Gilman coach Jon Seal said his team's preparation for a showdown with Loyola Blakefield on Friday at 4 p.m. — which will most likely determine a key seeding slot in the upcoming Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference playoffs — started with the Greyhounds' commanding 3-0 triumph over John Carroll on Wednesday afternoon in Roland Park.
If the victory is any indication of how Seal's squad will fare against the Dons, then Gilman would be in a good position to secure the second seed behind McDonogh.
Seniors Cotter Brown and Christian Wulff and junior Taylor Vosvick saw to that by taking care of the scoring in a match dominated by the Greyhounds.
Vosvick struck first on a direct kick in the ninth minute, although the visitors managed to keep it close for the rest of the half.
After the intermission, though, the Greyhounds began clicking in the offensive third, offering a series of shots that were denied by John Carroll keeper Kevin Gambrell (13 saves).
The first shot he couldn't handle was a beauty by Brown, who turned on a left-footer from 20 yards that found the upper left corner of the net.
Four minutes later, senior Jake Matthai's one-timer was deflected off the post before sophomore Sam Wancowicz drilled a shot just over the crossbar.
However, Wulff's power stroke tore through Gambrell's outstretched hands with 14:25 left in the contest to end the scoring, if not the fusillade directed the Patriot keeper's way.
Still, he was able to make a final spectacular save, one that stuffed junior Riley DeSmith from point-blank range in the 73rd minute.
The defending champs' next move is to try to solve Loyola on the Dons' small grass pitch in Towson. Loyola prevailed, 1-0, in Roland Park on Sept. 30 on senior Jamie Dubyoski's goal.
"It's a difficult atmosphere there," Seal said. "The field is small and their fans are always making a lot of noise. We may have to change the way we play a little bit. We won't build out of the back as much and we'll use (6-foot-4) Jake (Matthai) up top. We're going to have to defend on set-pieces better than we did today."