East

Sherwood High School 2 - 1 Paint Branch High School

James Hubert Blake High School 8 - 0 Springbrook High School

Springbrook High School 1 - 6 Sherwood High School

Poolesville High School 4 - 0 Springbrook High School

James Hubert Blake High School 3 - 2 Einstein High School

Sherwood High School 2 - 3 Richard Montgomery High School

Gaithersburg High School 3 - 0 Watkins Mill High School

Clarksburg High School 1 - 8 Sherwood High School

Double overtime

Photo courtesy of AEHS Soccer Instagram. For No. 7-seed Einstein boys’ soccer, the road to the North II Final was daunting. It passed its early test, capturing an 8-7 shootout victory over fellow Montgomery County foe Springbrook, before turning its attention to another familiar county opponent in Blake — the No. 1-seed in its regional bracket. Einstein’s familiarity with Blake was opportune; it had the Bengals’ number after a 5-1 victory earlier in the season. The four-point loss was just one of three defeats Blake suffered all season, and the only one it lost by more than a goal. The Titans channeled that success against Blake once more Friday, demolishing the Bengals, 4-1. Einstein made inroads in the first 10 minutes of action, peppering the net with a few chances that weren’t quite close or powerful enough to be true threats. In fact, it was Blake that had the first premier scoring opportunity of the afternoon, rotating the ball around the edge of the box until an open shot from the right side of the cage opened itself up — the shot crossed the net and outstretched arms of Einstein’s keeper before pinging off the post. Just minutes later, a point blank cross to the center of Blake’s box failed to truly connect with the boot of a Titan attacker, whose shot was scooped up by the Bengals’ diving goalkeeper. The momentum was palpable, though, and on Einstein’s side. That became even more clear over the ensuing minutes. Two close-range free kicks and roughly 15 minutes later, the Titans hit paydirt for their first of four scores of the game. This one came on a free kick from 20 yards out, sneaking around the close side of the defensive wall and fooling Blake’s goalkeeper, who was late on the dive. Blake was able to answer back just before the half. Alhaji B. Koroma took a perfect touch to the center of the field off a throw in. With defenders on all sides, he swung a rope from the top of the box into the bottom right corner, knotting things before the half. The Titans had to keep a few of the Bengals’ shots at bay before the second half, but once they did, the floodgates opened. Around halfway through the second half, Einstein struck again. This time, an intercepted pass on Blake’s back line gave the Titans’ attacker free room to close in on net. A contested shot bounced past Blake’s goalkeeper, who believed it was heading wide of the net. Instead, it hit the back of the net, giving Einstein a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. Just two minutes later, a free kick from all the way on Einstein’s half of the field was pelted deep by its goalkeeper, reaching Blake’s box. Though it was initially punched by Blake’s keeper, the ensuing rebound was promptly put home by the Titans’ swarming attackers. Einstein added extra insurance on a score with 13 minutes left. An Einstein wing flanked the edge of the box, heavily guarded by a Blake defender, but still managed to flick the ball over the keeper on the near side of the net and secure the win. Einstein will take on Richard Montgomery in Round Three next; it previously lost to the Rockets 1-0 on Sept. 29.

Game went to penalty kicks. Gaithersburg winning 3-2. Julian Figueroa for Gaithersburg saving 3 penalty kicks.

On September 12, the Einstein titans played the Blake Bengals at home in a 5-1 domination victory. The game kicked off with an intercepted black ball and almost scoring within 10 seconds into the game from a through pass, but fortunately saved by Einstein goalkeeper #1 Jacob Wexler. Both Einstein and Blake played with intense pressure, as Einstein knew Blake were real contenders from last week's 5-2 win over state Champions Blair. The Titans were given a massive chance, with a blake pass mistake giving #1 Davi Da silva had the chance to score but shot straight to Blake's goal keeper. Blake would put the first points on the board, with a goal from #10 Sebastian Sandgorda Flores after Einstein goal keeper, #1 Jacob Wexler, under cleared his pass and went straight to Flores. With 22 minutes left in the first, Einstein made sure to respond with a #11 Nathan Ramirez finesse shot goal, dribbling through two defenders and shooting with his right foot, catching the goalkeeper off guard and tying the game 1-1. Pressuring was a major pattern within the first half, as the Titans were having a slight advantage but kept recording offsides, crossing the line 4 times. Einstein also received two yellows to players #12 Anthony Guevara and #6 Orlando Lopez, demonstrating strong signs of aggressiveness. Blake matched that aggressive energy, receiving its first yellow card to #23 Edwin Ruiz. Einstein was given one last opportunity in the first with #3 Isiah Pistone got an open volley but shot it wide left. The first half ended with a 1-1 score, with Einstein having 9 total shots compared to Blake’s 3 total shots. The 2nd half of the game started with Blake momentum until possession was lost. Einstein picked up the momentum after the loss possession and scored a goal from #9 Sergio Rodas, completing a simple finish with his left foot and an assist from #11 Ramirez. Einstein took its first lead of the game at 2-1 with 32 minutes left. A third yellow card was recorded by Einstein from #20 Ariel Benitez, due to punching the ball. Einstein goalkeeper, Jacob Wexler, seemed to be taking back from the earlier mistake, recording two important saves by coming up. A strong cross was passed to #12 Anthony Gueverra into the box, with the goal keeper not able to catch the save and allowed Gueverra to tap the goal in with his chest. Einstein’s leads got comfortable with a score of 3-1. The yellow card collection continued piling up for the Titans, with Gueverra receiving a yellow and giving Blake a free kick near the box. This chance for Blake was crushed as it was blocked from Einstein’s wall. Twin Chemistry was set in place for Einstein, as #12 Anthony Guevara set a cross towards his twin, #27 Johnathan Guevara, for a magical header into the opposite side of the goal, bringing the lead to 4-1 with 15 minutes remaining. Blake’s problems continued to worsen, as the first red card was issued to #19 Ivan Romero. Only 10 men would be playing for Blake with 10 minutes left. Einstein set the dagger with a deep end free kick miles from the box, scored by #6 Orlando Lopez, having the ball hit cross bins over the goalkeepers head. Time eventually ran out as Einstein came out with a 5-1 victory. Einstein moves up to 2-0 and will face Rockville on the road while Blake drops to 1-1 and will face Gaithersburg at home.

#19 Gabriel Anderson had the golden goal header for the WHS win!

Dio Ansah opened the scoring for the panthers with 10 mins left to go in the game. Second goal came off a break away with 5 mins remaining from a Ebenezer Solomon assist and a cool finish from captain Daniel Ramirez countysports.zone/scores/view/YRDA7BIC2vdrf3BZ231f4