The Titans (12-3-1) face top-seeded Quince Orchard at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The winner advances to next Saturday's state 3A semifinals at noon at Community College of Baltimore County-Essex.

The fact his team secured a regional championship date against the Cougars came as no surprise to Tuscarora coach Mark Wolcott.

"I know them very well," Wolcott said. "They've been in the last three state 4A finals. We've scrimmaged them in the past. They're a tremendous program and they were the preseason favorite."

Wolcott said before the Titans face Quince Orchard, they need to make adjustments. Tuscarora, which outshot Linganore , 15-4, missed numerous opportunities Friday.

"We have to be more efficient when we get inside the box and get those chances to score," Wolcott said. "We created a lot of chances today and had chances to put them away, but we didn't take advantage of those situations."

Tuscarora's first goal came with 8 minutes, 30 seconds left the first half. A foul was called on Linganore inside the penalty area and Michelle Rock converted the penalty kick for a 1-0 lead that stood at halftime.

Thirteen minutes into the second half, Claire Kelly took a pass from Annie Wickett and sped toward the Linganore goal. She said when she realized Wickett wasn't getting into position for a header, she continued with her dribble. Kelly's shot beat Linganore keeper Edie Riggs, putting the Titans up 2-0.

"I just kept on going," Kelly said. "I didn't give up. I went ahead and finished."

From there, Tuscarora relied on its defense to contain Linganore (8-7-2).

Linganore coach Howie Putterman expected a closer match than their regular-season meeting, a 4-0 Tuscarora win.

"We knew the last time we played them, that was a fluke," he said. "We didn't come out (ready to play). They were on, we were off."

On Friday, Tuscarora packed its defense in the back third, making life difficult for Linganore 's offense.

"Especially in the first half, we couldn't make that final pass in the offensive third," he said. "Once they went up, 1-0, they retreated even further and were able to clear the ball out. They're solid, defensively."

Sarah Jo Hayden recorded the shutout with two saves. Riggs had nine saves for Linganore .

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