St. John's sophomore Maliah Morris often is harder on herself than anyone else, but first-year Coach Jess Baynton did offer this critique about her star player. Though Morris possesses deft dribbling skills, speed to spare and a powerful right foot, sometimes she can get caught between deciding to pass or shoot.
But Tuesday, with an opportunity to steal a result in a battle of Washington Catholic Athletic Conference unbeatens, Morris “knew exactly where she was putting that ball,” Baynton said.
Morris's goal in the closing moments of the game delivered No. 3 St. John's a dramatic 2-1 win over No. 5 Paul VI in Northwest Washington. The Cadets scored twice in the final three minutes after falling behind midway through the second half.
What had otherwise been a pedestrian performance by Morris's standards turned spectacular when senior Ashley Ventura set up Morris for a shot to the far post from outside the penalty area. That goal sent the St. John's bench into delirium.
Only about a minute earlier, junior Nicole Latifullah had evened the score with a left-footed flick once Paul VI's goalie tried to knock away a Cadets corner kick. Latifullah said the sequence felt "like it was in slow motion."
But for Morris, it was redemption after she failed to convert several early scoring chances while being marked by the Panthers’ top defenders.
“My team had my back the whole game, so the least I could do was finish it,” Morris said. “I definitely was very frustrated. I was like, ‘I owe my team one.’ ”
The comeback by St. John’s (5-0-1, 3-0 WCAC) spoiled what could have been another defining victory for Paul VI (5-1, 2-1), which began league play by beating defending champion Good Counsel.
The Panthers mostly kept Morris at bay and then grabbed the lead 17 minutes into the second half.
Freshman Hailey McGregor ran down a loose ball and then stopped on a dime near the corner to ward off a St. John's defender. The sudden move gave her enough room to uncork a left-footed cross, and senior Gabriella Gordon deposited the ball into the net to give the Panthers a 1-0 advantage.
It seemed that goal would be the difference. The strategy was to force Morris outside, Paul VI Coach Meg Ashley said, but “we let her inside the one time and that’s why she’s the player she is.”
There’s also a resiliency developing in these Cadets. On Tuesday, they played without three starters, including Morris’s younger sister McKenna, a freshman who is currently training with the United States under-16 team.
“It’s just a special drive that’s in everyone,” Latifullah said. “To come back from that in such a short time, that was amazing.”
