ST. MICHAELS — Kent County gave up two goals in the span of 72 seconds and trailed 3-0 with nearly 24 minutes still remaining in the first half, creating an insurmountable deficit for the No. 5 seed in the second round of the Class 1A East Region I high school boys soccer tournament.
No. 1 seed St. Michaels (8-5-1) walked off the pitch with a 3-1 victory Oct. 24, avenging a 2-1 homecoming loss two weeks earlier.
“I knew that they would come out like gangbusters,” KCHS coach Dennis Hickman said of the host Saints, who led 2-0 in the seventh minute.
Hickman said he thought about going with a more defensive-heavy starting lineup, but “didn’t want to mess with what had been working.”
But hindsight being 20-20, the second-year head coach added, “It’s hard to beat a good team twice, especially for a team like us that struggled to score all year.”
“Scoring three goals would be difficult,” Hickman acknowledged of the Trojans, who averaged 2.4 goals a match in their 5-7 regular season — a stat inflated by the eight goals scored at Cambridge in their first win of the season.
Two of St. Michaels’ goals were scored on set pieces, the first coming off a corner kick in the sixth minute.
What would prove to be the winning goal was scored in the seventh minute, a shot taken from about 30 yards out from the right side that soared over the head of Kent County senior keeper Peter Sine and landed deep in the opposite corner of the net.
Sine made terrific saves on the Saints’ next two scoring chances, charging off the line and colliding with an opposing player in the eighth minute and diving to his left in the ninth minute for a stop.
Then, the Trojans started to assert themselves offensively.
Stewart Hickman had their first quality shot in the 11th minute, a direct kick from the right side.
In the 12th minute, Sebastien Cousineau made a nice run down the right side for a well-positioned chip shot.
Gabe Parr’s shot from close range in the 13th minute was turned away.
And Yesner Perez’s shot in the 16th minute sailed over the cage.
“We just had trouble finding the back of the net,” coach Hickman said matter-of-factly.
St. Michaels capitalized on a long throw-in that was subsequently booted in from the middle of the box to extend its lead to 3-0 in the 17th minute.
At that point, freshman Jake Stumpf replaced KCHS’ starting keeper Stine, who had been injured earlier in the player collision.
Stumpf made his first save in the 20th minute, smothering the ball.
He made six more stops before the half was out — on the ground, in the air, darting off the line to thwart a one-on-one scoring opportunity and batting away a direct kick taken from 30 yards out.
The Trojans earned two corner kicks before intermission, in the 22nd and 35th minutes, but neither opportunity led to a shot on goal as the score remained 3-0 at the break.
KCHS pitched a shutout over the ensuing 40 minutes, in part to some stellar goalkeeping from Stumpf (13 saves) and a defensive save from Noah Iacona.
Fox Ford had Kent County’s first scoring chance of the second half in the 49th minute with a direct kick from about 30 yards out that was on target but over the crossbar.
There was a corner kick in the 63rd minute that was well beyond the cage.
Iacona ultimately put the Trojans on the board in the 70th minute with a well-placed, low shot that tucked into the left corner.
Iacona almost scored again in the 73rd minute when his direct kick dinged off the underside of the crossbar and dropped into play near the mouth of the goal. In the subsequent scrum in the box, no Kent County player was able to get a foot on the ball and St. Michaels was able to successfully clear.
On the final offensive push of the night, St. Michaels’ goalie beat Jake Wade to the ball on a breakaway.
The Trojans opened tournament play two days earlier with a 2-1 sudden victory at Colonel Richardson.
Parr netted the golden goal, following his own initial shot on a breakaway that deflected off the keeper for his team-leading eighth score of the season.
Afterward, coach Hickman said Parr had “his best game all year, battling in the middle against tough defenders.”
Also earning high marks were Bryce Jacobs for his play on the defensive left side and Stewart Hickman who embraced his leadership role as the Trojans’ coach on the field.
Ford gave KCHS a 1-0 lead late in the first half with a direct kick top shelf that slid through the goalie’s hands.
No. 4 seed Colonel Richardson (5-7-1) tied it up with just seconds remaining in the half on a deflection.
Kent County’s best chance to regain the lead in regulation came on a penalty kick taken by Ford that was blocked by the goalie.
The Trojans finish 6-8, matching last year’s record.
Overall, head coach Dennis Hickman said, “I kinda feel like we didn’t quite meet our potential. … I put some of that on my shoulders.”
In a preseason interview, Hickman told The Evening Enterprise that “realistically” the Trojans should finish .500 or a win or two above .500.
There also were challenges that were beyond Hickman’s control, including a sprinkler system upgrade in Trojan Stadium that prevented KCHS from having a true home match — they played at either Worton Park or Washington College — and a scheduling snafu that led to scrambling for a scrimmage just a few days ahead of the Sept. 8 opener.
In the big picture, however, it looks as if the program is on an upward trajectory.
After three-win and four-win campaigns in 2022 and ’23, respectively, KCHS has had back-to-back six-win seasons.
Also, for the second year in a row, a robust turnout — this year’s player count was 30-plus — has made it possible for Kent County to field a junior varsity squad.
Four starters will graduate from this year’s team — Colbyn Lopez, Peter Sine and captains Stewart Hickman and Noah Iacona.
NOTES: No. 2 seed North Dorchester (8-6-1) eliminated host St. Michaels in the region final, 2-1.
In the state quarterfinals, Allegany (12-3-1) ousted North Dorchester, 4-0.
Liberty (9-5-2) then defeated Allegany, 2-1, in overtime in the semifinal round to earn a date with Brunswick (11-5) for the Class 1A state title on Saturday, Nov. 15 at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
Brunswick advanced after defeating Chesapeake Science Point (7-9) in the semis, 4-1.
