Spalding salvages title shot

The Archbishop Spalding girls soccer team found themselves in unfamiliar territory for 76 minutes yesterday. For the first time in 19 games, the Cavaliers were losing.

John Carroll held a one-goal lead for the majority of regulation until Courtney Hoyes came to the rescue.

The senior didn't want her season to end, so she knocked in a header with six seconds left in regulation and pushed through another goal with 3:03 left in overtime to send Archbishop Spalding into the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference final with a 2-1 victory.

On the tying goal, Hoyes took a pass served in from the left side by Teresa Boyle and beat John Carroll keeper Gina Maiorana inside the far post. Hoyes took a through pass from the right side from Maggie Morrison in overtime and put her foot on it before depositing it by a sprawled-out Maiorana as bedlam erupted on the Cavaliers' sideline.

"We kept the momentum up and didn't let it go," said Hoyes, who tallied her 15th and 16th goals. "I knew Maggie could do it. Me and her work incredibly together. I was just there a put it in."

The top-seeded Cavaliers will face No. 7 Mercy at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Gerstell Academy for the conference championship.

After a foul was called on the edge of the 18-yard box in the third minute, Mel Lookingland booted a penalty kick past Jocelyn McCoy to give John Carroll (11-6-2) a 1-0 lead.

Once the Cavaliers got behind, they dialed up the pressure, outshooting the Patriots,15-3, in regulation while hitting two crossbars. John Carroll seemed content with just trying to clear their zone, while keeping three or four players glued to Morrison, who has accumulated 17 goals this season.

"They were triple-teaming Maggie all day," Cavaliers coach Bob Dieterle. "We knew that was coming, and what we were trying to do was mix it up. That was one of the reasons we were able to get that ball across to Courtney - because they had so many people flooded over to Maggie's side."

With the Cavaliers' intense offensive pressure and the attention paid to Morrison and Hoyes, chances were plentiful. Morrison managed to clank the crossbar in the eighth minute, while Vickie Connor did the same midway through the second half.

"We had a lot of good opportunities, but it was one of those that, frankly, I was concerned that it was going to be one of those days," Dieterle said. "Our team played really well. They had minimal amount of shots, but nothing dangerous."

The Cavaliers need just one more victory to net 20 and bring back a title for the second consecutive season and third time in four years.

John Carroll (11-6-2) 1 0 0 0 - 1

Spalding (19-0-1) 0 1 0 1 - 2

GOALS: JC - Lookingland; AS - Hoyes 2. ASSISTS: AS - Boyle, Morrison. SAVES: JC - Maiorana 8; AS - McCoy 3. SHOTS: JC - 5; AS - 18. CORNERS: JC - 2; AS - 6.