Leonardtown Boys Soccer Takes Home Maryland 4A State Title

LEONARDTOWN, Md. — The Leonardtown boys soccer team won its second Maryland 4A state title in just three years last Friday, Nov. 14, in a 1-0 victory over Walt Whitman High of Montgomery County. Senior midfielder Noah Kowalko scored the winning goal in the second half of a tense game. The win caps off Leonardtown’s first-ever undefeated season.

Head Coach Luke Kokolios, a former Leonardtown soccer player himself, said this year’s championship felt extra special because he’d won the state championship with many of these players two years ago as freshmen and sophomores.

“It was powerful to know that for these seniors, their last game in a Leonardtown shirt is a state title win. After the win there was this feeling that those seniors earned it and they deserve it. It was a great way to be able to bookend these seniors’ time, who have really given their all to the program,” Kokolios said.

Kokolios said their first state championship in 2023, which was also his first year coaching with Leonardtown, showed everyone what their team was capable of and the generation of talent on the team. But their first-round playoff loss in 2024 brought another valuable lesson: having talent doesn’t guarantee results.

The players’ growth came from their time on the field and building off past leadership, as well as their respect for each other and their opponents. Kokolios said the team learned to take it one game at a time and bought into what the coaches were asking of them on the field.

“The team culture came together in all the right ways. There was a lot of selflessness, on and off the field, including from the guys who were in more peripheral roles,” Kokolios said. “I always tell the guys, I always believe we will win but I never assume we will win. And so I knew they could go out and grind out that 1-0 win. They knew the expectation and didn’t allow that pressure to sit over them. They went out and worked.”

Kokolios also credits the team’s success to the experienced assistant coaches and goalkeeping coach and said he’s looking forward to developing some of the younger players and transitioning them to bigger roles on the team next year.

Leonardtown boys soccer outscored opposing teams in the playoffs 19-1. But as Kokolios said, soccer is funny like that. You can dominate, but not always win. For the Leonardtown boys soccer team, the win was one that built up over two seasons, culminating in an exciting victory and an unforgettable conclusion.

“When Noah scored that goal, we looked around and knew that was the moment we’d been waiting for,” Kokolios said.

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