Loyola Blakefield shows perseverance in winning its second consecutive A Conference soccer title

by Derek Toney

There was a bit of irony as a steady rain cascaded Loyola Blakefield soccer team’s celebration on the turf at UMBC Stadium Sunday evening.

Coaching changes. Injuries. New players. Expecations. Pressure. 

Thanks to some luck and a ton of resilience, the Dons endured and cemented their legacy. Loyola defeated Archbishop Curley, 2-0, in the MIAA A Conference title game in Catonsville.

“It’s a great feeling. The last game ever and to win with these guys is a simply great feeling,” said Dons senior forward Dan Klink. “I can’t be more proud of them.”

Sammie Walker and Brody Good each tallied for Loyola (14-2-2 overall), which claimed back-to-back MIAA A crowns for the first time. The Dons join Calvert Hall College (2021-22 and 1996-97) and McDonogh School (2007-08 and 2017-19) in winning consecutive titles in arguably one of the nation’s best boys high school soccer leagues. 

“Repeating was definitely 10 times harder than we thought it was going to be, but we fought through it all and had the team to do it,” said Walker.

Loyola did it with a new face on the sidelines in Geaton Caltabiano, who replaced Mike Marchiano. Marchiano, who guided the Dons to the 2023 MIAA A title, stepped down shortly after last season to become an assistant coach for the University of Maryland’s women’s soccer team. 

Marchiano, now interim coach for Terps women, succeeded longtime coach Lee Tschartet last year. 

With an experienced roster back, led by Walker and Klink, a pair of 6-foot-3 midfielders, not repeating as A Conference champions wasn’t an option for the Dons.

“It was a lot of pressure from Day 1, a lot of expectations,” said Caltabiano, who starred at UMBC after winning a MIAA A title as a senior at Mount St. Joseph 10 years ago. “Then we had a couple of dips during the season and some people wanted to write us off and I give this group a lot of credit.”

After an 8-0-1 start, Loyola had to work around injuries. The Dons found themselves at a crossroad after a 1-0 loss at Concordia Prep three weeks ago. 

“That was not easy. I think we needed a reality check,” said Klink. “It’s not easy trying to go undefeated, back-to-back. I think it helped us…We looked in the mirror and we said, ‘look we have a goal, put this behind us,’ and it made us better.”

The Dons were ready to finish the job Sunday. After a nice string of passes, Walker got the ball at the top of the box, turned and put a shot past Curley goalie Mike Griffith in the 28th minute.

“For us to be able to work it forward and put it in early was super important,” said Walker, a West Virginia commit who missed wide on a clean attempt in the fifth minute.

The Dons’ defense, featuring seniors Ryan Andrews, Diego Hernandez, Michelangelo Parravano and junior Michael Leming and senior goalie Drew Mattingly bored down against a tenacious Curley squad in the second half. Mattingly finished with five saves in the face of several Friar visits in front of the net.

In the 76th minute, Good headed home Joel Romero’s corner kick, giving Loyola some breathing room. The Dons tied Curley, 2-2, in the regular season finale Nov. 1.

The Friars (17-3-2), who last won the MIAA A crown in 2006, weren’t able to breakthrough despite an inspired second half effort Sunday. 

Longtime coach Barry Stitz said the 2024 campaign was “one of the best in school history.”

“It wasn’t because we were the most talented team. We had talent but it was chemistry with 12 seniors, they were the ones who set the bar,” said Stitz. “You saw today in the second half what we are capable of and that’s the way you want to go out, not the way we played the first 40 minutes.”

The Dons, who claimed their fifth MIAA A crown Sunday, were finally able to exult after a season of challenges.

“It was stressful, but I knew if we worked like we know we can as a unit, we would do it,” said Andrews, a senior who was the lone returning starter for the Dons’ defense. “There was no question.”