McDonogh plays spoiler, defends ‘A’ title
Eagles end No. 1 Loyola Blakefield’s bid for perfect season with shootout win
McDonogh senior goalie Kieran Baskett spent a good part of Sunday’s Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championship game flawlessly commanding his penalty area against undefeated and No. 1 Loyola Blakefield.
In the end, after 100 minutes of scoreless soccer followed by eight rounds of gutwretching penalty kicks, he took matters into his own right foot and then capable hands.
After finding the left corner with his penalty take, he made a diving save on Luke Briggs’ shot aimed for the right corner.
The celebration followed as No. 2 McDonogh successfully defended its title by a 7-6 margin in the shootout.
McDonogh closed the season with a 13-4-1 record and the program’s 10th league title, while Loyola’s impressive season ended with an 18-1 mark.
Baskett finished with three saves during penalty kicks, and the Eagles got finishes from Sean Nolan, Andrew Privett, Mason Christain, Richie Nichols, Kyle Brown and Jackson Ruckman before Baskett closed out the win.
“In the end, I think we deserved to win — we hit the post twice in overtime and I was praying that we wouldn’t lose in penalties,” Baskett said.
“I just kept my cool I think, stepped up, took my time and placed it in the corner. Our team took some great penalties, kept their nerve and it’s just a great day.”
The Eagles knew exactly how the Dons were feeling after a remarkable season ended on a disappointing note. In 2014, they were 19-0 and trying to close out a perfect season only to watch as Loyola claimed a 2-0 win for the title.
All season, the Dons were able to find ways to win games, but didn’t have the same good fortune Sunday.
“The game kind of went how we thought it would go — I thought we played pretty well and kept the large majority of possession. They were dangerous on set pieces, very organized and you know it just comes down to PKs,” said Loyola coach Lee Tschantret, who noted the team’s inability to finish off chances in the final third Sunday.
“If you’re looking for a wonderful MIAA game, what a way to end the season. It was just unfortunate for my guys, but that kind of happens. I was extremely proud of the type of soccer we played this year.”
The 100 minutes of play was evenly played with fast pace both teams sustaining quality stretches and no breakthroughs.
Privett had two chances in the first 10-minute overtime to give the Eagles the title, but he banged shots off the crossbar and the post.
The Eagles were the last team to press in the final minutes of the second half, as well, with Privett coming close on several free kicks and another quick turn-and-shoot.
Earlier in the half, the Dons had several corner kicks that Baskett capably handled.
In the first half, Juliann Schmugge, who scored twice in Loyola’s 3-2 semifinal win over Archbishop Curley on Thursday, had the Dons’ best chance in the 14th minute when he ran on to a through ball and got a shot off that Baskett decisively came out to turn aside.
The Eagles had the better of the play in the latter stages, sending several dangerous balls in the area that were handled by the Dons’ back line. With under eight minutes to play, Luke Davis aimed a free kick to the far post that Chase Webert alertly headed out of danger.
While the Dons stayed on their seasonlong roll, registering 13 shutouts and outscoring their opponents by a 63-10 margin, the defending champions had to recover from an uncharacteristic rough patch to reach Sunday’s final.
The Eagles were ranked No. 1 in the preseason Top 15 poll and played like it in the first month of the season with seven straight wins, but then showed vulnerability with an 0-4-1 stretch that hit rock bottom with a 5-0 loss to the Dons on Oct. 22.
In the end, they found resolve in repeating.
“We’ve had an up-and-down season, just a lot of emotion, some really good moments and some really bad moments, and it just shows the determination of this group,” Privett said. “We were able to persevere through all the difficult times and able to come through to put it all together tonight and get a win.”
B Conference
The Concordia Prep boys soccer team didn’t let some early bad luck get in its way of bringing home the program’s first MIAA B Conference championship Sunday.
The Saints were persistent in pressuring defending champion Friends, but had nothing to show for it as the final minute of the first half arrived.
Their breakthrough came when Ryan Flury scored from 15 yards after an alert pass from Taylor Calheira. The goal came with nine seconds left before the break, and the Eagles were quick to add on, getting a goal from Justin Draper early in the second half to send them on their way to a 3-0 win over the Quakers at Anne Arundel Community College.
After capturing the C Conference crown in 2016 and reaching the B Conference final last season, Concordia Prep (15-5-1) took another step forward with its first B Conference crown.
“It was a great game altogether. The defense had a clean sheet and we made a good final run,” said Calheira, who finished with a goal and assist. “In the first half, it was tough because wehad a lot of chances … and we couldn’t finish. But once we got that [first] goal, it started flowing, and we were comfortable after we got the second goal, and it was just a great team effort.”
Both teams played their best in the postseason, with each earning shutout victories in the opening two rounds.
Sunday was clearly the Saints’ day. After Draper’s finish, coming off a feed from Angel Poblete, Concordia Prep continued to push forward.
The Quakers’ best chance came with19:15 left, when Alexander Shine took a free kick that was flicked in front of the net before goalie Noah Gregory grabbed it.
To be playing on the final day of the season was especially rewarding for the Quakers, who dedicated their season to former teammate Stephen Bogusky, a 2018 graduate who died in a car accident this past summer. Last season, Bogusky was instrumental in Friends capturing its first league championship since 1999, scoring a goal in the semifinals and the title game.
After graduating 12 seniors from last year’s championship team, the Quakers’ early season goals were finishing .500 and making the playoffs. But they reached the conference title game and finished with a 12-5-2 mark.
“It could have been seen as a transitional building season, but it wasn’t. Wemade it all the way to the final, had a really good record and I think a lot of that had to do with everybody playing in Stephen’s memory,” Friends coach Phil Greatwich said.