FROSTBURG — As the only undefeated team in the area, a lot has gone Mountain Ridge’s way this season.
On Thursday night, everything seemed to go Mountain Ridge’s way again except for finishing at the net.
However, the top-ranked Miners needed just one finish from Julia Glass in the first half to get them on top in a 1-0 victory against No. 4 Northern Garrett on Senior Night at Miners Stadium.
“The girls played well,” Mountain Ridge coach Jon Miller said. “We played well. They worked hard and we just couldn’t finish. Had a lot of opportunities, just couldn’t put it in.
“I think we’re building in the right direction.”
Even though the Miners (13-0) dominated possession from the opening kick, the Huskies still made things difficult for them defensively.
Then at the 17:25 mark, Mountain Ridge finally cracked the code. Ava Bernard fired a shot right on goal, but it was bobbled by Northern goalie Veda Rebuck.
Glass then tapped it in to give the Miners a 1-0 lead.
It was the sophomore’s 13th goal of the season.
“That was beautiful,” Miller said. “That’s what we’ve been preaching to them all year. We gotta crash the goal on rebounds, and she did it. It was a beautiful play.”
The Miners created more scoring opportunities for the rest of the game, but the Huskies’ defense didn’t let up.
About seven minutes after the goal, Fiona Ruddell received the ball on a cross and almost made it a two-goal lead, but Rebuck made the save.
Myla Bernard then fired three shots on goal that were all saved by Rebuck.
Northern (6-5-1) looked to tie it on a corner kick in the final seconds of the half.
However, the ball was cleared out and went to Ava Armstrong, but her attempt was saved by Rebuck as time expired.
Mountain Ridge led 14-0 in shots in the first half, but Rebuck stopped 10 of them.
The Huskies allowed a lot less shots in the second half, but scoring opportunities were still hard to come by.
The first real scoring chance for either side didn’t come until around the 25:45 mark. The Miners were awarded a corner kick that Ruddell almost scored on.
Two minutes later, Northern was given a corner kick that almost allowed Ainsley McHenry-Sorber to tie it.
With about seven minutes left, the Huskies almost tied it again on a counter attack.
Dorthy Hertel made a run to the net and the Miners’ backline was a little late to get back on defense.
However, Miners goalie Taylor Lamberson stepped out of her line to make the save before Hertel could get it into the net.
According to Northern coach Nate Sorber, Hertel was moved from striker to midfield during halftime, which gave his team more speed.
“They had us running around,” Sorber said. “We had to really do everything we could to keep them out in the first half.”
“I was pleased with the second half. The girls came out. We got a few more opportunities. We were possessing the ball a little bit. I think you fall into a trap with Mountain Ridge where they’re really good at possessing it, and you end up playing faster than you want to and getting the ball off the foot.”
The Miners finished with an 8-2 shots advantage in the second half as Rebuck ended the night with 15 saves.
Lamberson needed to make just one save for her 10th clean sheet of the season. The Miners have allowed only three goals the entire season.
Miller also commended the play of defenders Abby Malone, Ava Bernard and Brinnley Armstrong. Bernard stepped into a starting role in place of an injured Lyla Robison.
“Ava Bernard stepped up, filled her shoes, and we just kept on trucking,” Miller said. “They play hard, they work hard, they play physical and they’re determined to keep it out of there.”
Before the game, Mountain Ridge honored its six seniors: Ruddell, Robison, Lamberson, Skylar Thrasher, Ava Armstrong and Ashlyn Shaw.
Robison, who played in seven games before tearing her ACL, was on the field for the opening kick and received the ball before going on the sideline.
“They’ve been great leaders,” Miller said. “We’re going to miss them dearly. They’re a lot of fun. They work hard, so they’re gonna be hard to replace. Definitely going to be hard to replace next season.
“So we’re trying to work them and we wanna be playing in November.”
Mountain Ridge was coming off another close Western Maryland Athletic Conference match Tuesday against Southern Garrett.
The Miners won that game 2-1 behind goals from Maysa Reece and Ruddell.
Mountain Ridge, which wrapped up the top spot in the Class A West Region standings, has one more regular season game at Williamsport at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Northern finished its regular-season slate and will now prepare for the region playoffs next week.
“I think we feel good about identity defensively,” Sorber said. “We know that’s our bread and butter. We just have to have the confidence we can get a couple goals through against these teams.”