Mercy’s Homecoming game against Notre Dame Prep Friday night came down to one thing: which team made the most of the opportunities they were given.

After goaltender Soleil Umbarger helped Mercy survive the first half, the fifth-ranked Magic finished a pair of chances to pick up a 2-0 victory over the No. 4 Blazers in an IAAM A Conference soccer match in Baltimore City.

“[NDP] put us under pressure and we kind of played scared in the first half,” said Mercy coach Doug Pryor, whose team won its sixth straight to improve to 9-1 and 2-0 in IAAM A play. “They were all over us. The goalie stopped a breakaway [and] came up big.”

With the game being dominated by the Blazers’ ball control offense, it was Mercy senior Peyton Schenning that turned the tide for her team and got it on the board early in the second half.

The senior took a pass at midfield and charged toward the NDP net, creating an offensive chance that resulted in a corner kick.

On the ensuing corner, Schenning gained possession after a scrum in the goal box, found an open look and put the ball past diving NDP goalkeeper Lydia Itzoe for a 1-0 lead with 30 minutes to go in the game.

“We got a long way to go,” Pryor said about his team’s performance. “In the first half, we struggled a little bit. But they grew up a tad and your senior star [Schenning] got a great goal. This is the kind of game you need your senior stars to step up.”

The goal ignited the crowd and the Mercy team as the Magic continued to attack after the initial goal.

Mercy cashed in another opportunity and created some breathing room a short time later. Following a free kick, Magic sophomore forward Mylana Stevens gained possession and took a shot from the top of the goal box.

The shot soared over the outstretched hand of the goalkeeper and into the top corner to stake the Magic to a 2-0 lead.

“Coming out in the second, our mentality was on a different level,” Schenning said of her team’s second-half surge. “NDP is a great team and we had to overcome our obstacles. It was a great moment.”

Mercy wouldn’t have been in position to make its second half charge if it wasn’t for Umbarger’s brilliance early. In the first 10 minutes, the sophomore keeper came up big with a stop on a scoring chance for NDP (4-2-1, 0-2 IAAM A).

The Blazers’ Nikki Filipidis got behind the Magic defense with a perfectly-placed pass hitting her in stride as she entered the goal box.

Filipidis tried to beat Umbarger to the near post, but the Mercy keeper dove and swatted the ball out of bounds. Another shot on the ensuing corner kick sailed high for NDP.

“Coming from these practices - I have been definitely working hard,” Umbarger said. “The team bonding in the back [and] I do think that helped. It’s not just me, it’s the whole team. We have been working together this whole time.”

Another big chance by the Blazers was spoiled at the six-minute mark when a shot from 10 yards out clanked off the crossbar and out. An inability to finish is something that has haunted NDP head coach

Cindy Walsh’s team this season.

“That’s been our Achilles’ heel this entire season – finishing in the final third,” Walsh said. “We play some beautiful soccer and played some great defense. We possess it and we can have possession 90 percent of the time but unless you put the ball in the back of the net [it doesn’t matter]. That is something we struggle with.”

It was an important win for Mercy with the postseason just a few weeks away.

“This league is finally where it is supposed to be,” Pryor said. “There are six teams in it and six teams can win. Every game in this league so far has been a battle. It’s great for the league and great for the kids. Everybody right now is just fighting for seeding. The playoffs are where it’s at.”

NO. 5 MERCY 2, NO. 4 NOTRE DAME PREP 0

Mercy 0 2 - 2

Notre Dame Prep 0 0 - 0

Goals: Mercy – Payton Schenning, Mylana Stevens

Assists: Mercy – Asia Minor

Saves: Mercy – Soleil Umbarger 5; Notre Dame Prep – Lydia Itzoe 3