Surrendering a tying goal in the closing minutes of regulation and then having to play the second 10 minutes of overtime down a player, Curley boys soccer willed its way to penalty kicks in Thursday’s semifinal against visiting McDonogh.

Once there, the home team was sensational.

When senior midfielder Alex Katris neatly found the left corner on his penalty kick — coming after three other successful ones from teammates and two brilliant saves from goalie Mikie Griffith — the No. 2 Friars celebrated a memorable win over the No. 3 Eagles that sends them to Sunday’s Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference championship game.

Thursday’s game was tied at 2 going into overtime before the Friars advanced by a 4-2 margin in PKs. Nick Lentz, David Brunetti and Casey Price all scored on their kicks to set up Katis’ clinching take.

Curley (17-2-2) will meet No. 1 and defending champion Loyola Blakefield — a 4-1 winner over Mount Saint Joseph — for the conference crown. Sunday’s championship game time is set for 5:30 p.m. at UMBC Stadium. McDonogh closes its season with a 13-2-5 record.

In a game both veteran coaches — Curley’s Barry Stitz and McDonogh’s Brandon Quaranta — said was one of the finest they were ever part of, the Friars showed poise in crunch time after 100 minutes of quality soccer.

“I’ve been at it 25 years and that’s certainly one of the best,” Stitz said. “Both teams played incredible games.”

After an evenly played first half finished scoreless, the second half and extra time were filled with big moments.

The Eagles had the first breakthrough shortly after the halftime break when a corner kick found its way to Ryan Broome, who finished from 12 yards for a 1-0 advantage.

Urgency followed from the Friars in a bid to tie. When Landon Beckman was pushed down, prompting a penalty kick with 29:23 to play, Brunetti tied it with a clean strike to the top right corner.

Both Griffith (nine saves) and McDonogh standout goalie Jason Broome (five saves) had timely stops to keep the scored tied before Katris was dragged down for a second penalty kick with 6:30 to play. Again, Brunetti finished — this time finding the left side for his 25th goal of the season — to give the Friars a 2-1 lead.

Undeterred, the Eagles found the tying goal a little over one minute later on a free kick. From 50 yards out, Val Quaranta served a ball to the far post that Bogue Hahn headed home.

Curley midfielder Carter Clark was sent off with his second yellow card with 1:25 to play in a slower-paced first overtime. The Eagles pressed, as Quaranta had a heavy shot from distance go just over the net and a second take turned away by Griffith with Curley’s best chance coming on a header wide by Beckman.

After successful takes from both sides in the opening round of penalty kicks, Griffith made consecutive saves while the Friars continued to bury their chances.

And once McDonogh’s Javier Brown made gave his side a 3-2 lead to start the fourth round, Katris made no mistake in his bid to send the Friars to the championship game.

Stitz hopes the momentum can carry into Sunday as the program takes aim at its fourth championship and first since 2006. In two regular-season meetings, Loyola opened with a convincing 6-1 road win Oct. 2 before the teams tied, 2-2, last Friday.

Loyola Blakefield 4, Mount Saint Joseph 1: The champion Dons built a 3-0 lead on goals from Cal Lackner, Joseph Molina and Sammie Walker to take charge against the visiting Gaels.

Walker closed out the scoring with his second of the game. Loyola improves to 13-2-2 on the season and will try to defend its crown Sunday against Curley with a chance at a fifth title.

Mount Saint Joseph, which reached the semifinals with a 1-0 road win over Calvert Hall in Tuesday’s quarterfinals, closes with a 10-9-2 mark.

Field hockey

Broadneck 3, Winston Churchill 2: Broadneck chased every ball with the desperate hunger of a team losing in a Class 4A state semifinal.

It wasn’t, for the record. Three first half goals gave the Bruins the padding needed to sustain them against Winston Churchill’s rally in the second and third quarters.

All throughout the second half, Bruins hunted an insurance goal, anything that would let them breathe. Instead, Broadneck held its breath for 30 minutes straight. By the end, five corners — which accounted for the majority of Churchill’s 24 shots — and even a penalty stroke yanked wide or were redirected back into the mess.

The Bruins did their best to contain action to the 30 yards before the Bulldogs’ circle. Churchill’s best course of action was to break fast. And in the final minute of play, Churchill plucked a loose ball and sped down toward Broadneck’s cage.

Defender Claire Imber’s mind cleared but for one thought: get the ball. The senior threw her entire body into the stop — including a purple thumb she broke the day before — anything to prevent Churchill from forcing overtime. It ricocheted toward waiting Broadneck sticks and Katelyn Kearns rolled it away.

Now, nothing separates the Bruins from a chance to enact vengeance on rival Crofton. The two will meet in the 4A state final at 3 p.m. Saturday at Stevenson University, a rematch of not only Crofton’s victorious county championship, but a possible response to the Cardinals’ triumph against Broadneck in last fall’s state semifinal.

Crofton 3, Walt Whitman 0: After Crofton inserted nine corners in the first quarter and two in the second without a goal, coach Amy Skrickus walked to the center of her team’s huddle and told them she had nothing much to say.

Technically, every move Crofton made in the 4A state semifinal looked perfect. The passes were crisp, the communication flowed and the Cardinals completely corralled possession to one side. So, there wasn’t truly a critique Skrickus could give.

The drought dragged into the third quarter, and senior Olivia Feeley felt it.

Since the graduation of Kylie Corcoran and most of the Cardinals’ middle, Feeley — who’d always played a role in churning offensive chances — had filled the previous seniors’ void. She racked up 50 points (18 goals, 14 assists) before Thursday’s tilt, and swarmed around Walt Whitman’s circle insatiably.

Severna Park 3, Long Reach 0: Severna Park entered Thursday night’s Class 3A state semifinal at Glen Burnie feeling some nerves. The No. 3 seed Falcons played in the same game at the same site last year, losing to eventual state champion Mt. Hebron.

Early on against No. 2 seed Long Reach, the Falcons struggled to combat those nerves. However, after several halftime adjustments, Severna Park surged ahead. The Falcons advance to Saturday’s 3A state championship game at Stevenson University’s Mustang Stadium at 1 p.m. against No. 4 Westminster.

After a scoreless first quarter, Severna Park (13-5) began to settle in. Freshman Grace Redmond, who scored each Severna Park goal, tallied her first midway through the second quarter, giving the Falcons a one-goal halftime advantage.

Westminster 1, Rockville 0: Just like in the state quarterfinals against Linganore, Westminster fans grew anxious as the Owls went into yet another halftime stuck in a scoreless tie.

On the field, coach Laurie Naill and her girls knew it was only a matter of time. “If you can’t find a way, make one,” she told her team.

After dozens of corner opportunities, the Owls finally put one in the cage as Stevie Schultz scored midway in the third quarter. That proved to be all they needed as Westminster brilliantly controlled the ball the rest of the way, earning the 1-0 win and a trip to the Class 3A state championship game.

Baltimore Sun Media staff contributed to this article. Have a news tip? Contact sports editor Tim Schwartz at timschwartz@baltsun.com , 410-332-6200 and x.com/timschwartz13 .