GIRLS' SOCCER: No Mercy: Patriots Draw, Remain Unbeaten

Gary Lynch knew his John Carroll girls' soccer team was in for a tight battle with Mercy on Wednesday. One hundred minutes later, his premonitions were confirmed.

John Carroll (8-0-2, 3-0-2 IAAM A Conference) and Mercy (9-1-1, 3-0-1) played through 80 minutes of regulation and two, 10-minute overtime periods with neither team breaking through in a scoreless tie in a battle between two of the top four teams in the powerful Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference.

"I saw it as a 50-50 battle," Lynch said. "I thought the big difference was our keeper came up big when we needed her. She had two huge saves. I don't think we challenged their keeper as much."

John Carroll put offensive pressure on Mercy in the first half, but the visitors owned the offensive action in the second half.

The Patriots shut down Mercy's explosive junior Alexis Prior-Brown, thanks in large part to sophomore defender Kiana Wright, who locked down her counterpart with an inspiring effort for the entire match.

"That's as good as it gets," Lynch said. "It was fair play, and it was aggressive play."

Junior goalkeeper Gina Maiorana came up huge when the Patriots needed her, turning aside a Prior-Brown strike with 8:15 remaining in the second sudden-death overtime.

"It was just luck, praying," Maiorana said. "That touch made the difference I think."

The Patriots have allowed just three goals all season.

"We knew we've been playing well lately, working hard, doing a lot of running," Maiorana said. "Any team can beat any team at this point. We new we had a game, we'd better step it up."

The tie keeps both squads on pace with Archbishop Spalding (10-3-1, 4-0-1) and McDonogh (7-0, 4-0) in the IAAM A Conference race.

"When you get into the IAAM, you have the top four teams in the area. You know it's going to be a battle," Lynch said. "We're at the backside of that, we're No. 4. But we feel like we can play with most of the teams."

John Carroll visits McDonogh Oct. 11 for a 4 p.m. match. The Patriots—a much younger squad than in years past, Lynch said—are ready to make a statement.

"We're pumped," Maiorana said. "I think if McDonogh's going to come out thinking they can dominate us, they've got something coming."