Pallotti’s time to shine

Panthers capture elusive IAAM girls' soccer championship

Christopher Anderson/The Gazette Goalie and team captain Amanda Carta hugs two of her coaches after Pallotti High's girls' soccer team won the IAAM A Conference girls soccer championship game against McDonogh on Sunday.

‘‘No one thought we were going to do this. Everyone thought we were going to lose,” said senior captain Randall Marshall, who scored Pallotti’s lone goal. ‘‘We were the only ones who believed. It didn’t matter that we were the five seed. Doing this as an underdog is the best thing ever.”

Last year’s senior-heavy team fell in the IAAM semifinals despite being heavily favored. The group included Annesia Faulkner, a two-time Gazette-Star Girls Soccer Player of the Year, now playing at the University of Maryland. Sophomore midfielder Tori Elman was thrust into the corner-kicking role her big sister Taryn occupied before graduating last year. It was Tori’s corner kick with five minutes left in the first half that led to Marshall’s game winning goal from two feet out.

‘‘Last year I never took any corners and now I’m taking all of them, so I was hoping that’s how we would score,” Elman said. ‘‘Randall is just always there and she got it done again.”

Senior goalkeeper Amanda Carta recorded seven saves and notched her third straight shutout and her 10th shutout of the season.

‘‘I’ve said from the beginning of the season that she was the best goalie in the state,” Vawter said. ‘‘She came out and stopped a lot of balls before they became really dangerous.”

‘‘We lost a lot of our starters, seniors from last year that had a big impact,” said Carta. ‘‘At the beginning of the season, we tried to step up and fill their shoes. We were a little bit spotty over the season, but I think this is what matters.”

Pallotti won only two of its final 10 games in the regular season, finishing with a 10-6-2 record and entering the IAAM tournament as the fifth seed. The Panthers faced higher seeds in each of their playoff victories with wins against the Institute of Notre Dame, regular season champion John Carroll and McDonogh.

‘‘Our theme from the very beginning of the season was simple: step up,” Vawter said. ‘‘They did and now you see the result.”

McDonogh narrowly missed on its opportunities to tie the score. Seniors Gigi Mangione and Molly Fernandez rifled consecutive shots off the crossbar early in the second half. The Eagles finished the season 15-5-3 with a regular season win against Pallotti in Laurel and a playoff semifinal victory against Archbishop Spalding, which entered last week ranked No. 11 in the country by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

‘‘We were playing pretty hard, and we were getting more numbers but just couldn’t capitalize,” said coach Maurice Boylan. ‘‘I think we’ll take away that we got here this year, and hopefully next year, our kids will get it done.”

Pallotti’s players said the championship is dedicated to the girls that showed the underclassmen what championship attitude was all about.

‘‘Without the seniors last year, I don’t think we could’ve done it this year,” Marshall said. ‘‘I would never have had the confidence without their support.”

E-mail Robert Klemko at rklemko@gazette.net.