MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the
Sparrows Point (Baltimore, Md.) Pointers have officially been named to the 14th Annual MaxPreps Soccer Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its eighth year honoring girls soccer.
This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for 100 of the top teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the MaxPreps National Rankings. For soccer, only 20 of the country's best are invited and with nearly 34,000 competing varsity teams, this puts the Pointers ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!
In order to be eligible, the team not only had to be nationally ranked, but also had to win a state championship. Beating Smithsburg 4-2 in the
MPSSAA Class 1A state championship contest on Thursday, November 15 marked the completion of an incredible 17-0 season — and earned Sparrows Point an invitation to the Tour of Champions.
Jasmine Pinter and Julie Lynch scored a goal a piece in each half as the Pointers doubled up the Leopards en route to winning Sparrows Point's sixth straight girls state soccer title. Pinter opened the scoring on a through ball by Kalli Bell in the 14th minute and Lynch broke a 1-1 tie with a free kick from about 20 yards to conclude first half scoring at Loyola Maryland's Ridley Athletic Complex.
Lynch then scored what proved to be the winning goal for Sparrows Point, on a penalty kick, and Pinter tallied a late goal, adding some insurance for the Pointers, who won their first girls state soccer title in 2013. Jaddah Foos was in goal for all 80 minutes and chalked up three saves for the two-goal win.
The Pointers earned byes in the first two rounds of postseason play before upending Loch Raven 5-0. Sparrows Point then kicked in the door to the Final Four with a 3-0 shutout of Carver A&T before bumping McDonogh from state championship contention with a 3-0 semifinal win to set up the championship bout with Smithsburg.
Lori Sexton's club opened the season with a 1-0 win over Old Mill. Then, following a 12-0 shutout of Kenwood, Sparrows Point claimed 15 straight matches to conclude the season. The Pointers outscored their competition 68-7 and posted 13 shutouts on the year. Sparrows Point allowed just two opponents to score more than one goal.
Having won 22 straight contests dating back to last season, Sparrows Point set itself up for some rather high rankings come season's end. Not only is Sexton's club ranked No. 1 in
MaxPreps' Maryland Class 1A Rankings, Sparrows Point is the top squad in all of
Maryland. The Pointers are ranked No. 10 in
MaxPreps' National Rankings!
These incredible season achievements have earned the Sparrows Point Pointers an invitation to the 14th Annual Tour of Champions. Please join us in the gymnasium for a community celebration as we celebrate with the girls soccer team, coaching staff, students and fans on Wednesday, Dec. 19 at 7 p.m.
For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the
MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.
