The McDonogh boys soccer team spent the first half unsuccessfully trying to find the one crack in visiting Archbishop Curley's bunkered-down defense yesterday.
The frustration ended just two minutes into the second half with sophomore forward Julian Griggs scoring his 16th goal of the season, enough for the No. 2 Eagles to claim a 1-0 win over the No. 3 Friars in Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference play in Owings Mills.
Junior midfielder Mamadou Kansaye collected the ball on the left side, beat a defender to gain space and then lofted a left-footed cross to the middle for Griggs, whose perfectly placed header got past Curley senior goalkeeper Jon Connolly on his right side.
The Eagles (9-1) are 7-0 in the MIAA, and Curley (6-5) fell to 3-4 after its second league loss in as many days. On Thursday, the Friars were upset by Gilman.
For McDonogh, the fast start in the second half came down to more attention to detail in its offensive third.
"In the first half, we were lacking a little energy," Kansaye said. "In the second half, we came out right off the bat and got the goal. I served a good ball to Julian, and he made a great effort for it and headed it home."
The Friars pressed for the equalizer in the final 20 minutes, but sturdy play in back led by central defenders Joe Vidmar and Marquez Fernandez kept things in order for the Eagles.
More boys soccer
NORTH CARROLL 3, NORTH HARFORD 1: : Josh Aspril scored early in the second half to break a scoreless tie and the Panthers (5-0-1) held on to defeat the visiting Hawks (3-2).
BROADNECK 3, OLD MILL 0: : Guy Skord, Jack Reed and Tyler Fernandez scored to lead the Bruins.
Field hockey
FALLSTON 3, BEL AIR 0:: Krissy Fusco had a first-half goal and assist to lead the Cougars (8-1) over the visiting Bobcats (3-4).
Girls volleyball
NO. 5 CATONSVILLE 3, PIKESVILLE 0:: Emily Tyson had eight kills and nine aces to lead the Comets (6-0) to a Baltimore County victory.
No. 2 MOUNT DE SALES 3, MCDONOGH 0: : Katy Buck had a team-high 13 kills to lead the Sailors (5-1) over the Eagles - 25-11, 25-16, 25-7.
Baltimore Sun reporters contributed to this article.
