“To be honest, it was a little bit of chaos at first. People just didn’t know where to go, who was going to be where,” Coach Greg Herbert said. “At halftime it was more of just getting the game plan to the girls, and I knew that they were so good that they would be able to adapt to it and execute it.”
Two years ago, the Vikings lost five players to season-ending issues before claiming the title. Last season, the Vikings were without Gemma Davitian, who also missed Friday’s final with an injury, and Riley DeMartino during a triumph against Quince Orchard.
Evelyn Javers filled the void two years ago as a freshman, scoring Whitman’s game-winning goal. She did that again Friday with a powerful 23rd-minute finish that blazed past Blair’s goalkeeper, caromed off the crossbar and found the back of the net.
“It’s different this year being an upperclassman and being more of a leader on the team,” Javers said. “Scoring and being able to help my team win a state championship is really amazing.”
Pratt’s red card eight minutes later gave Blair (16-3) a numerical advantage, but Whitman (15-1) remained on the front foot for most of the game until a late flurry of chances for the Blazers. Blair hit the crossbar twice in the span of two minutes but failed to find the back of the net in its first state championship appearance.
Sheridan Snow tapped in a rebound from her own penalty kick miss to double the Vikings’ lead late and notch her second goal in as many state finals.
“The quality of opportunities we generated still down a man, that’s just reflective again of the talent that these girls possess and the character they possess not to freak out into the second half but stay calm and composed,” Herbert said.
Whitman stormed the field as the buzzer sounded in what’s becoming a yearly routine for the Vikings — hoisting a Maryland 4A championship at Loyola University after its last game of the season.