Maryvale Prep girls soccer beats Severn for IAAM B title

With a senior-laden group leading the way, Maryvale Prep girls soccer firmly believed a special season could be had.

It turned out a freshman, Clara McCormick, made sure it happened in Saturday’s Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland B Conference title game against determined Severn.

Midway through the second half, McCormick turned a clear attempt into the game’s only goal, finding the lower far post from 16 yards out on the left side.

The Lions (11-3-1) stayed poised during the remaining time to claim a 1-0 win over the Admirals for the program’s sixth conference championship.

“All season, the effort has been there, the consistency has been there all season,” Maryvale coach Colin Devlin said. “We were coming in with 10 seniors, so the expectations were high. But keeping them motivated and keeping that going is the hard part. That’s a quality side over there [in Severn] — they made us work for it.”

In an evenly played game with scoring chances at a minimum, the Lions finally broke through after freshman Carly Aldridge’s strong run on the left side was cleared by the Admirals’ defense. The ball found McCormick, who sent a low shot from 16 yards that was placed just inside the far post. It was her fifth and by far biggest goal of the season.

“It feels great,” she said. “I’m just so surprised I don’t even remember what happened. It was quite a blur.”

The Admirals created chances to tie, but the Lions’ defense, led by four-year starter Anna Buckley, didn’t budge. With 5:02 to play, Eliza Grace Beard sent a dangerous corner kick to the middle that sophomore goalie Bella Kail aggressively came out to grab.

“It’s a really special moment because Maryvale soccer has been so good to me,” said Buckley, who also was a key contributor on the 2022 championship team. “I think this team is really special because the freshmen have made such a big impact and Clara scoring that goal is an example of it.”

After opening conference play with two losses, the Admirals (10-5-1) regrouped and played their best soccer to reach the title game.  Coming in as the fifth seed, they claimed a 2-1 quarterfinal win over Bryn Mawr in overtime. They followed with a socking 5-2 victory at top-seeded Mount de Sales in the semifinals.

“It was a great season. I’m very proud and happy for the girls — 0-2 to start the season and to come back and make it to the finals,” Severn coach Denison Cabral said. “We beat the first seed [Mount de Sales] in the semifinals and we played in the finals against another very strong program. Unfortunately, we couldn’t finish our chances.”

Goals: MP — McCormick

Saves: S — Reed 3; MP — Kail 2

Half: 0-0