It started as a seemingly harmless ball played into the box by Marriotts Ridge's Chris Fischer, landing short of Oakland Mills goalie Josh Yarn nearly 20 feet in front of the goal. It looked as if Yarn would jump, secure the ball and keep the score tied at zero early in the second half.

No one, however, accounted for the Bounce.

Catapulting over the head of Yarn, the ball went untouched and seconds later was in the back of the net after Marriotts Ridge senior captain Phil Martinelli outran everyone and flicked home his fourth goal of the season. That score, with 37 minutes remaining in the game, turned out to be the only one in a 1-0 Mustangs' victory Sept. 19.

"The whole game we weren't winning anything in the box, so I saw the ball coming and I anticipated that it was going over. I just put my head down and ran," Martinelli said. "I was like, 'no one's beating me to that ball.' "

That one break came during a game in which Oakland Mills (1-3) frustrated and slowed a Marriotts Ridge (4-0) offense that had scored three goals or more in each of its previous three games. Other than Martinelli's goal and a few select chances for both sides, the majority of the game was played in the midfield.

"We played, what I thought to be, our best game this year and to have it come down to a tough bounce is hard," Oakland Mills coach Brett Cutler said. "Against a team like (Marriotts Ridge), if you are going to lose, you expect the goal to come on a great shot on goal. But it happens. I just wish we could see more of the type of effort we gave tonight. (If) we play like this against Reservoir and Long Reach, I promise you, we don't have three losses right now."

The first half was marred by whistles, fouls and yellow cards, building on a rivalry that heated up last year when Oakland Mills won overtime games in the regular season and playoffs. The physical nature of the game prevented either team from getting into a rhythm.

But there were some quality opportunities -- none better than the shot by the Scorpions' Francis Ekiko from point-blank range that was stopped by a diving Paul Killian (three saves) 12 minutes in.

"I knew the game was going to be close, you can almost throw out the records when we play, so that was a huge save," Marriotts Ridge coach Kevin Flynn said, also making note that he thought his team came out sluggish. "But for Paul, it's what he does. He makes saves like that all the time. And sometimes it becomes a rallying point for us. That save might have been the difference because it would have been tough to play this one a goal down."

After Marriotts Ridge took the lead, the Mustangs seemed much more comfortable controlling possession. The Mustangs, who started playing the ball more to the outside and then firing the ball in the box on crosses and long throws, allowed only two shots in the second half.

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