Former Mercy girls soccer coach Doug Pryor, who guided the No. 1 Magic to their first Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference title in the fall, has been named the new coach at Mount Carmel, the school announced Thursday.

In 13 seasons at Mercy, Pryor finished with a 127-51 mark before stepping down in December. In capturing the 2022 IAAM A Conference title, the Magic went 16-1 and finished undefeated in league play, defeating four-time defending champion McDonogh, 1-0, in the championship game.

Pryor, a Dundalk native who lives three miles from Mount Carmel, is excited about taking on a new challenge.

The Cougars, who compete in the IAAM C Conference, went 1-11 last season.

“I’m a Dundalk kid, I’m a blue-collar kid and that’s Mount Carmel, so I look at it as a great opportunity,” said Pryor, who was named The Baltimore Sun’s All-Metro Coach of the Year in 2022.

“I’m meeting with the kids tomorrow and [the message] to them is we’re going into next season to win and not just to play. I’m going to try to build that positive mindset and I think having someone who came from the A Conference and just won a championship, hopefully that will make them feel like they’re getting a decent coach and the school cares about the program.”

Mount Carmel has had success in girls soccer, capturing an IAAM B Conference title in 1999 and then winning back-to-back C Conference titles in 2012 and 2013. Recently hired athletic director Jesse Thomas believes Pryor can help bring back a successful program.

“We had a bunch of applicants for the position and when Doug applied for the job, obviously, we were very excited. He’s well respected in the community and his record at Mercy speaks for itself,” Thomas said.

“We spoke at length about where his goals and our goals are and they did align. His goal is to improve Mount Carmel to the point where we can get to the A Conference someday. I think Doug has the blueprint for that and we’re excited to have him as part of the program.”