Broadneck Girls Soccer Looking to Win First MPSSAA State Championship

This Saturday at 5 PM, the Broadneck girls soccer team will take the field at Loyola Maryland's Ridley Athletic Complex in the MPSSAA 4A state final. The Bruins are looking to cap off an undefeated season with the program's first MPSSAA state championship.

"We had high expectations entering the season. We believed a region championship was a good possibility given the players we had on the team," head coach John Camm said. "The players have been discussing the road to the state finals since the first day of training."

The team's mark of 15-0-3 has made the Bruins one of the top teams in the state, but there was no guarantee they would make it to Saturday's game. Broadneck first had to win the championship for the 4A East region, which consists of multiple powerhouses like Arundel and Severna Park also being members. The Bruins also had to contend with South River, who had won the past three 4A East championships before this year.

Broadneck has responded well to the stiff competition in the playoffs. The team got by South River on penalties before dispatching Arundel 2-0 in the regional final. In the state semifinal, the Bruins beat another top program, Churchill from Montgomery County, 1-0. The Bruins haven't allowed a goal since the opening round, riding a streak of three straight shutouts.

"We've outscored our opponents 50-5 on the season, and we've just continued to progress through the playoffs," said Camm. "The backs did an outstanding job of limiting the time opposing forwards had on the ball, particularly against South River and Chuchill. The midfielders made their job easier by flying around the field limiting great passes to opponents' forwards."

In the state finals, Broadneck will face Leonardtown from St. Mary's County. Just like the Bruins, Leonardtown is undefeated this year, with an overall record of 18-0-2.

The two teams are familiar with each other- before the MPSSAA realigned the regions this season, Leonardtown was also in the 4A East region. 2013 was the last time the two played in the postseason, which Broadneck won 2-1.

The Bruins are hoping to get the same result on Saturday.

"A state championship would obviously be huge for our program," said Camm. "More importantly, it would be a great reward for all of the players that have worked so hard and sacrificed a great deal of time both in season and the preseason to get to this spot."