CUMBERLAND — Four Sentinels scored a goal on Wednesday in No. 1 Fort Hill’s 5-0 win over Southern at Greenway Avenue Stadium.
“It’s a good win, I thought we really controlled, especially in the first half,” Fort Hill head coach Zach Steckman said. “We came out second half and got another goal and then just kinda fell off, got a little lazy, a little complacent. Southern really could’ve put a few in the back of the net there.”
It took less than six minutes for the Sentinels (11-2, 4-2 Western Maryland Athletic Conference) to strike first.
Korbin McKenzie set up a throw-in where several Fort Hill players were around the net.
Sam Spencer won the scramble and finished the play to put the Sentinels ahead 1-0.
“We just weren’t men in the first half,” Southern head coach Camden Nichols said. “And Fort Hill were men, that’s why they win games. We weren’t up to the challenge, obviously, they’re great on set pieces. Kudos to them, they’re the better team.”
About 10 minutes later, Anthony Palumbo lined up for a corner kick.
Hunter Raines took the first touch and set up Jacob Bone for a header to double Fort Hill’s lead.
“They can launch it from a mile away,” Nichols said of defending Fort Hill’s set pieces. “And they put it right on your keeper’s head. If you don’t have a guy that can get it, it really can make it difficult.”
Less than three minutes after Bone’s score, Liam Hamilton scored off an Anthony Palumbo assist.
With just under 16 minutes before halftime, Hamilton scored on a direct kick to extend the halftime lead to 4-0.
“That’s kind of been our thing lately,” Steckman said of the fast start. “We always talk about starting fast and being the aggressor, being on the front foot. Lately we’ve been doing that, and we get energy when we start like that, especially when we put a ball in the back of the net or win the first 50-50 ball. We put two in the back of the net early and then it just carries over.”
The Rams (4-8, 0-6 WestMAC) did not attempt a shot until the 4:25 mark of the first half and were out-shot 12-2.
Just over a minute into the second half, a through ball by Vincent Largent set up John Reinhardt for a quick goal.
Southern led 12-11 in shots in the second half and nearly scored about 13 minutes in.
The initial shot was blocked and the follow-up went in, but was called back for an offsides foul.
Fort Hill finished with a 25-14 lead in shots including 15-10 on goal.
“I think that has a lot to do with it,” Steckman said of the lack of effort with a sizable lead. “I think we scored early in the second half, and when you got a lead and get up on somebody, you do kinda get lazy. We subbed a lot, we were rotating guys in and out. That kinda plays into it.”
The Rams led in corner kicks 4-3 with all four coming after halftime.
“We were three out of four wins coming into tonight,” Nichols said. “We were kinda on a good run there. We lost to Mountain Ridge in double overtime (2-1), we thought we were putting some pieces together. Obviously, slipped tonight, but have Clear Spring at home, hopefully we can get a better result there.”
Brady Spotts recorded 11 saves for Southern while Bobby Brauer finished with 10 for Fort Hill.
Wednesday was the first game for the Sentinels in eight days after beating Frankfort 5-2 last Tuesday.
“We told the guys, we won those nine straight games and they were within about a 18 to 20 day span,” Steckman said. “We were in great form, we were fresh, we were getting back out there almost every other day. So we talked about trying to keep that form. We should be fresh after a week off, and I feel like we started off that way.”
Both teams conclude the regular season on Saturday.
The Rams host Clear Spring (8-3) at 1 p.m. while the Sentinels travel to Jefferson (3-13-1) at 2 p.m.