate Abby Gallo’s shot.
After that, however, Kent County played mostly defense for the remainder of the half when Bo Manor earned corner after corner because of fouls in the circle.
But the resilient Trojans, led by freshman goalie Miley Mincey and backs Tess Fuchs, Taylor Strong and Jane Cleary, did not surrender. Mincey made three stops inside the final 1:16, including a kick save with 11.2 seconds to play before intermission.
Kent County was awarded back-to-back corners with less than a minute to play in the third quarter, but was unable to capitalize, keeping the score deadlocked at 1-1.
Dayton’s go-ahead goal, which held up as the game-winner, was the result of an impressive individual effort. Dodging opposing players, she carried the ball from midfield to the end line on the left side, and then muscled her way to the post before poking the ball past Mincey.
While time was clearly not their ally, the Trojans did not quit. They quickly regrouped and worked the ball into the circle where freshman Keelyn Clayton fired off a shot with 40 seconds to play that was wide right.
When the horn sounded, four of Kent County’s five freshmen were on the field. They all played at some point during the game, including three who started.
The rebuild of Kent County’s varsity-only program continues with encouraging results. The roster now numbers 16 players, up from 14 a year ago and just 11 — the minimum number to fill every position — in 2023.
Defender Tess Fuchs and forwards Grace Gerstung and McKenna Messick are the returning seniors.
There are three juniors, midfielder Liza Loller and defenders Taylor Strong and Jane Cleary, a field hockey novice who played soccer the previous two years.
Kent returns four of the six freshmen who were on last year’s one-win squad: midfielders Abby Gallo and Clare Gerstung and forwards Nevaeh Blackiston and Mali Wirth.
There are six first-year high school players: sophomore defender Aiyanna Copper and freshmen Miley Mincey (goalie), Abby Parr (defender), Audri Manning (midfielder), Mackensie Egolf (forward) and Keelyn Clayton (forward).
The Trojans are led by longtime head coach Suzie Wright-Taylor and assistant (and daughter) Maddie Wright Taylor-Kerrigan.
KCHS opens its season with three games in a row on the road.
The first home game is Thursday, Sept. 18 against James M. Bennett.
