MIAA Soccer Week 3 Update
Top teams starting to create separation in the A Conference
by Nelson Coffin
Loyola Blakefield started the week with a satisfying 2-0 triumph over McDonogh, sending the Eagles to their second consecutive A Conference loss.
Senior center back Jimmy Black’s second-half goal was all the hosts needed to prevail, with Giorgios Forakis’ score in the 79th minute icing on the cake.
Both goalies, Loyola junior Colton Gibson and McDonogh freshman Will Chisamore, made sterling saves to keep the match scoreless until Black broke through.
The red-hot Dons’ follow-up on Friday was not as successful when they traveled to Northeast Baltimore to visit Archbishop Curley. The Friars jumped on top on senior forward Landon Beckman’s header midway through the opening period on senior midfielder Callen Kleinschmidt’s corner kick.
A couple of key saves by junior keeper Josh Axt helped thwart any thoughts Loyola entertained about mounting a serious comeback, especially after senior forward Jack Comey found the net twice and senior midfielder Avery Rothschild added the other Curley goal in a solid 4-1 triumph.
“We were due for a good performance,” Curley coach Barry Stitz said. “It’s the best we’ve played all year.”
Sophomore Logan Palinkas’ ability to handle one backfield slot next to the rotating tandem of junior Mac Grimes and sophomore Colton Fuller helped to limit the Dons, who had outscored their previous A Conference foes by a combined, 14-1, to a single goal.
With the victory, the Friars leapfrogged Loyola into second place in the league standings and will meet first-place Calvert Hall College on Tuesday in the annual battle for the Bernie Reif Alumni Cup between the two schools.
Reif was Curley’s first soccer coach, leading the program to its first title in the old Maryland Scholastic Association in 1968.
His son, Chris, was a star for the Cardinals before a stellar career at UConn. He also played professionally for the Maryland Bays of the American Soccer League in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.
The Friars lead the series, 8-7-1, after slamming the Cardinals, 5-1, last fall.
However, Calvert Hall kept its winning ways by defeating John Carroll in Bel Air, 3-0, earlier in the week, getting goals from seniors Zach Tamanini and Ian Robinson and junior Alex Los. T
Calvert Hall (6-0-1, 5-0-1) leads the A Conference with 16 points while Curley (4-2-2, 3-1-1) has accumulated 10 points with Loyola (4-2, 3-2) and McDonogh (6-2, 3-2)) a point behind the Friars.
Mount St. Joseph (2-3-1, 2-3) claimed its first league win by beating Concordia Prep, 4-1, behind senior Alec Sexton’s hat trick and a goal by speedy freshman Joseph Duodu. Freshman JT Scherer added an assist in the Gaels’ much-needed triumph.
Gilman (2-3-2, 2-1-2) continued its upsurge by edging Archbishop Spalding, 1-0, on Jackson Boyd’s game-winner. The junior defender was also a force on the back line, prompting Gilman coach Mickey Watson to say that Boyd “was brilliant in helping us get the clean sheet, but more importantly he has been very versatile in playing numerous roles.”