Oct. 10—Ellie Hughes had been standing off to the weak side of John Carroll girls soccer’s attack.
First came her teammate’s shot from the right side that ricocheted back off Bel Air goalkeeper Kaylee Norstrand. Then a follow-up from a Bobcat defender that popped toward Hughes. The junior extended her leg. Despite momentum carrying her in the opposite direction, she found the back of the net. As the ball swished past Norstrand, Hughes fell back and toppled over.
She was met by a dog pile from her teammates where, together on the ground, they rejoiced in the third Patriots goal coming in such fashion.
Controlled chaos in the box was the foremost ingredient in John Carroll’s recipe to dismantling Bel Air, 7-1, Tuesday night.
“A lot of it is just the players having trust in their teammates where, if they’re gonna make a run, they’re gonna be rewarded for the run,” Patriots coach Hayley Howe said. “Everybody else, get in the box because the ball is coming in. A lot of it is that individual effort but it’s also team trust.”
That trust hasn’t been there from the get-go. It’s something the Patriots (5-6) have hammered in training six days a week since before the start of the season.
“We kind of worked from the back forward,” Howe said. “Early in the season it was like, let’s get our goalie and defense locked down. And then our midfield. And now, we’re starting to really unlock what it’s gonna look like up top. It’s been piece by piece.”
That evolution has been a sticking point, particularly in conference play.
John Carroll’s attack, at times this year, has struggled to penetrate the final third of the field or to find the back of the net. They get runs and they get momentum — but can’t finish. Howe lauded Tuesday’s win as a needed one for their goal-scoring confidence where “nobody took their foot off the pedal.”
At its best, like against Bel Air (6-3-2), the attack congests the box. It quickly becomes a hodge-podge of extended legs and bustling arms — anything to get the ball through the thickets and into the netting. The Patriots thrived in congestion.
Four others came that way in the win. Emmie King’s opening goal, then Pieper McCue’s first of two. A rebound from the weak side by sophomore midfielder Lily Baumgartner turned into a point in the second half. And junior midfielder Mylana Stevens piled on with the game’s final goal.
But that’s not the only way the Patriots can inflate the scoreboard.
By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
The Aegis: Top stories
McCue’s early second half goal can only be described as having actually bent it like David Beckham. It was an on-the-dot corner kick that whirled around Bel Air’s defense untouched before sinking into the far pocket.
“If only we could draw that up every time,” Howe said with a laugh.
Senior defender Caroline Harrison later lined up for a free kick from 35 yards out — a budding specialty of hers. She buried it. Never a doubt as it whizzed over Norstrand’s high hands to make it 5-1.
Bel Air’s lone goal came courtesy of an Ally Mace penalty kick. That was an early equalizer to make it 1-1.
Howe said wins like this can remind themselves what they’re capable of as they head into the back half of the season, cycling through conference foes for the second time.
That starts with hosting Notre Dame Prep at 6 p.m. on Friday.
As John Carroll broke down its postgame huddle, one player said with some conviction in her voice, “Let’s do the same thing to NDP on Friday.”