Bruins Wrap Season In Girls Soccer Region Semis

Asked to summarize the Broadneck girls soccer season, and helping to lead a young squad to a destination perhaps beyond her time in the program, Hadley Crooks didn’t need long to express her feelings.

“It’s been an incredible season. It’s been hard to have only three people that have the senior experience going into the season,” she said. “A lot of new faces, a lot of nerves. Working to build each other up on the field has been huge, as well as team unity outside of soccer. You can see on the bench the girls cheering their hearts out to encourage those on the field and that means a lot.”

As Broadneck came down the stretch of the season, a much improved but somewhat depleted squad delivered some memorable moments, and the seniors led the way.

Crooks had the game-winning goal in successive games in the team’s final two victories: the only goal in a goalmouth scramble in a 1-0 overtime win at Crofton to close out the regular season, and the second goal in a 2-1 region playoff first-round win over North Point on October 22 (she assisted Raegan Milnes on the other).

The second of those goals came when her cousin, Natalie Crooks, received the ball in space on the right wing from Alyssa Watson. She then fired the ball across the penalty area with pinpoint precision, where Hadley Crooks was on hand to smash it into the goal for a 2-0 lead.

“It was a matter of making sure I got a good ball in, no matter who it was, but the cousin chemistry is real,” Natalie Crooks said. “It was a perfect ball and a perfect finish. I don’t know if we’ve had an assist-goal off of each other the whole four years we’ve been here, so it was pretty emotional.”

That turned out to be the final goal Broadneck would score. The season ended two days later in the region semifinals for the second straight season, as the Bruins fell 4-0 in a revenge game at Crofton.

Both Crooks cousins said they valued the team ethos and positive culture, which they all worked hard to build. Hadley Crooks cited deliberate intention to connect outside of the field, while Natalie added the trust and belief factor that helped foster.

“In prior years, I think we haven’t had as much belief in ourselves, belief in each other. Everyone wants to win, everyone wants to be here, and I think that’s also a first,” Natalie Crooks said. “Regardless of what happens, just knowing we’re leaving it out on the field is the best thing we can do.”

Broadneck accomplished a 9-4-1 season with a roster heavy on freshman, sophomores, and juniors. They will graduate just three seniors: the Crooks cousins and midfielder Chloe Phillips.

Those three were charged with leading the way for the younger players, and they did so with aplomb.

“We’ve been really pleased with how they’ve led the way,” said Broadneck girls soccer head coach John Camm. “I’m happy with this group just in their entirety. They’ve worked harder than any group we’ve had since COVID. They train hard. We’ve maybe had two kind of flat practices the whole year, and they refocused, regrouped, and the practice after that was great. They’re getting better, they’re focused, and they’re kind of on a mission, and I like what they’re doing.”