Mt. Hebron girls soccer beats Chesapeake-AA, 1-0, for regional title on Leen Jawhar's game-winning OT goal

Oct. 31—Mt. Hebron senior forward Olivia Hoover turned to fellow senior Leen Jawhar before overtime and said, "You've got this."

Jawhar, along with several other Vikings attackers, peppered Chesapeake-AA goalie Ryleigh Smoot with pressure throughout regulation of Tuesday afternoon's Class 3A South Region I final. However, the junior goalkeeper was there to stop each chance, forcing overtime to crown a regional champion.

In the pre-overtime huddle, the top-seeded Vikings confidently said to one another, "We're going to score in the opening minute." That premonition quickly turned into reality.

"We've been here before. We know we can do it and win," Hoover said. "We had two 10-minute overtime periods, but that doesn't mean we have to wait all 10 minutes. The coaches said, 'First 30 seconds it's in.' All our seniors, we said today isn't going to be our last game. We put everything out there and everyone emphasized that we need to win. There was no other option, so we were not going to go down without a fight."

Hoover made a strong run down the side of the field and crossed the ball into the box toward Jawhar. The veteran struck the ball with her right foot and buried the shot past a diving Smoot 56 seconds into the extra session. She instantly threw her arms in the air with joy before being engulfed by teammates as Mt. Hebron captured the program's fifth straight regional title with a 1-0 win over the No. 2 seed Cougars.

"There were so many emotions I can't express it," Jawhar said. "Going into golden goal, first of all I was scared. So, when I saw the ball go into the back of the net, I was just overwhelmed with joy. I knew we could do it in the back of my head, but that reassurance when the ball went into the back of the net I said, 'OK we're good, we're moving onto the next round.' I was happy for my team because we put in work for 80 minutes before that and I knew we deserved it. I was just glad that the results came, the shots weren't going in, but I knew it was bound to come."

No stranger to playing in a high-pressure environment, Mt. Hebron controlled the opening 20 minutes, spending much of its time in the Cougars attacking third. The Vikings (13-1) created multiple high-quality chances off three corners in the first 15 minutes. Yet, Smoot was there to stop each one and keep it a scoreless game. Led by Jawhar, Hoover, Olivia Brogno and Iris Vainieri, Mt. Hebron kept up that persistent offensive pressure for the remainder of the first half.

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It still didn't lead to a goal. Smoot was only just beginning, orchestrating some of her most impactful saves early in the second half. The junior stuffed Jawhar on a pair of in-tight opportunities in the 41st and 42nd minutes.

"She came as a freshman and started from Day 1," Chesapeake coach Kevin Keeter said of Smoot. "She's just grown and grown and she's turned into a leader. She's anticipating shots and her reaction time is phenomenal. She's a phenomenal goalkeeper."

After weathering Mt. Hebron's attacking storm, Chesapeake (11-3-1) nearly took the lead with its potent counterattack in the 56th minute. Junior midfielder Lilly Barnum's shot rolled past Emily Canseven and just wide of the far post on the Cougars' best scoring chance of the afternoon.

Even with their quick counterattack, the Cougars struggled to fight off Mt. Hebron's continual offensive pressure. Smoot preserved the shutout, ushering away Vainieri's left-footed shot in the box. Mt. Hebron's 79th-minute corner and free kick attempts were both unsuccessful and both teams took a five-minute break to regroup.

After a passionate huddle, the Vikings fittingly turned to two of the program's seniors to send them to the next round.

"The seniors Leen and Olivia finishing was the cherry on top," Mt. Hebron coach Tim Deppen said. "They've been arguably two of our most dangerous attacking players this year. With one of our goals being to score more, in a 0-0 game it was kind of like, 'Alright, well who is going to step up?' Leen is so dangerous in front of goal; Olivia is so dangerous in getting around outside backs and getting exactly to that same position she's gotten. To see it happen in less than a minute was just fantastic and the fact it was Olivia to Leen, just awesome."

Hoover and Jawhar are part of a nine-person senior class that has played in countless big moments, including two consecutive state championship games. The group's composure has been a driving force in Mt. Hebron's success throughout the season, as the Vikings move one step closer to their ultimate goal: the program's second state title.