Girls Soccer: Eastern Tech Wise Beyond its Years

Midfielder Kelly Fernandez wasn’t sure what type of season to expect from the Eastern Tech girls soccer team.

The Mavericks , but they entered 2011 with plenty of questions.

Eastern Tech has just six seniors on its roster and has made the move from 2A to 3A. But the young squad has not been fazed and is 11-2 entering its home finale at 4 p.m. Thursday against Catonsville. The winner will qualify for the Baltimore County championship match.

“I’m surprised how well this year has gone,” said Fernandez, following Tuesday’s 7-0 win over Owings Mills. “We’ve just really played well as a team.”

has not lost a Baltimore County match, with its lone defeats coming in the season opener at Southern-AA and at IAAM power , the latter of which is ranked second in the latest VarsitySportsNetwork.com Top 20 poll. The Mavericks are ranked 17th in the same poll.

Mavericks coach Kim Williams said defense has played a large role in their success. Eastern Tech has seven shutouts with a defense that includes senior Kelsey Schanberger and freshman goalie Ryan Jones, along with freshman Taylor Francis.

“The whole defense has shown the ability to shut down any team they play,” said Williams, in her ninth year at the helm.

Schanberger said although the team is young in years, they are postseason veterans. Most of the players on this year’s roster played for the 2010 squad that finished 9-6-2.

“It’s been nice to see how this young team has grown as the season progressed,” she said. “We’re a much deeper team this season. I don’t see any weak spot on the field.”

That experience, Williams said, will be critical as the Mavericks prepare for the regional playoffs, which includes soccer powers like Harford County’s  and Bel Air, ranked seventh and 12th, respectively, by VarsitySportsNetwork.com.

“We’re definitely in for a more competitive postseason this year,” Williams said. “But having so many players that are playoff-tested is a huge deal for us. They know what they have to do to reach the state finals.”

Senior forward Bree Gain said Eastern Tech is up to the challenge. She added that they are aware winning another region title won’t be as easy this season.

“We breezed through much of the playoffs this year,” Gain said. “We know that won’t be the case this season.”