Girls' Soccer

River Hill Making A New Statement
By B.J. Koubaroulis
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, November 11, 2007; D07

Still catching her breath following a 4-1 victory over Century in last night's 2A state semifinal at South River, River Hill senior forward Janie Tankard was flustered as she tried to control a swell of mixed emotions.

Cupping her hands over her eyes, Tankard -- who scored two goals to push River Hill into a meeting with Eastern Tech in next Saturday's 2A state final at Broadneck -- tried to explain herself.

"I'm like all over the place right now," Tankard said. "I feel like this whole season, everyone has compared it to last year and how great last year was. And last year was great, but I feel like, finally, we are setting our own statement this year, with this team."

Fourth-ranked River Hill went 20-0 in winning last season's 3A state title, but has since dropped to the 2A division, where it has just one loss and has outscored its opponents, 68-15.

"This team is also capable of great things," said Tankard, who has 15 goals and five assists this season and, as a three-year starter, has helped the Hawks to a 52-4-1 record.

River Hill (17-1-1) will be looking to capture its second straight state title and sixth this decade against Eastern Tech (13-2-1), which scored a 1-0 victory over previously undefeated Parkside (16-1) in last night's other semifinal.

"We got rid of old rivalries and teams that we knew, so, now we have to bring the intensity no matter what because we are not as familiar with them," said Tankard of Eastern Tech.

Tankard controlled junior midfielder Kathryn Rodgers's through pass and dumped two defenders before scoring on a sliding left-footed shot from 20 yards for a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute.

River Hill sophomore midfielder Anna Kim scored in the 46th minute and three minutes later sent a right-footed cross that Tankard finished from 15 yards for a 3-0 lead.

Century junior forward Lauren Resutek scored in the 57th minute on a left-footed shot to the upper right corner before Kim scored her second goal of the game and sixth of the season on a shot that deflected off of a Century player and rolled into the goal in the 76th minute.