Patriots Youth To Step Up

By: Jeff Seidel

John Carroll girls soccer coach Gary Lynch said he always has a lot of young players. But this year, he’s going to need them to help out a little more.

Lynch and the Patriots will have seven new starters after graduation robbed them of several key players. John Carroll went 17-5 last year, losing in the semifinals of the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference (to eventual winner St. Vincent Pallotti in overtime) and lost some big-time talent.

Allison Carey is at Vanderbilt, and Jenna Quaranta went to UMBC, so the Patriots have a number of holes to fill.

“They’re eager to learn,” Lynch said of this year’s team. “We’re counting on the young players more this time. They’ll need to fill some key roles this year.”

The Patriots began two-a-day practices Aug. 11. They work out 8-9 a.m. on conditioning and then come back to go from 6 p.m. until dark to go over soccer skills.

This schedule also fits well for Lynch, whose full-time job is at an insurance agency and doesn’t teach at the school.

But Lynch and the Patriots want to go a little farther this season. They won the A Conference while going undefeated in 2004 and repeated the following year.

But they’ve run into trouble the last two years, losing in the semifinals of the conference tournament to the eventual winners. They lived off of defense last year and will need plenty of help there this year.

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Also at John Carroll, Keith Rawlings has taken over as the head football coach.

Rawlings, who owns the popular Arena Club in Harford County, will try to right the ship for a football team that has been struggling the last few years.

The Patriots open on the road, playing at St. Mary’s Sept. 5.

Posted Aug. 22, 2008