Spalding hands No. 1 McDonogh another surprise with a 1-1 draw

After opening the week with a 1-0 win over No. 2 Gilman, top-ranked McDonogh figured to salt away its position as the top soccer team in the MIAA A Conference with wins over Archbishop Curley and Archbishop Spalding.

It didn’t turn out that way for the Eagles.

First, they lost 1-0 in double-overtime at Curley on Tuesday.  Then, on Thursday night, under the lights at Spalding, the host Cavaliers earned their first league point in 2010 by playing McDonogh to a 1-1 double-overtime draw.

Both goals were scored in the opening half, as Malcolm Harris scored with an assist from Michael Gamble for McDonogh, and Alex Eaker, from Alex Cristzos, scored for Spalding.  Eaker’s strike came from 22 yards, at the top of the box.  Early on, Spalding appeared to take 1-0 lead when David Boretti banged the ball into the back of the net, but the score was waived off for offsides.

McDonogh dominated the ball most of the night, out-shooting the Cavs 18-5, but the Eagles could not break through the Spalding defense for a second score.  Goalkeeper Casey Beyers led the effort with 13 saves, while junior Mark Truffer did an excellent job marking Gamble.

“Our guys really came out together tonight, and fought their hearts out,” said Saplding coach John Coppola.  “It’s been a pretty tough few weeks for us, and this was a tremendous way for us to get our first point in the standings.”

With the tie, McDonogh (14-2-1, 8-1-1) has 25 points and still leads second place Gilman by five points, but the door is open much wider than it was expected to be.  The Greyhounds, who have one game remaining with the Eagles, had their game with Curley postponed on Thursday.

Spalding (4-9-3 overall) is now 0-9-1 in the A Conference.