But on Monday, the No. 4 Cougars finally broke through via a penalty kick in the final minute of the first half and an overtime tally to win, 2-1, in Gaithersburg.
The equalizing goal and Coach Peg Keiller’s halftime talk gave Quince Orchard the confidence to play to its full potential: a team capable of taking down the back-to-back state champions and again contending for a title of its own.
“We got behind them in every game and we didn’t score [last year],” Keiller said. “That’s what we talked about at halftime. I said: ‘We still look scared, like why are we? We can’t be scared.’ ”
Ellie Hodge raced in behind Whitman’s defense and won Quince Orchard’s first-half penalty kick. Her twin sister, Erin Hodge, converted to make it 1-1 at the break. After an even second half, Ellie found the back of the net three minutes into overtime to complete the Cougars’ comeback.
Quince Orchard’s entire bench flooded onto the field, and a crowd of players dressed in black jumped up and down.
“It felt really good. I could tell everyone was really happy because everyone was really working towards this,” Erin Hodge said. “We were all really pumped up for the game. We all really wanted to come out and win.”
If the Cougars and Vikings are to meet in the playoffs again this season, the matchup would come much earlier in November.
Quince Orchard moved into Whitman’s region (Class 4A West II), which also includes Walter Johnson, Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Churchill and Gaithersburg. Nine of the last 15 Maryland 4A championships are in that region. (Bethesda-Chevy Chase also won a Maryland 3A title during that time span.)
“This region is, by far in my eyes, the most complete and most difficult region,” Whitman Coach Greg Herbert said. “Every time you play a division opponent, you know that that’s a team that’s capable of running the table in the playoffs.”
Quince Orchard (3-0) has already passed early tests against new regional foes, defeating No. 7 Walter Johnson, 2-1, in its season-opener and downing Churchill, 6-2. The Cougars also scored early to go up 1-0 over Bethesda-Chevy Chase before the game was suspended because of weather; it will be finished at a later date.
Then came Monday night against Whitman (2-1) — a landmark victory for Quince Orchard. The Cougars recorded their first win over the Vikings since 2019 and handed Whitman its second loss since October 2021.
Keiller said Quince Orchard has been able to pick up where it left off last season with eight returning starters and plenty of experience. Now, the Cougars have the belief to build on their early-season success.
“They know that they’ve got talent, they know what they can do,” Keiller said. “They didn’t show it in the first half tonight, but they’re not afraid of anything.”