The No. 1 McDonogh girls soccer team relentlessly pursued a goal in the first half against visiting John Carroll on Monday, only to find the No. 4 Patriots stubbornly holding their ground.
Frustration for the home team? No. Panic? No.
The Eagles' dominating first half served its purpose, wearing down their opponent for a persistent second-half breakthrough.
The Eagles put in four impressive goals — coming at the Patriots from all angles — to come away with a 4-1 win in an Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference game in Owings Mills.
Freshman forward Casey Martinez sparked the outburst with two goals and an assist, scoring the all-important first goal in the 52nd minute.
Junior All-Metro midfielder Ashley Spivey added a goal and an assist as McDonogh improved to 10-0 overall and 7-0 in the conference. John Carroll (8-1-2) fell to 3-1-2 in league play.
"Our coach [Harry Canellakis] was just commenting on how great we worked during practice, and when he says to really work hard, we put in our effort, and it really showed because we were out-hustling them to the ball in the second half. … Our fitness really helped," Martinez said.
The game's first goal from Martinez was a microcosm of the second half. She made a strong run with the ball down the left side, fending off a defender throughout, and placed a left-footed shot from 14 yards that found the opposite post.
Spivey made it 2-0 moments later, charging to goal to finish off a cross sent in by Martinez from the left side. After the Patriots got a goal from Olivia DiFonso to cut the lead to 2-1 with less than 20 minutes to play, the Eagles closed out the win attacking, getting a goal from senior Lexi Goldstein before Martinez capped the scoring.
"You can't make any excuses; they're a better team, and they outplayed us today. They were better all over the field," said John Carroll coach Gary Lynch, who got an 11-save effort from goalie Gina Maiorana and tireless work from senior sweeper Morgan Fraczkowski.
glenn.graham@baltsun.com
Boys soccer
No. 11 Dulaney 3, Aberdeen 0: Nick Libertini scored three goals to lift the Lions (6-2) over the visiting Eagles.
Field hockey
No. 8 Bryn Mawr 2, McDonogh 1: Elizabeth Shaya and Eliza Clemens each scored a goal as the Mawrtians (6-2) defeated the visiting Eagles in IAAM A Conference play.
Baltimore Sun reporters contributed to this article.