Bennett wins title in Liberty coach's finale

Boys Soccer

Liberty High School's soccer team brought a 13-game winning streak into Saturday's Class 2A state championship game at UMBC Stadium. The Lions were also playing their final game for head coach Ed DeVincent, who guided Liberty to its only state title in 2005.

Their opponent, James M. Bennett of Wicomico County, was undefeated in 17 starts and coming off a 1-0 semifinal win over Marriott's Ridge.

Despite outplaying the Clippers for 100 minutes of scoreless soccer, the Lions weren't able to take home the title. Bennett outscored Liberty 5-3 in penalty kicks to win the school's first soccer championship.

"It was a great game," said DeVincent, who completed a stellar 13-year Liberty career with a 156-46-13 record. "It's a tough way to end. Our kids have grown so much since the beginning of the season and they played a great game today."

Bennett and Liberty battled through two, 40-minute halves and two 10-minute overtime periods before settling the championship with penalty kicks. Bennett's Kyle Yingling scored on the first kick and the Lions' Matt Gillen matched the score with a shot inside the left post.

After the Clippers' Dan Webster scored, Liberty's Connor Rigby booted a shot that glanced off Bennett goalkeeper Ross Evans and went in.

Bennett's Tom Malone and Liberty's Steve Witte converted their attempts and Dominic Dibartolo put Bennett ahead. Evans made a sprawling save on Eric Skelly's kick, and Bennett's James Moyer followed with the championship-clinching shot into the right corner of the net.

It was a difficult defeat for Liberty, which finished with a 15-3-1 record. The Lions, the Class 2A state champions in 2005, outshot Bennett by a 17-2 margin and had 11 corner kicks to just two for the Clippers.

But Liberty had few looks at the goal from close range and Evans made 10 saves to support Bennett's strong defensive effort.

The Lions, who defeated Clarksburg to win the Class 2A West Region title and then topped Loch Raven in the state semifinals, had several scoring chances but couldn't turn them into a goal.

Junior forward Michael Bender nearly scored in the first half, but his shot sailed left; and Rigby's header with 13 minutes remaining went just over the crossbar.

Liberty's best opportunity came with 4:45 remaining, when senior defender Matt Gillen lofted a corner kick to the right side of the box. Midfielder Alex Khouri nailed a shot that hit the crossbar and caromed away.

Liberty continued its dominance in overtime, outshooting the Clippers 4-0. Rigby's 15-yarder was stopped by Evans with five minutes left in the second overtime and neither team threatened from that point.

In contrast, the Clippers only had one decent scoring chance during the entire game. Midway through the first half, senior forward Tom Malone placed a shot from 15 yards out that Liberty goalkeeper Kevin Hollasch tipped just right of the goal. The Liberty defense, led by Gillen and senior defender Chad Fredritz, held Bennett forward Kyle Yingling to just one shot. Yingling had recorded a team-leading 27 goals in the team's previous 17 games.

"I think that we outplayed them," said Gillen. "For the game to come down to that (penalty kicks) is tough."

DeVincent, 40, plans to step down as Liberty's head coach. He will remain as the school's athletic director, a position he has held since the summer of 2007.

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