FROSTBURG — Mountain Ridge was a work in progress this season, and early returns exceeded all expectations.
The Miners compiled a 14-3-1 record, allowed just six regular-season goals with 10 shutouts, won the Class 1A West Region I championship and advanced to the state semifinals.
Mountain Ridge bookended its campaign by edging Allegany for the area championship, the program’s record 14th title in 17 years.
“We definitely didn’t expect that from the start of the season,” Mountain Ridge head coach Jon Miller said. “Winning the area wasn’t one of our goals. We figured things would fall into place. We were building all year, moving people around constantly to see where they were the best fit.
“We took it one day at a time, one game at a time, just building to get to the state semifinals. Obviously we wanted to get to state finals, but that didn’t work out. But the girls had a heck of a season. Very proud of them.”
The area championship is chosen by a panel of local sportswriters, with the No. 1 spot in the final poll awarding the title.
Mountain Ridge edged out Allegany receiving three first-place votes to the Campers’ two.
The Miners finished with 23 points in the poll, followed by Allegany (12-1-2) with 22, Southern (10-6-1) with 13, Northern (10-6) with 12 and Fort Hill (5-10) with three.
Hampshire (7-13-1) was the only other school to receive votes (two).
The voting panel is comprised of Jeff Landes, Kyle Bennett, Jordan Kendall and Alex Rychwalski of the Cumberland Times-News and Chapin Jewell of the Mineral News-Tribune.
Mountain Ridge entered this season with a new coaching staff, and it had plenty to work with taking over a Miners program that has never won fewer than 10 games in a season.
Mountain Ridge began the campaign with seven straight shutout wins before a 2-0 loss to Allegany. A road defeat to Boonsboro, 2-0, and a 1-1 draw with the Campers were the only other blips in a Miners run that ended in the Final Four.
“Once we come back from Boonsboro, they put their foot on the throttle and it was game on all the way to the end,” Miller said. “They gave everything they had against Harford Tech. Left it on the field.”
The Miners routed Northern, 4-1, in the region semifinals and knocked out Southern, 5-0, for the title. The Rams eliminated previously unbeaten Allegany, 2-1, in overtime in the semis.
Mountain Ridge romped Perryville, 5-1, in the state quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals for the third time in five years. There, it fell to Harford Tech, 2-1, in extra time.
The Miners finished the campaign with 77 goals and 10 allowed.
Allie Knieriem and Fiona Ruddell led the team with 16 goals apiece, two of four Miners to score double-digit goals along with Ava Armstrong (13) and Myla Bernard (10).
Ruddell racked up a Mountain Ridge-best 11 assists for a team-high 43 points. Knieriem and Bernard had six assists each.
Goalkeeper Taylor Lamberson and defensive standout Lyla Robison led a defense that finished with 11 shutouts, equalling Allegany for the most in the area.
Mountain Ridge graduates senior captains Knieriem and Norah Patterson and four other fourth-years, but the Miners will return seven of their top nine scorers and most of their defense.
“The ultimate goal is to play deep into November and win the state championship and bring it back to Western Maryland,” Miller said. “The girls know that’s their expectation as well. They exceeded all of our expectations this year by leaps and bounds.”