Five minutes before penalty kicks, Key senior goalkeeper Angus Lunt-Woodward looked to his coach and made sure five players were on the field by the end.
“The leadership he exhibits is unreal,” Obezags coach Jake Rainey said.
Key boys soccer would not be Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association C Conference champions for the first time in 11 years without Lunt-Woodward, from his conference-leading saves all season to the moment he stepped in to face five Gunston shooters.
Lunt-Woodward saved the first Gunston penalty kick, then misread the second. Key’s Alex Bubnov and Austin Neise netted both of their attempts. Then, a blond-headed figure emerged from the midfield line — Ethan Harper.
The Herons junior scored both Gunston goals, unstoppable chips that even rendered the entire Key defense frozen for one.
Lunt-Woodward lunged. Harper’s shot hit the post.
“That was big,” the keeper said. “I was more happy I guessed the side.”
Up 3-1 in the shootout, Lunt-Woodward guessed the final Herons shot would line to the left.
“I saw the ball going middle and I didn’t think about anything,” the keeper said. “I just stuck my foot out and made the save.”
The shot smacked off Lunt-Woodward’s leg, and he sat completely still as his teammates surged toward him. The Obezags prevailed, 3-2, at UMBC.
“We haven’t won the championship in 11 years — that’s what really hit me,” he said. “It hasn’t settled in yet. It’s surreal.”
The comeback was accomplished by a team of mostly underclassmen, two seniors and three starting freshmen among the lot. It was very unlike the senior-laden Key team that nearly quenched its championship drought in 2019, but fell by a goal in overtime. When Rainey arrived last fall, he spent the first month teaching soccer.
Last year’s team had more technical players, he said, however few, whereas this year’s group was a unit in the dictionary sense of the word. He’d never seen them play more cohesively than Sunday.
“The inner-squad competition at the beginning of the year was very strong, everyone pushing each other to the best of their ability,” Rainey said. “And today, you saw a performance with no weak spots, pure grit in the last couple minutes.”
Key (11-5) planned to work to its quickest wingers and midfielders. Gunston’s outside backs dismantled that idea quickly.
Key’s pressure met Gunston’s goal like storm waves against a cliffside. It didn’t matter how much force it arrived with, for it broke in a spray of blue and white in shots high or wide.
Midway through the half, drawn-out possessions dissolved to back-and-forths. Lunt-Woodward absorbed two saves in his chest. But when the Herons’ third shot drummed his way, he froze. His defense did too. Everyone, Harper, seemed to stop in time. But the ball didn’t.
“He just chipped it right over,” Lunt-Woodward said.
Down 1-0 at halftime, Key realized it needed to draw attention to the left side, step in and make space in the middle.
“We know that when we start moving the ball around, other teams can’t contend with us,” Rainey said. “This season, most of our goals come from scraps, second chance.”
For Key freshman Anthony Aguilar, who’d headed the go-ahead in the first Herons game, it was muscle memory.
The freshman captain surged with a flock of Herons on his heels toward Gunston keeper Semeyo Owino. The red-clad goalie took a step forward; his teammates fell a step behind Aguilar.
One shot smacked Owino and flew back. The Obezag didn’t hesitate.
The first equalizer goal was the spark Key needed.
“He has the size and strength of a senior, but he has the maturity of one, too,” Rainey said. “He feels confident, with any ball in the air, he can go win.”
Goals — KY: Anthony Aguilar 1, Tommy Donnelly 1 ; GN: Ethan Harper 2
Penalty kicks — KY: Austin Neise 1, Alex Bubnov 1, Davis Chapman 1
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