It's Bayside Conference Championship week for local soccer and field teams, as they look to stake their claim as they best teams the Bayside has to offer in their sports. And the Bayside South will have three top teams competing for conference titles on Monday and Tuesday.
The Bayside South champions in soccer and field hockey have been decided, with Decatur field hockey and James M. Bennett's boys soccer team each clinching their spots in the Conference Championship game with their performances in each of their season finales. Also joining them as Bayside South Champions is Bennett's girls soccer team, who finished the regular season unbeaten and are going for a third straight Bayside title.
Each of them will have to play a rival from the Bayside North if they want to become Bayside Champions. And these games will also be their first taste of postseason play, with the opening rounds of the regional playoffs kicking off later this week. With trophies on the line, there should be some great play on the field hockey and soccer fields on Monday and Tuesday.
Here are previews for this week's Bayside Conference Championship Games in soccer and field hockey:
Boys Soccer: James M. Bennett vs. Queen Anne's County
Oct. 21 | 5 p.m. | Snow Hill High School
The defending Bayside Champion James M. Bennett Clippers are back in the conference title game, as they look to go back-to-back when they arrive in Snow Hill on Monday afternoon.
After another mostly dominant regular season where they went unbeaten, the Clippers clinched their Bayside South title this past Thursday with a 1-1 draw against rivals Parkside. Last year's leading scorer and Bayside South player of the Year Noah Blankensop continues to shine for Bennett. Poised to grab another Bayside title and make a run in the state playoffs, the Clippers look well-suited to grab a few trophies this season, as they've scored over 70 goals and have only conceded three this season. Their first opportunity to win a trophy comes Monday against Queen Anne's.
A rematch of last year's Bayside title game, which Bennett won 2-0, Bennett also defeated this Queen Anne's team 3-0 when they faced off earlier this season; one of many comfortable wins this season for Bennett. But as postseason play begins this week, Queen Anne's will look to make things as uncomfortable as possible, and we'll see who walks away with this one in what shapes up to be an exciting championship battle.
Girls Soccer: James M. Bennett vs. Queen Anne's County
Oct. 21 | 6: 45 p.m. | Snow Hill High School
The Bennett Clippers are back in the girls soccer Bayside Conference Championship game, as they once again clinched the Bayside South with an unbeaten season, defeating rivals Stephen Decatur late in the season. And they'll have the opportunity to win their third-straight Bayside title, as they face a familiar foe Monday night.
For the fourth year in a row, the Bayside Championship will be decided between the Bennett Clippers and the Queen Anne's Lions, as they have become familiar foes as the Bayside's two top soccer teams. Winners of the last two Bayside title matchups, and winners of their battle in Sept., which Bennett won 3-0, the Clippers have plenty of reason to believe a third straight title is waiting for them.
Led up front by players like Gracie Core and Riley Matthews, Bennett has shown the ability to light up the scoreboard, while they also have only conceded three goals all season. But Queen Anne's continues to be a good team, capable of potentially knocking off the Clippers and bringing the title back to Centreville. It should be a great game of soccer this Monday.
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Field Hockey: Stephen Decatur vs. Queen Anne's County
Oct. 22 | 6 p.m. | Pocomoke High School
The Stephen Decatur Seahawks made history last season when they won their first regional title. And the knack for making history continued this season, as they won their first Bayside South title, defeating Pocomoke 1-0 at home to clinch the South. Next up for the Seahawks is the Bayside Conference Championship Game, where they will face the defending Bayside Champion Queen Anne's Lions.
Last year, the Lions won a double-overtime thriller over Pocomoke to clinch the Bayside title, and they've followed that up with a dominant Bayside season this year, with their lone loss coming in early September. The game between these two this season was a 2-0 home victory for Queen Anne's, meaning the Seahawks will be looking for revenge as well as a Bayside title in their Tuesday matchup. This Seahawks team has proven though over the last few seasons that they are up to the task when it comes to pulling off big wins in big moments.
This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Bayside Championships: Decatur Field Hockey, Bennett soccer compete for Conference titles
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