The Dons (8-9-0,
7-6-0), who shared the A Conference title with St. Joe last fall, are
now tied with John Carroll for fourth-place in the Conference, with
three games to play.  Both teams, however, need to keep on picking up
points as Mount St. Joseph, the other 2005 co-champion, and Archbishop
Spalding still remain in contention for one of the six playoff
positions.

Loyola, which also defeated St. Paul’s, 1-0, in
double overtime earlier this year, received its goals from Jon Corbin,
Mike Deasel and Gerard Savarese, while Pat Doyle and Steven LeVine
added assists for the Dons.

In the loss, St. Paul’s (4-12-1, 3-11-0) got two goals from senior James Swartz.

If
it succeeds in reaching the post-season, Loyola will have to earn it. 
The Dons three remaining games include a visit to #2 Calvert Hall,
tomorrow, a visit from Spalding on Friday and a road match at #3
McDonogh, next Tuesday.  Loyola currently leads St. Joe, which has four
games left, by three points and Spalding, which has three league
contests remaining, by five points.  One more win should put Loyola in
the playoffs and a win over Spalding would guarantee it.

In
addition to the game with Loyola, Spalding has a huge match at St. Joe
today and will close at Gilman, next Tuesday.  St. Joe’s other
remaining league games include a trip to John Carroll tomorrow, and
home matches with McDonogh, on Friday, and top-ranked Archbishop
Curley, next Tuesday.

In an effort to fulfill its post-season
aspirations, John Carroll (8-5-0, 7-5-0) also must navigate a brutal
closing schedule.  In addition to tomorrow’s game with St. Joe, the
Patriots will be at St. Paul’s, today, and at Curley, on Saturday
morning, before closing with a home game with Calvert Hall, next
Tuesday.

At the top of the Conference, Curley (14-3-0, 9-3-0)
and McDonogh (10-1-1, 9-3-0), which battle today in Owings Mills in the
first of two late-season meetings, have already clinched playoff spots,
but each still needs points to lock up one of the top two seeds, which
provide first-round byes and home field advantage for the semifinals. 
The Friars will host the Eagles on Sunday (1:00 pm), in addition to
their remaining games with John Carroll and St. Joe.

The other
prime contender for one of those spots is Calvert Hall (8-4-2, 7-2-2). 
The Cardinals, who will host Gilman today, have a league-high five
games remaining, giving them an excellent opportunity to improve their
third-place standing.  After tomorrow’s home game with Loyola, Calvert
Hall will host St. Paul’s on Friday, visit John Carroll, next Tuesday,
and close with McDonogh, at home, next Wednesday.