By: Glenn Graham
Maryvale Prep girls soccer had won plenty before, but Sunday was different.
This was the big time for the Lions, who made the jump to the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference after winning yet another B championship last year.
And there they were, holding their own and much more against formidable Mercy in a championship game that had to be decided on penalty kicks at packed Calvert Hall.
Junior goalie Bella Kail did her part early in the shootout when she made a diving save on Ava Hartman’s opening kick aimed for the right corner.
Precision from the Lions followed: Laney Clements, Olivia D’Alessandro and Avery Batelka all found the lower left corner, then Kail powered one straight in that Mercy goalie Sarah Graham got a hand on but couldn’t keep out.
Tied at 4 with Lions sophomore Clara McCormick left, she made no mistake with a clean strike to the lower left corner. In an instant, history was made.
Maryvale Prep, conference newcomers, are conference champions. The teams played to a 1-1 tie through 100 minutes of play before the No. 3 Lions edged the No. 2 Magic, 5-4, in the deciding shootout.
Maryvale Prep longtime coach Colin Devlin, hands on his knees, overcome with emotions, savored the group hug that followed. Shortly afterward, he simply said: “Maryvale soccer just reached the summit.”
The Lions, who had won three of the past five B Conference titles and six overall, finish with a 10-3-1 record, avenging a 1-0 regular season loss to Mercy (13-2-1) on Oct. 21.
In coming home with a victory on Sunday, the Lions had to be most persistent.
They dominated a scoreless first half and then found themselves behind 1-0 when the Magic got a fine goal from freshman midfielder Megan Brannan early in the second half. After fending off a surge from the Magic, the Lions, who had an 11-4 advantage on corner kicks, reset, and their persistent push earned them a penalty kick that Clements made to tie the game with 10:49 to play.
Kail, who finished with seven saves, never saw any panic in her team’s play.
“I think it’s like we wanted it enough. We just wanted it so bad for our coaches, for our seniors and everybody who was here the past couple of years,” she said. “We wanted to be the first ones to [win the A Conference in their first year] and we were. It was a new team — freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors — and everybody played. It was, ‘just stay confident, we got this, keep going, don’t get upset.’ … It all paid off.”
Game after game in this “prove it” season, Maryvale Prep attacked every challenge with energy, confidence and a seemingly innocent joy.
By the time Sunday came, the Lions proved more than ready for the moment.
Not surprisingly, it was McCormick who was front and center. Last year, she scored the game-winner in the B championship game, and on Wednesday she scored in overtime to send the Lions to the championship with a 1-0 semifinal win over defending champion Spalding.
After Mercy’s Lexi Wojcik, Isabella Kennedy, Molly Davis and Madeline Hoilman hit their penalty kicks to leave it 4-4, McCormick calmly walked up to the penalty spot and hit a confident strike. Afterward, she emphatically turned around and made a beeline back to her teammates in the middle of the field to celebrate.
“It was just super nerve-racking and I don’t even know what I was thinking going into it. My mind was kind of blank. It definitely helped we have been practicing penalties all week, and I knew my team had my back. Everybody was just so supportive,” she said.
For a second straight year, a highly successful season by Mercy ended with a loss on its last day. The Magic came into the title game with seven straight wins, and they posted eight shutouts in their 13 wins. Goalie Sarah Graham was sensational Sunday, coming up with 12 saves and handling the Lions’ 12 corner kicks.
After getting out of the shaky first half and then claiming the lead — Brannan took a short square pass from Hartman and then went high from 20 yards for the goal — the Magic had added confidence and chances, but were unable to add to their advantage.
Mercy coach Tom Durkin looked back on that time as a big key.
“It definitely stinks, back-to-back runners up, and it’s tough for our five seniors — seeing the tears in their eyes,” he said. “But we return 20 of 25 players. We have a [standout] forward [Hartman] — 14 goals and 10 assists — she comes back. We have 15 goals and 10 assists from freshmen this year. I love what we return.”
