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The new head of Our Lady of Mount Carmel’s girls soccer team has big plans to rejuvenate the program at the Essex school.
Doug Pryor, the 2022 Baltimore Banner/VSN Girls Soccer Coach of the Year, knows what it takes to build a good program into a championship-caliber outfit.
In a 13-year stint at Mercy, Pryor finally reached the pinnacle of the sport last fall when he led the Magic to its first-ever Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference title, a 16-1 record and the No. 1 spot in the final The Baltimore Banner/VSN Girls Soccer Top 15 rankings.
He has a long list of accomplishments in the sport, including guiding the Baltimore Bays from 2003-2011 and has held positions at Loyola Blakefield, Pipeline Soccer Club and Mercy.
Pryor, who has a United States Soccer Federation “A” license, is currently coaching with the Soccer Association of Columbia and is a member of the Olympic Development Program staff.
“I left for the opportunity to build a program at Mount Carmel the same way I did at Mercy 13 years ago,” said the Dundalk High grad, a member of the athletics hall of fame at CCBC-Dundalk for baseball and soccer. “It’s a perfect fit in many ways for me, being only 3 miles from my home. I know it won’t be easy building a back to a championship level, but we’re getting a turf field and we hope to draw plenty of local kids. There’s plenty of talent in Eastern Baltimore County.”
The Cougars snuggled to a 3-13 record last season, winning only one game in the IAAM C Conference. Mount Carmel, which captured back-to-back C Conference crowns in 2012 and 2013, posted a 6-4 league mark in 2021 and was 9-7-3 overall that season.
With his background in the sport, Pryor figures to lift the program’s profile quickly.
”Coach Pryor is a perfect fit for Our Lady of Mount Carmel,” school president Lawrence Callahan said. “He joins a school community and athletic department with passionate leaders of young people, who strive to help them realize their full potential.”
Mount Carmel athletic director Jesse Thomas said that “We are so excited to welcome Doug to our athletic program. We believe we hit a home run with this hire. What Doug has done in the soccer world and the fact that he is local to Our Lady of Mount Carmel makes us excited about the future of our soccer program. His reputation precedes him for what he did at Mercy. We had several good candidates for the job, but his résumé stood out.”
New Mercy coach Nick Gill, an assistant to Pryor last season and the school’s athletic director, said that he wishes Pryor the best in his new endeavor.
”Coach Pryor moved the soccer program forward through his hard work and dedication during his time coaching at Mercy, and I am certain he will bring great success to the Mount Carmel program,” Gill said.
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