FREDERICK — Mountain Ridge’s season came to an end in heartbreaking, and arguably controversial, fashion in the Class 1A semifinals on Saturday at Linganore High School.
The Miners (17-1) fell in overtime to Brunswick 2-1.
With just under seven minutes remaining in overtime, the Railroaders (13-3-3) set up for a free kick.
Chris Vasques-Molina fired a shot that landed near the goal line.
The ball was kicked out of the goal by the Miners, but after discussion, the officials ruled the ball had crossed the goal line and awarded Brunswick a goal to win the game.
“I hate that the officials determined the outcome of that game,” Mountain Ridge head coach Tim Nightengale said. “That was a hard fought game by both sides, both teams had played extremely hard, it was back and forth.
“And for that call to be made, when we believe he didn’t have a clear view, and our boys said it wasn’t over the line, that’s a tough way to allow that game to end. In 23 years, I’ve never had that type of disappointment and that call determine the game. Let the boys determine that call.”
The assistant referee said it crossed the goal line, but Mountain Ridge believes he didn’t have the best view of the play.
The Miners led 1-0 at halftime after Charlie Simpson converted on a header about 12 minutes in.
The Railroaders led 10-8 in shots and 6-5 in shots on goal, but the Mountain Ridge defense did what it had done all season, styming any chance Brunswick got near the goal.
About four minutes into the second half, Chase Malone received a through ball on the right sideline and fired a shot into the top left corner to tie the score.
Brunswick led 10-5 in shots and 6-2 in shots on goal in the second half, as both defenses made countless plays to force overtime.
“That was the best team we’ve played all year,” Nightengale said. “Brunswick’s a quality team, you’re not gonna get many shots on goal against a top team like that.”
The Railroaders finished with a 21-13 lead in shots, 13-7 on goal and a 3-0 edge in corners.
The Miners’ Ashton Reuschel recorded 11 saves while Elias Connor stopped six shots for Brunswick.
Mountain Ridge’s season came to an end, along with the high school soccer careers of 13 seniors.
This year’s class includes Nick Vitak, Reeve Miller, Josh Warnick, Gavin Clayton, Ryan Piasecki, Reuschel, Landon Shaw, Aiden Pirolozzi, Evan DeRiso, Landon Sweitzer, Simpson, Tyler Cook and James DeCarlo.
“These 13 seniors brought our program back to the top,” Nightengale said. “We’ve been down since 2019, we’ve been competitive, but these boys brought this program back to the top of the mountain this season of area soccer and in the state. So we’re real proud of what the 13 seniors have done, we’re gonna miss every one of them.”
The Miners returned to the semifinals for the first time since 2019 and the sixth overall.
This season, Mountain Ridge outscored its opponents 65-6.
“They’re gonna remember the relationships that were formed, the friends they have, the brotherhood they have,” Nightengale said. “They’ll talk about this for a long time. This is gonna sting for a long time, they’ll remember this for the rest of their lives. But the relationships that were created, the friendships that were created, and the work that we put in, it was truly a family.”
Brunswick advanced to play Liberty in the championship game on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Loyola University.