After surrendering the first goal against Pace Academy, Starr’s Mill scored six unanswered goals en route to victory in the second round of the state playoffs. The Panthers defeated the Knights 11-3.

The Knights started strong in the first half, beginning the game with possession of the ball and scoring the first goal of the game in the last few seconds of the first quarter. The Panthers quickly bounced back in the second quarter, resulting in a wide lead of 6-1 by halftime. 

“[The game] went slow at first, but we picked it up,” head coach Jeff Schmidlkofer said. “We did a good job at bouncing back.”

Senior Taylor Ratinaud and sophomore Sebastian Patnubay scored two goals apiece. Senior Ethan Bramblett and sophomore Tanner Via also scored in the first half. 

“[We are] playing with a will to win,” Ratinaud said. “Playing for something bigger than ourselves.” 

The Panthers kept their strength in the second half. The Panthers scored another five goals, while the Knights scored two. 

“[We can improve on] communication and we had a little too many turnovers,” Schmidlkofer said. “And we had too many penalties. Penalties killed us in the second half and the boys got a little emotional.” 

The Panthers scorers in the second half were Conor Stone, with two goals, Via and seniors Will Clem and Anderson Cardoza each scored once.

“We’re rolling,” Schmidlkofer said. “We’re in the thick of this thing, and we’ll see what happens.” 

Starr’s Mill advanced to the state quarterfinals. They now host Benedictine tonight at 5:30 p.m.