Mercy to host IAAM Challenge V

9/4/2024

Interscholastic Association of Maryland

Mercy High School hosts schools from around the Baltimore region for the fifth annual IAAM challenge

Mercy High School is proud to host the fifth annual IAAM Challenge, bringing soccer players together from around the Baltimore area. The schedule is listed below.

September 6
6:00 p.m.: Bel Air vs. St. Paul’s School for Girls

September 7
9:00 a.m.: Perry Hall vs. Roland Park Country School
11:00 a.m.: Elizabeth Seton vs. John Carroll
1:00 p.m.: Fallston vs. Spalding
3:00 p.m.: South River vs. Notre Dame Prep
5:00 p.m.: Episcopal vs. McDonogh
7:00 p.m.: Century vs. Mercy

For more information, please read the article posted by the IAAM on this exciting event!

Posted: Sep 04, 2024

By Nelson Coffin
nelson@iaamsports.com

The first IAAM Challenge at Mercy’s Sisters of Mercy Field provided fans and players with high quality matches to help kick off the 2019 soccer season, and the fifth edition of the early-season showdown did much the same over the weekend at Mercy when A Conference teams produced a healthy 6-1 record against non-league rivals.

St. Paul’s School for Girls opened the festivities on Friday night by edging Bel Air, 1-0, before Roland Park Country School improved to 3-0 this season by topping Perry Hall by the same score Saturday morning.

John Carroll the handled Elizabeth Seton of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, 4-0, prior to Archbishop Spalding’s 2-0 takedown of Fallston.

Notre Dame Prep produced another 2-0 result in beating against South River while McDonogh suffered 2-1 setback to Episcopal Academy.

Mercy closed the proceeding with a thorough 5-0 rout of Century.

The seven-game event gave players and coaches of public and private school girls soccer programs the opportunity to begin the new season with fierce non-league competition.

SPSG coach Joie Gill said that seniors Izzy Shurtleff, Reese Flaherty and Ashley Hayunga will lead the offense this year during the Gators’ return to the A Conference.

“The team is excited to be back in the A this season and looks forward to some great competition,” Gill said.

John Carroll’s veteran squad, featuring seniors Mylana Stevens (F/MF, Virginia Commonwealth) and Addy Carter (MF, Salisbury University), juniors Ava Porrovicchio (MF), Cali Friedel (MF), Emma Fuchs (MF) and Pieper McCue (F), and sophomores Clara Madore (MF), Olivia D’Alessandro (MF) and Bella Ottone (F), should continue to sustain the Patriots the rest of the season.

Moreover, junior Ella Jantz will be ready to help at center back for a squad that returns 20 players and hopes to “easily pick up where we left off.,” JC Coach Hayley Howe said. “(We) will continue to fine-tune our team chemistry on the field. With veteran leadership, we’re hoping to be top contenders in our conference.”

Episcopal Academy, the 2023 Inter-Ac and Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association champs, secured a tough road win by subduing two-time defending A Conference champion McDonogh.

Nevertheless, the Eagles will have senior Lexi Terry and sophomore Zoe Lilly patrolling the midfield with junior Ava Sesay taking key center back responsibilities as they continue to prepare to contend for the program’s 11th A Conference title since 2010.

Roland Park, coming off key wins over archrival Bryn Mawr and Baltimore County power Sparrows Point, used sophomore Laney Kowitz’s opportunistic goal to get by Perry Hall.

“We did a great job by showing up (well) against (Bryn Mawr and Sparrows Point),” RPCS coach Gaby Davis said. “By the last game we were a little bit fatigued and had to work smarter against a challenging team.”

Junior Megan Bealefeld and her sophomore defensive mate Brianna Glick helped to preserve the clean slate for junior keeper Avery Mason.

Davis said that the team has recovered from an initial shock of moving up to the A Conference and is “taken on the challenge and are working hard to compete.”

The Reds will also count on junior forward Logan Gilmore, junior midfielders Caroline Scharpf, Eliza Young and Grace Holthaus, and sophomore Callista Conne.

Junior defender Reagan Ramsey and freshman Brooklyn Glick have added strength while junior Elise Boyd and sophomore Khloe Karcher are up from the JV do the same.

Spalding’s strong showing against Fallston was no surprise, considering the Cavaliers will continue bring standout seniors Olivia Nardone and Riley Willis and sophomore Karrington Gregory to bear on opponents, who may find tough sledding against a team returning all 11 starters.

Notre Dame Prep’s win over South River can be explained, in part, because the Blazers have been through the wars in previous seasons.

NDP coach Cynthia Walsh said that her team’s “biggest strength will be our experience with only having lost three seniors last year (two starters/contributors)”

That means her team returns nine starters, four of whom are All-Conference selections, such as senior center back Hanna Phillips (Captain), senior outside back Alissa Armstrong (Captain), junior keeper Lydia Itzoe (Captain) and junior center midfielder Greyson Tischer.

The coach added that the Blazers, who have suffered two consecutive disappointing losses in the conference semifinals and “have held onto that sour taste, which has fueled the team’s mindset and motivation to get it done this year.”

Walsh said that this year depth could be the difference for the NDP.

“We will be able to maintain a high quality throughout a game and the season to make a strong run to the end,” the coach concluded. “In addition to the quality we are returning, we have added three freshmen, two of which will be significant contributors for this season (midfielders Tess McCarthy and Finley Cuomo). This will be our most cohesive team since my time here and, coupled with our strongest leadership we have had from our upperclass-women, we have all the key ingredients to make a successful run.”

Hosting the Challenge has become a special time for the host school, its players, coaches and fans.

“It’s a great day of soccer and such a cool event,” said Mercy coach Tom Durkin, whose Magic rallied past another WCAC rival, Good Counsel, 3-2, on Tuesday afternoon. “It’s such a good way to highlight girls private and public school soccer in the area.”

Putting the hammer down against Century topped off a good week against the two-time defending Carroll County champs.

That said, Century lost 11 seniors to graduation, so the teams might be on equal footing in terms of experience, considering that the Magic started two freshmen and three sophomores against Good Counsel. Three other freshmen are part and parcel of Durkin’s rotation.

Against Good Counsel, freshman Zoe Ziehl, sophomore Ava Hartman and junior Aubrey O’Connell notched goals from their forward positions while junior keeper Sarah Graham produced five saves and sophomore outside back Madeline Hoilman had an all-around terrific performance.

Hartman continued her torrid scoring with a pair of goals against the Knights.

“Our young squad showed a lot of mental fortitude today,” Durkin said about beating Good Counsel. “It was a tightly-called game both ways, and the girls did a lot of growing up today. We were fantastic in the second half.”

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