AJ, a senior, and Brinkley, a junior, have dominated the competition since they arrived to play for the Howard County power. In their three seasons together, the Gladiators have reigned supreme each time.
“We talked a lot leading up to this,” AJ said. “It was a wave of emotions of sadness and excitement, and we came into this game very confident. And just to have fun — that was our main goal.”
It’s hard to imagine they didn’t.
Easily recognizable by their neon headbands, the sisters operated on a higher plane than anyone else on the field at Paint Branch High in Burtonsville. They navigated tight spaces with comfort, frequently leaving Hereford (13-3) defenders in the dust and acting as the catalysts of the Gladiators’ attack.
Forty-five seconds into the third quarter, AJ unleashed a backhanded shot for her first of three goals. Then came Brinkley’s moment, a strike from the top of the shooting circle to double Glenelg’s lead.
After another third-quarter goal, AJ’s hat trick-securing tally was assisted by Brinkley with just over a minute left — a fitting end to an illustrious era.
“I’m super happy for her,” Brinkley said. “I’m sad that she’s leaving me, but I’m excited for her.”
“It means the world to me,” AJ added. “I couldn’t ask for a better end of my last high school season ever, last game with my sister.”
Outside of a brief surge at the end of the second quarter, Glenelg controlled the game from start to finish. The Gladiators spaced the field flawlessly to generate an abundance of scoring opportunities.
You wouldn’t know from their play that their coach, Martie Dyer, took the job only a week before this season began.
With Glenelg looking for its third coach in as many seasons, Dyer insisted she planned to retire after a long career at various stops. But she eventually accepted the position, familiar with many of the players on the team from her time on the club circuit. Knowing the talent at her disposal, she envisioned another title as a distinct possibility.
“I thought we could do it,” Dyer said. “… They had to learn a little bit of a different style and what I expect of them, and they adjusted to it well.”
Dyer met the Eyre sisters when they showed up at one of her camps in elementary school. As she coached them for the final time Saturday, she saw them reach the heights they and their teammates have become accustomed to — another championship.