Mount Hebron coach Scott Conroy chewed out his fifth-ranked Vikings following their 2-0 victory over No. 15 River Hill yesterday.
"He was angry because we gave them so many direct kicks and corner kicks," said Vikings midfielder Pat Halter, who assisted on both Mount Hebron goals. "He thought that was the only way they could score on us."
A light rain fell on the Vikings as they sat on the track after the game and listened to their coach. Conroy said that they dribbled too much after getting the 2-0 lead and that they failed to put River Hill away with a third goal.
"I was really worried about this game, because we were coming off an emotional, overtime win against Wilde Lake," Conroy said. "We had low energy today."
Mount Hebron (5-1 overall, 4-0 league) actually started the game looking every bit like a fifth-ranked team.
"The coaches said to come out strong, so we came out firing," Halter said.
Striker Mike Stromberg scored in the 15th minute off a cross from Halter. And three minutes later, freshman Christian Chacon scored off another Halter cross.
"When Halter passes, good things happen for us," Conroy said.
River Hill looked sluggish in the first half after last Friday's emotional 3-0 loss to top-ranked Centennial. But the first-year Hawks regrouped for a strong second-half showing against Mount Hebron.
"We left them some hope because we didn't get that third goal," Conroy said.
The smaller, younger Hawks played fearlessly, making some hard tackles -- and even drawing a yellow card for one hit.
"They were hitting us, and that surprised me," said Conroy, whose team is the county's biggest and can play a physical style of ball with the best of them.
"River Hill is going to be a nice team when they learn to play better off [Billy] Allen, who creates nicely up top," Conroy said.
River Hill (5-2, 2-2) is a Class 1A school and will not face either Mount Hebron or Centennial, both Class 3A, in the playoffs. Because River Hill starts five freshmen and has no seniors, the Hawks are not expected to defeat older, high-quality teams such as Centennial and Mount Hebron.
"River Hill had everything to win and nothing to lose today, and we had everything to lose and nothing to win," Conroy said.
Pub Date: 10/10/96
