John Carroll and NDP tie in an IAAM A Conference soccer showdown

When both teams come away disappointed from a soccer match, it’s usually because the game ended in a tie.

Such was the case when John Carroll and Notre Dame Prep tangled in Bel Air on Wednesday night in a hotly contested Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference match.

The 1-1 deadlock was frustrating for both sides, mainly because the Blazers have yet to earn an A Conference victory this season and the Patriots, in their first week as the No. 1 team in the Baltimore Banner/VSN Girls Soccer Top 15, fell from the top spot in the league standings behind red-hot Mercy.

Nevertheless, both squads also had good reason to be pleased with their play — NDP for dominating the match for long stretches and the Patriots for finding a way to leave the pitch without suffering their first A Conference setback.

The first half was replete with scoring chances that were unrewarded, beginning with John Carroll junior defender Caroline Harrison’s shot from a severe angle that eventually found teammate Mia Snellenburg for a 15-yard attempt.

Next, it was Blazer senior Natalie O’Brocki’s turn to be denied, first from the wing and then on a rocket that was headed straight for the corner until Patriots’ senior keeper Anna Garvey — an NDP transfer — made a diving block that caromed off her hands toward NDP freshman forward Becca Blunt.

Garvey (9 saves), though, sprang quickly back into action to smother Blunt’s offering to keep the game scoreless with just under nine minutes remaining in the opening period.

”It was all adrenaline,” Garvey said about her quick reflexes on the back-to-back saves. “Your head snaps and you just have to get up really quickly.”

A couple of minutes later, NDP freshman forward Nikki Filipdis’ breakaway was thwarted by senior Megann Kalthof’s fine defensive effort in front of Garvey. Ever persistent, Filipidis rifled another shot that skirted the far post with 90 seconds left in the half.

The Blazers (4-2-2, 0-2-1 league) pressed the issue in the second half, nearly finding the net on sophomore Isabella Schlee’s shot that rattled off the past and then stayed in the Patriots’ defensive third.

After a ball was served into the box and eluded Garvey, Blunt was in the right place to finish a point-blank shot for a 1-0 NDP advantage in the 49th minute.

Midway through the half, O’Brocki set up junior Tricia Kohler for a blast that whistled over the goal.

John Carroll (7-1-2, 2-0-2) mounted a comeback of its own when Kalthof had a couple of opportunities to equalize, with neither bearing fruit.

The Patriots finally drew even when senior defender Lauren Bullock’s direct kick found sophomore Elle Turner hustling toward the goal for a finish with 11:26 remaining in regulation.

O’Brocki earned two chances to break the stalemate in overtime for NDP while freshman Emma Fuchs had one for John Carroll as well before time expired and the draw was recorded.

”I don’t think that this result reflects the way my team played,” first-year NDP coach Cynthia Walsh said. “We were playing really beautiful soccer. I think my team is the best team in the league. But it’s deflating to come out with that much energy and still not be good enough to get the result we wanted. If we could have gotten that second goal, it would have taken the wind out of their sails.”

O’Borki said that when the Blazers “ping it back and forth” like they did in the offensive third, they can be dangerous.

”We were locked in,” she said. “We just couldn’t finish.”

John Carroll coach Hayley Howe said that her team needed to face some adversity.

”That team had our number,” she said. “They quieted us up top and came in with a game plan — and executed it well.”

She also complimented Garvey for her play in the goal.

”Anna has command of the 18-yard box,” Howe said. “She’s happy to sacrifice her body (to make a save) for the team.”

NO. 1 JOHN CARROLL 1, NO. 6 NOTRE DAME PREP 1

NDP 0 1 0 0 — 1

JC 0 1 0 0 — 1

Goals: NDP-Becca Blunt; JC-Elle Turner.

Assists: JC-Lauren Bullock.

Saves: NDP-Lydia Itzoe 8; JC-Anna Garvey 9.