It's nitty-gritty time in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland girls soccer playoffs, where the top four teams advanced to Thursday's semifinal round. Here's a look at how both games stack up with each set for 3:45 p.m.:

No. 3 Mercy (14-2-3) at No. 1 McDonogh (14-1-2)

In McDonogh's regular-season meeting against Mercy, the Eagles dominated on their Senior Day, handling the Magic 5-1 on Oct. 18 with a dominating second half. If that sounds familiar, just go back to last season when McDonogh came away with a comfortable 3-0 win over Mercy in the regular season before the Magic avenged the loss with a stunning 1-0 upset win in the quarterfinal round. The Eagles have the dominating talent with junior midfielder Ashley Spivey controlling play, dangerous forwards led by Taylor Cummings, Lexi Goldstein providing smart play at midfield, and an organized defense in front of goalie Morgan Ruhl. The Magic counters with a dangerous scoring threat in Alexis Prior-Brown and fellow standouts Alex Pryor, Lexie Niedoba, Sarah Dorrance. Niedoba scored the game-winner in last year's playoff win against McDonogh.

No. 7 John Carroll (12-2-3) at No. 2 Archbishop Spalding (15-3-3)

On their way to a second straight league title, the Cavaliers were put to the ultimate test in last year's semfinal game against John Carroll. The Patriots were six seconds away from pulling off the upset before then-senior Courtney Hoyes scored to tie the game. Hoyes also provided the game-winner in the latter stages of the second overtime. If this year's regular-season game is an indication, the playoff rematch should be just as tight with the teams playing to a 1-1 stalemate on Sept. 24. The Cavaliers have the confidence and experience of being two-time defending champions with forward Maggie Morrison a consistent threat up top and a fine defense led by goalie Jocelyn McCoy. The Patriots make goals hard to come by with consistently fine defensive play from sweeper Morgan Fraczkowski and goalie Gina Maiorana.