Petrera guides McDonogh to record
Junior’s 3-goal effort leads No. 2 Eagles to 3rd straight crown
McDonogh junior forward Vincent Petrera has been a reliable source of offense for the Eagles all season.
When the lights were brightest Sunday, with the No. 2 Eagles looking to capture an unprecedented third straight Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference title, he was more than that. He was downright sensational.
After setting the tone with two-first half goals, Petrera provided the eventual gamewinner in the opening minute of the second half as McDonoghmadehistory with a 3-2win over No. 1 Archbishop Curley at CCBC-Essex.
In avenging a 3-0 regular season loss to the Friars, McDonogh finished with a 15-4-1 mark, capturing the program’s 11th league championship.
For Petrera, who finished the season with 17 goals and 12 assists — both team highs — and seven game-winning goals, the overall team performance superseded his fine individual performance.
“I think our team really worked as hard as we could every training session [this week] and we came out with the mentality that we‘re just going to work hard and ultimately led us to the win,” he said.
As for making the difference on offense? “It’s a good feeling,” he said before asking if he could go join the team for the celebration photo.
Petrera extended the lead to 3-1 just 50 seconds into the second half, collecting a ball from Joel Brown.
For some teams, the goal would have been devastating, but the Friars (16-3-1) didn’t buckle.
Dylan Sloan scored his second goal of the game with 32:28 left to cut the lead to 3-2 and the Friars pushed hard, particularly in the final 10 minutes, but the Eagles held firm. Junior midfielder Richie Nichols, who is usually the offensive catalyst for the Eagles, keyed the defensive front with several clears in the final anxious moments.
McDonogh coach Brandon Quaranta talked about the possibility of making history at the start of the season, and now it’s done.
“To be honest, I didn’t think it would happen,” he said. “The league is so competitive, and to be able to even make a final three years in a row is quite an accomplishment. But to win three of those games, I can’t really put words to it. We talked about it — we made it part of our goal this season, to do something that has never been done in the best high school soccer league in the country, in my opinion. We’re proud of it because we appreciate how good this league is.”
All Curley coach Barry Stitz asked from his group was to play all-out so that there would be no regrets. He got it, although the Friars’ frustration of bringing home the program’s fourth league championship continues. This was the fourth appearance they made in the title game since their last championship in 2006.
“It’s hard to find words there. I’m really proud of them — it’s a great group of kids first and foremost, and they just battled tonight,” he said. last bit of business to take care of before putting the 2019 season in the books — beat rival Friends.
To get that accomplished in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference championship game Sunday, senior star forward Taylor Calheira needed to dig deep.
After missing a penalty kick in the final minute of regulation that would have all but sealed a second straight championship, he collected himself and went back to work in overtime.
With 4:20 remaining in the first overtime, he won the left side and sent a cross to the far post for a streaking Paul Levenson, who buried the chance to send the Saints to a 2-1 win against the Quakers at CCBCEssex.
The win avenges the only two losses this season for the Saints, who finished 18-2. Friends ended its season 14-7.
For Calheira, who scored the opening goal early in the second half, the championship win was a test of character.
“You’re going to have setbacks,” he said. “I got a PK and missed it, but you just got to keep your head up. We knew that we could do it. We lost to them twice in the regular season, but we knew we could win and we just didn’t give up the whole game and stayed focused.”