The rival was renewed and defending state champions Sparrows Point Girls Soccer defeated Eastern Tech 4-3 Thursday night at CCBC Essex.
The Pointers were led by forward Ami Walters’ three goals and one assist in the win. Senior Allyssa Hartman had the fourth goal for the Pointers.
There is a new twist in this rivalry as former Sparrows Point coach Jonathan Wynne is now the head coach at Eastern Tech.
“I will always have a special place in my soccer heart for that 2023 Sparrows Point squad. And it certainly was fun getting to watch them play again, even if we were in different colors this time,” Wynne said. “They are an incredibly talented and well coached side.”
He saw his new team strike early as Ella Franconia scored off of a corner kick in the first five minutes to help Tech go up 1-0.
Then Walters got on a roll as she scored the tying goal eight minutes before halftime and completed her hat trick with two more goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
“It was an amazing game, and Eastern Tech is a very solid team,” Sparrows Point coach Geoffrey Holland said after the win.
Pointers Chelsea Stubel had two assists and Julie Roberts added another assist.
Tech fall behind 4-1 but their sophomore goalie Kylee Jones kept the team in the game with 13 saves.
“They came out very aggressive in the second half and pulled apart our back line. But we have been down by three goals before so I knew there would be no quit from us,” Wynne explained.
The Mavericks made a late rally as sophomore, forward, Ineza Ross-Reidel scored two goals in the 4-3 loss in the final 15 minutes. Ineza Ross-Reidel also had an assist on the first Tech goal.
“Ineza really carried us through that last 20 or so. She is tough to stop when she is that determined. She nearly equalized and completed her hat trick with under five to play,” Wynne said.
Sparrows Point goalie Ally Foos had six saves on the night.
Eastern Tech and Sparrows Point are in the same 2A classification so a rematch in the playoffs is very likely. Both coaches are anticipating another showdown.
“The teams will meet again in October in the state playoffs,” Holland predicted.
Wynne agrees.
“The great part about this rivalry is that we will meet again in October. Hopefully we can be just a little more prepared for them.”
