It's always darkest before dawn, the saying goes.

And that's how it must have seemed for No. 1 ranked McDonogh last night after blowing a two-goal lead and seeing Gilman tie their Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference tournament semifinal, 10-10, with 2: 32 left.

But 48 seconds into a four-minute overtime, the Eagles relocated the spotlight on a game-winning shot by Matt Primm. His goal ousted the defending champion Greyhounds, 11-10, in a hotly fought, see-saw game witnessed by about 3,000 loud fans at Johns Hopkins' Homewood Field.

The Eagles (19-2) will face third-seed Loyola (14-6), ranked No. 5 in The Sun and a 12-5 winner over No. 2 seed St. Mary's (10-5) in last night's earlier semifinal, next Friday night in the title game.

McDonogh's Bobby Benson finished with four goals and three assists, including three straight goals to give the Eagles a 10-8 lead midway through the fourth period, and the game-winning assist on Primm's fourth goal in the the four-minute overtime session.

Distributing 9.5 points of excess space through leg.