by Mike Buchanan

The following is a comprehensive wrap-up of Fall sports in the IAAM for 2007.  I have listed the regular season champion and runner-up (with league record) and the post season champion and runner-up (with overall record).

Three schools had two champions each in the regular season:
1)  Garrison Forest in A Field Hockey and C Soccer
2)  John Carroll in A Soccer and A Cross Country
3)  Maryvale Prep in B Soccer and B Volleyball

Two schools had two champions each in the season-end tournament:
1) Annapolis Area Christian in C Soccer and C Volleyball
2) Institute of Notre Dame in B Cross Country and C Field Hockey

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REGULAR SEASON (and runner-up)        TOURNAMENT CHAMP (and runner-up)

Cross Country

A Conference                           A Conference
John Carroll (9-0)                       Notre Dame Prep (62 points)
McDonogh, NDP (7-2)                 John Carroll (74 points)

John Carroll swept through the regular season undefeated, led by the duo of Erika Stasakova and Nicole Nicole Clarke. But Clarke was under the weather in the tournament race, and Coach Tom Klein’s NDP Blazers blazed their way to IAAM title, placing six of seven runners in the top 25, led by Jo Rubino in eighth with a time of 20:19. Stasakova repeated as A Conference individual champ with a time of 19:10 on the 5K course at Oregon Ridge.

B Conference                            B Conference
Glenelg Country (15-0)                 Institute of Notre Dame (37 points)
Institute of Notre Dame (14-1)       Glenelg Country (38 points)

Glenelg Country also went undefeated in the regular season, and like John Carroll in the A, also got upset in the finals, as IND squeaked out a one-point win, 37-38.  Glenelg Country’s Maeve Ricuarte won the B individual, and overall race, with a time of 19:01.

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Field Hockey

A Conference                             A Conference
Garrison Forest (11-2-1)                Garrison Forest (16-2-1)
Bryn Mawr (10-3-1)                      Archbishop Spalding (11-9-1)

After losing a core of starters from last year’s finals team, Coach Traci Davis had to re-build. Instead, she re-loaded with an over-achieving group of sophomores (10 of 17 players) and swept to the 2007 title. The Grizzlies won the regular season, and then posted three shutout wins in the playoffs, 1-0, over both NDP and Severn, and then 2-0 over Spalding in the finals at Friends. Martha Plack and Alex Goldstein scored one goal each and the stifling Garrison defenders, led by Anna Heinrich, did the rest, as keeper Emily Cain was rarely tested.

B Conference                           B Conference            
McDonogh (12-1-1)                    McDonogh (16-1-1)        
John Carroll (10-3-1)                   John Carroll (13-6-1)

McDonogh and John Carroll were one-two in the regular season, split two regular season meetings, and battled into overtime in the championship match. Coach Halyna Fried and her Eagles finally got the upper hand, when Alissa Polino scored for a 1-0 sudden-death win at Bryn Mawr. Goalie Caitlin Cromwell had 12 saves as she and her defense posted the shutout win.

C Conference                           C Conference
IND, Lutheran (both 13-1)            Institute of Notre Dame (17-4)        
Baltimore Lutheran (16-2)

Baltimore Lutheran and Institute of Notre Dame tied for the regular-season crown, each at 13-1 trading 2-1 wins in their two meetings. The pair continued the evenly-matched rivalry down to the finals, through a 1-1 regulation, two scoreless overtimes and into the shootout phase, at Bryn Mawr. The Indians won that, 3-2, allowing Coach Stacey Bilenki and IND to take the crown. Indian goalie Alexandra Saba made the clinching save on the final one-on-one (that would have forced yet another tie). Despite the loss, Lutheran goalie Megan Lastner also had an outstanding game with 25 saves.

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Soccer

A Conference                             A Conference
John Carroll (9-1)                         St. Vincent Pallotti (11-5-2)
Archbishop Spalding (8-1-1)          McDonogh (15-5-3)        

After making it to the 2006 finals and losing numerous key players, Pallotti was overshadowed for much of the season – until it counted. The No. 5 seed Panthers swept through the playoffs, defeating three higher seeds, all by a 1-0 score.  After dispatching IND and regular-season champ John Carroll, Coach Mike Vawter’s team completed the improbable task with a win over McDonogh in the title match at Glenelg Country. Randall Marshall scored the winning goal and Amanda Carta and her defense posted yet another shutout.  John Carroll and Archbishop Spalding were both nationally ranked during the season; Spalding was ranked No. 1 in the nation at one point.

B Conference                         B Conference                    
Maryvale Prep (6-0-2)                Maryvale Prep (13-3-4)
Severn (6-1-1)                          Severn (10-7-3)

Maryvale Prep, after winning the regular-season, swept through the tourney and defeated Severn, 3-0, in the finals at Glenelg Country, making it back-to-back championships for Coach Billy Reinhardt and the Lions. Sophia Thomas scored two goals in the title match and keeper Sarah Mather and her defense earned the shutout.