Lilly Budelis didn’t start this season with C. Milton Wright girls soccer. She began her sophomore campaign on junior varsity, but it took just two weeks to impress and earn a promotion.

Weeks later, Budelis found herself in a position to send her team to the state championship game.

Through 90 minutes of regulation, a 10-minute overtime period and seven minutes into a second overtime, no one found the back of the net. But a boot upfield in the final seconds gave the darting forward an open look.

She scored the game’s first and only goal, and an eruption followed. Budelis first searched for teammates to celebrate with. The Laurel High School stadium lights flashed as the pack of Mustangs raced to the bleachers to meet friends and family.

“It’s just pure excitement,” Budelis said. “Just tears.”

Budelis’ double-overtime game-winner pushed C. Milton Wright past Sparrows Point in the 2A state semifinal Saturday night, 1-0, stamping her breakthrough sophomore year with an unforgettable goal. The Mustangs avenged last year’s defeat to the Pointers in this same round and will play Queen Anne’s in the state final next week at Loyola Maryland.

“She’s that player that loves the game of soccer,” C. Milton Wright coach Andrew Harrell said. “She is, by far, one of the hardest workers. She deserves to put her team in the final.”

Budelis was on that losing team a year ago as a freshman who was brought up for the postseason. She couldn’t make a difference then, but ensured her team’s season would continue this time.

A scoreless first 90 minutes, highlighted by a slew of stellar saves from both goaltenders, pushed Saturday’s semifinal to overtime. The first 10 minutes passed without a score, and it appeared the second extra period would, too.

Then Budelis was given a chance. The sophomore didn’t waste it.

“First overtime, it’s almost like a brand new ballgame,” Mustangs coach Andrew Harrell said. “Everyone’s nervous.”

Budelis acknowledges she wasn’t ready for the varsity level to begin the season. She impressed on the JV circuit, played sparingly in her first couple games on varsity, then earned her first start soon after. She hasn’t been removed from the starting unit since and rarely leaves the field.

“I never let not making varsity bring me down at all,” Budelis said. “I kept working hard. I didn’t let up.”

Harrell said last year’s team, his fourth season at the helm, was a young group that was simply excited to be in the semifinals.

They’d never made it that far, but have now done it twice in a row. This year “felt different,” Harrel said. They were confident they belonged. Budelis’ score backed that belief.

“Everyone wanted the rematch,” she said. “We wanted the win, and you could tell by the way we played.”

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