Chesapeake girls soccer is battle tested. The Cougars won their past two playoff games against Howard County foes Mt. Hebron and Howard in penalty kicks and overtime.
Saturday evening played out the same way as the No. 4 seed Cougars headed to extra time against visiting No. 5 River Hill in a Class 3A state quarterfinal. Once again, Chesapeake prevailed in the most critical moments, edging the Hawks, 1-0, on Eleyna Entsminger’s first career game-winning goal in the 90th minute.
On a night in which prime scoring chances were few and far between, Chesapeake finally broke the scoreless tie. Alaina Minefski charged up field in the late stages of the first overtime and saw a crowd of bodies. She knew she couldn’t get a shot off, so she did the next best thing and crossed it to Entsminger, who did the rest.
“She came back the first week this year and she’s had a hard time getting in the lineup, just getting herself back,” Chesapeake coach Kevin Keeter said of Entsminger. “For her to score this goal was tremendous. It shows her work ethic in getting back to the point where she can give us good minutes and she capitalized on it.”
Entsminger, who didn’t start for Chesapeake, missed all of last season with a torn ACL she suffered in the opening practice. She worked her way back and said she began feeling more comfortable and confident in herself starting in the Cougars’ last game against Howard. That translated in their most important game to date as she fired a strike past a diving Charlotte Laraway.
“It’s really important to me, because all I’ve been wanting to do for a year is play soccer for my senior year,” Entsminger said. “It’s just really special and I’m really glad I got to do it with Alaina.”
The Cougars will face a familiar foe in the state semifinals in top-seed Severna Park, who they’ve already played twice this season, at a time and date to be announced. It is Chesapeake’s fifth trip to the state semifinals and first since 2019 as the Cougars moved one step closer to their first state title in program history.
With a spot in the semifinals on the line, neither team wanted to give an inch of space. Both the Cougars and Hawks struggled to generate consistent scoring chances in the opening 40 minutes. River Hill’s best opportunities came from playing the ball out wide through Dylan Watson and Marella Virmani, while the Cougars’ best offense was generated on quick counter attacks from Ella Cieri.
Chesapeake (15-3-1) nearly took the lead in the 45th minute off a corner. Anna Minefski headed a shot that was ushered away by Laraway as she also dove to stuff the rebound attempt. River Hill (12-3-1) then controlled the run of play, putting persistent pressure on Chesapeake’s defense. However, it couldn’t find the go-ahead goal as the game remained tied after 80 minutes.
Last year, Chesapeake’s season ended in the region final in a golden goal overtime period against Mt. Hebron. This year, its experience in those do-or-die situations bred confidence. It also instilled a “never give up” mindset, as the Cougars consistently motivate one another to work harder in those late-game situations.
Their collective mentality was a driving force in the game-winning goal orchestrated by two seniors. Despite being seniors, Minefski and Entsminger are relatively new by experience standards. Entsminger missed last season because of her injury, while Alaina Minefski is in her first season of high school soccer after being homeschooled her entire life. That uniqueness brought both players added appreciation as they soaked in the win.
“Being where I am on this team is really important to me,” Alaina said. “Going through all of this is really awesome.”
Now two wins away from their ultimate goal, Chesapeake is well aware of the challenge it faces in the semifinals. The reigning 3A state champion Falcons won both regular-season meetings between the teams 2-0, including in the Anne Arundel County championship game.
That familiarity with one another gives the Cougars confidence in keenly understanding the Falcons’ strengths and weaknesses as they prepare for what’s sure to be another hard-fought battle.