From the simply-not-fair department:

McDonogh senior soccer standout Megan Gibbons won't have the chance to help the No. 1-ranked Eagles bring home an IAAM A Conference championship, which they have been methodically building toward since a young group of freshmen came together four years ago.

During the preseason, Gibbons partially tore her anterior cruciate ligament in one of those fluky, non-contact deals during practice. She had a tough choice to make -- try to play through the injury and hope for no more substantial damage or have surgery and see a promising senior season come to an abrupt end before it started.

Gibbons, who is set to play at Maryland next fall, wisely chose the latter and will have surgery in a few weeks. McDonogh coach Maurice Boylan Jr. strongly supported Gibbons' decision by telling her how hard she has worked over the years at the ultimate goal of playing college ball.

A fast and highly-skilled wing midfielder who puts pressure on defenses every time she touches the ball, Gibbons is greatly missed on the field. The Eagles don't have to look far to find her, however, as she has continued to be part of the team with encouraging support on the sidelines.

Here's hoping Gibbons gets back to her usual high level sooner rather than later and goes on to have a fine career for the Terrapins.

-- Glenn Graham