The McDonogh-Archbishop Curley soccer rivalry will continue, but two of the most notable recent participants have moved on to a professional career with Major League Soccer.
The problem with MLS making Baltimore attacking midfielder Santino Quaranta, 16, its youngest signee ever, and Annapolis striker Devin Barclay, 17, the third youngest, leaves an important question unanswered. Who was better: Quaranta's Curley teams or Barclay's McDonogh teams?
McDonogh took the 1998 Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association championship, 2-1, over Curley, which returned the favor in the 1999 title match by the same score.
"That was my favorite thing in high school, playing McDonogh," said Quaranta, who has three younger brothers, one of them, Mario, now playing at Curley. "So many people came to those games. It was intense."
The future promises to be intense for these two youngsters, who both signed incentive-laden, multi-year contracts - Quaranta for five years and Barclay for four - which could average six figures, and much more, depending on how well they do. Today, they find out who they will play for when MLS conducts its six-round draft in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Both Soccer Club of Baltimore alumni are expected to be first-round selections, considering the investment the league has made in them. Quaranta has expressed a strong desire to go to nearby D.C. United, whose coach, Thomas Rongen, has been profuse in his praise of the speedy midfielder and in regular phone contact with Quaranta's father, Tommy, for weeks.
To help make this a reality, since Saturday night United traded All-Star defenders Carlos Llamosa and Jeff Agoos to obtain the fourth, eighth and 10th picks in the first round, where the team previously had none.
Barclay wants to play for the Galaxy in Los Angeles, where he has close family, with the Tampa Bay Mutiny a second choice.
Barclay finds himself again playing for the United States' under-20 national team, being promoted late in 2000 after spending most of the year with the national under-18s. He played in all five U.S. under-20 matches this year, starting four, and assisted Seth Trembly's winner two minutes into injury time Thursday for a 2-1 victory over Mexico in Guadalajara.
Barclay called "speed, quickness and my ability to get into position" his most notable skills.
"I score goals. I'm more of a forward or a withdraw striker. I can hold possession," he said.
Quaranta went into full-time residence with the national under-17s under Columbia's John Ellinger in January 2000. He started 45 of 51 matches the team played in last year, putting up impressive numbers with 23 goals and 22 assists.
"I like to play outside forward," Quaranta said. "I like to run at players. I like to score and I like to swing balls in from the outside."
Both Quaranta and Barclay drew interest from international clubs, but expressed excitement about playing, at least for now, on the domestic stage.
"Overseas was lonely and being by myself," said Barclay, whose younger brother, Colin, is a sophomore at McDonogh. "I liked MLS because it was local and the league is steadily improving, and I enjoy a lot of the MLS people. It's just going to continue to get better."
Said Quaranta: "There was a lot of interest overseas, but I didn't have any interest in going over there. I'm young and this is something I always wanted to do and something I'm ready for. [MLS] has been watching me for a while and they saw what I can do."
With the signings, MLS has signaled a new determination to keep the top, young American players home. Previously, players signed before completing college were paid $40,000 annually, plus a $35,000 college stipend, good for 10 years. It is available to both Quaranta and Barclay.
While both Barclay and Quaranta will be available to their MLS teams, their first responsibility will be to their national teams, each of which has regional qualifying in March. Should those teams advance, there will be world championships in late summer.
