The Middletown High School girls soccer team has been wildly impressive this season at times, but there have also been times when the Knights have been underwhelming.
After starting out the season 7-2 the Knights went on a three game losing skid to end the season. After losses to Linganore, Manchester Valley and surprisingly Walkersville, the Knights finished the season 7-5.
“If anything, [the losing streak] will make us more motivated,” said Knights senior Julia Usiak. “Our practices have been very offense oriented.”
Tonight Middletown will take on Catotctin in the 2A West Section I Quarterfinals at Middletown at 7 pm.
Even with the Knights recent struggles the Cougars are heavy underdogs heading into this game. Catoctin heads into the playoffs sporting a 3-7-2 record, and are fresh off a loss to the 1-10 Rebels in their season finale.
The Knights took on the Cougars in last year’s playoffs. The Knights only won 1-0, a far cry from the Knights previous dominance over Catoctin.
With the Cougars lackluster performance the Knights now face a challenge that they have had difficulty with over the past few seasons: staying motivated for a game againt a subpar opponent.
“Coming back from Walkersville, who I think we definitely underestimated, we can learn from that mistake,” said Usiak. “I think that we can take that experience and use it to our advantage against Catoctin.”
After winning three straight titles the Knights were eliminated in the Section Finals last year, a disappointing result from a program that is expected to compete for a state championship every.
After Catoctin the road ahead for the Knights would likely mean a matchup with Oakdale, a school that is always competitive with Middletown but has never been able to pick up a win.
“Oakdale is a great soccer program,” said Usiak. “I think Middletown always wants it a little bit more though, that’s why we always win.”
The Knights know that they can’t look ahead to Oakdale though. After the Walkersville loss, you never know.
