CRESAPTOWN — A late goal from Blake Dwire and a tenacious defensive effort lifted No. 4 Calvary past Faith Christian, 1-0, Thursday and into the Mason-Dixon Christian Conference championship game.
The second-seeded Eagles (15-3-1) will face top-seeded Grace Academy (10-3-2) on Saturday at 7 p.m. at North Hagerstown High School.
Calvary controlled the first half Thursday outshooting Faith, 6-0, but it wasn’t until the 71st minute that the Eagles found the winner.
Luke Kamouf sent a pinpoint pass to Dwire from the right corner to the top of the 18-yard box, and Dwire drilled a shot into the right side of the net for a 1-0 lead.
Calvary’s backline of Brady Morgan, Gerald Mihailovich, Silas Leith and Chais Murphy shut down the Faith attack, limiting the team from Martinsburg, West Virginia, to just one shot.
Elijah Ziler and Mihailovich dominated the game from the midfield.
Peyton Poland saved the only attempt for a cleansheet. Daniel Hobbs had eight saves to keep Faith in the game.
No. 1 Mtn. Ridge 2, Williamsport 0
FROSTBURG — Charlie Simpson broke a scoreless tie off a set piece to lead No. 1 Mountain Ridge past Williamsport on Thursday.
The win sets up the area’s biggest soccer match of the season, as the unbeaten Miners (13-0) host No. 2 Southern (11-1) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
If Southern is victorious, then it would force a coin flip for the No. 1 seed in the Class 1A West Region I playoffs as well as a shared Western Maryland Athletic Conference championship. The Miners are 7-0 in the conference and the Rams are 6-1.
Because tournament games don’t count for playoff standing, Mountain Ridge has an 11-0 playoff record and Southern is 10-1.
Simpson’s goal came after a scoreless first half. Trenton Diamond connected with the forward off a corner kick with 15:30 to play.
Austin Simpson scored the Miners’ second unassisted with 17 seconds remaining.
The Miners had an 18-8 edge in shots and 7-0 in corner kicks. Mountain Ridge keepers Ashton Reuschel made three saves and James DeCarlo had two in the shutout.
Kruz Jackson had seven stops for Williamsport.
No. 2 Southern 5, Petersburg 0
PETERSBURG, W.Va. — Ben Lohr tallied a pair of goals to guide No. 2 Southern over Petersburg on Wednesday in a physical game on a wet pitch.
Both of Lohr’s goals were before halftime, the latter assisted by Charlie Buchanan, for a 2-0 Rams lead at the break.
Buchanan, Sean Eiswert and Max Farenschon scored after halftime. Kade Savage and Shane Sisler had assists.
Southern finished with a 27-5 advantage in shots and 8-0 edge in corner kicks. Brady Spotts had four saves for the Rams in goal.