GLEN BURNIE — After a rocky 10 days in the middle of its season, Allegany is firing on all cylinders when it needs to be.
The Campers (13-2-2) are on a four-game win streak and looking to reach the state championship game for the second time in school history as they take on defending Class 1A champion Liberty (8-5-2).
Kickoff today at North County High School is at 2:30 p.m.
“We’ve had a good season so far,” said Allegany head coach Blake Geatz. “We were able to check off one of our goals, which was to win the region championship, but that isn’t our ultimate goal.
“We’ve had some tough tests. Some OT losses, an overtime victory. We’ve had a season that I think has progressively gotten better as we went. I feel like we’re in the process of having our best week of practice heading into (today). I’m very happy for these kids.”
Leading the charge for the Campers — Class 1A’s No. 3 seed — is Chris Manherz and Noah Simmons, who have 22 and 16 goals, respectively, to pace the team’s attack.
“It’s super crucial to get them going early, especially playing at a neutral site,” Geatz said. “We’re working on ways to get them involved, combining with the other eight field players out there. They’ve played in high-level games before, so I know they’re ready for it.”
After a season-opening tie against Brunswick, the Campers came out blazing hot to start the year with an eight-game win streak heading into an Oct. 2 Homecoming showdown with Fort Hill.
Looking to move to 9-0-1, Allegany erased a 3-0 halftime deficit, with Manherz tying the game with just over a minute to play. Fort Hill found the winner in the final minute of the second OT to capture the Homecoming Cup.
After an 8-1 rout over Jefferson, the Campers traveled to Frostburg two days later, where they fought for 100 minutes to a 1-1 tie with Mountain Ridge.
Five days later, Allegany again found itself heading to overtime, this time against Class 3A power Linganore, which took the game in the sixth minute of OT.
“I think this team is battle-tested,” Geatz said. “We took two tough OT losses in a short stretch and finally figured one out in the first round of the playoffs against a very good Clear Spring team. If we don’t have the start we want to (today), I think those tests will bring this team confidence knowing that we’ve been there and done that.”
Since the loss to Linganore, Allegany has outscored its opponents 14-1 during its four-game win streak.
After a 2-0 win over the Miners in the region final, the Campers shut out North Dorchester, 4-0, last Friday in the state quarterfinals.
“That Linganore game was the most important thing for this team this season,” Geatz said. “Simply just for them to go out and prove to themselves that they can hang with a team of that caliber, one of the best teams in the state, that was huge for us.
“There was a turnaround from that point after that loss that we feel we can do anything. If we can compete with a 3A powerhouse, we can compete with the best of the best in 1A. The boys have done a great job. They’ve taken little things, little mistakes from each game and have been correcting them in practices and games. It’s really been an upward march since that Linganore game.”
Liberty, the No. 7 seed in Class 1A, has reeled off five straight since losing back-to-back games to Winters Mill and Century just under a month ago.
“We’ve had a good week of watching film,” Geatz said. “We’ve been working on ways we’re going to attack and defend against Liberty. If we can go out and get on them early and put them in panic mode, that’s going to help us massively.
“They’re the reigning 1A champs, which makes this game all the more important. But we’re not playing the invincibles. We’re playing a really good soccer team, but we’re a really good soccer team too.”
The winner of today’s game will play for the state championship against the winner of No. 5 Brunswick and No. 8 Chesapeake Science Point next week.
Liberty is making its 11th state semifinal appearance and looking to make its fifth state title game appearance. Last year was the Lions’ first state crown since 2005, falling in the Class 2A final in 2008 and 2010.
Allegany’s lone state title game appearance came in 2023 when it fell to Harford Tech, 2-0.
This is the Campers’ fifth time they have reached the semifinals.