A lot has happened since the last time I put together power field hockey rankings, and I’ll tell you this: There haven’t been many lists that were harder to sort out than the one you’re about to see. The first five spots were so tightly pressed together that, while I would not say they are interchangeable, things could look radically different within a week. Unlike most of my previous rankings, this one takes into account Wednesday’s games. I had to stay up into the wee small hours to finish this after waiting to get those scores, so I hope you appreciate it.
1. Bel Air: Of Wednesday’s games, the one I was most interested in was Bel Air vs. C. Milton Wright. The Bobcats came in undefeated at 7-0, but the 3-3 Mustangs had taken all three of their defeats by one goal, and each of those losses came at the hands of a quality opponent. Well, Bel Air won the game, 3-1, and the Bobcats deservedly rose from the fifth spot to take a seat on the top of the pile.
2. North Harford: How do you ascend from third to second on the list when things are so tight? You take a 2-1 victory over an undefeated team that one week earlier handed Fallston its first UCBAC loss in three years (Bo Manor). In your only loss of the season, you hold No. 1 Bel Air to less than two goals, which nobody else has done so far, and you don’t allow any of your first six opponents more than one goal. That’s how.
3. Patterson Mill: Though it would be easier just to say that the Huskies earned this spot with a 2-0 victory over Fallston on Wednesday, there’s more to it than that. The 5-1-1 Huskies have outscored their seven opponents 22-3, they haven’t been beaten since a season-opening loss to River Hill and they topped a powerful Perry Hall squad 1-0 on Sept. 10.
4. C. Milton Wright: It pains me to put the Mustangs down so low, given how tough their early-season schedule was, but it all comes down to Wednesday’s game with Bel Air, in which CMW allowed three goals before scoring late in the second half.
5. Fallston: Why is the squad that won three consecutive Maryland field hockey championships coming into this season now ranked fifth in Harford County? Because they’re 0-2 in Chesapeake (upper) Division play, which puts them in last place, and during those two division losses they’ve only scored one goal. It’s still early, and only a fool would count Fallston out at this point, but the Cougars really can’t lose another Chesapeake game if they want a shot at a third straight division title.
6. Joppatowne: The Mariners, down in the seventh spot last time, have split their two Susquehanna (lower) Division games, losing to Elkton in double overtime last week and beating Havre de Grace 5-0 on Wednesday. They will play Harford Tech Wednesday, and I’m interested to see what happens there.
7. Harford Tech: The 0-8 Cobras could be ranked higher than this based solely on their pre-division schedule, in which they packed five games with Chesapeake teams, but they still haven’t managed to win a game yet.
8. Aberdeen: The Eagles’ two victories have come against Edgewood and Havre de Grace. On a positive note, they did take Joppatowne to double overtime two weeks ago.
9. Edgewood: Outside their two victories over Havre de Grace, the Rams have scored just one goal.
10. Havre de Grace: The Warriors scored their first goal of the season Sept. 22 in a 6-1 loss to Edgewood.