Photos/Videos: Josh Abrams, Robin Hsiao & James Williamson

By: Josh Abrams

The 2023 FSL soccer season is in full swing! We have completed a little over a week’s worth of games for the boys, and multiple teams are off to very quick starts, both inside and outside of conference play.

Shipley took home the 2022 FSL Title last November thanks to a free-kick from then-senior midfielder Jack McDaid (Maryland) and ended their season in the PAISAA Final Four with a loss to Phelps School. 

They made sure to leave no stone unturned in the FSL opener for the boys back on September 7th. Hosting Jack M Barrack Hebrew Academy (Barrack, for short), who is in their first year as a member of the FSL, the Gators thrashed the Cougars by a score of 10-1.

Shipley continued their early superiority in league play this past week with victories over Abington Friends (6-1) on Tuesday and Friends Select (5-0) on Friday.  Dominant is an understatement right now with this team; they are currently outscoring league opponents 21-2, and overall 39-5. Talk about reloading instead of rebuilding. 

Perhaps the Gators’ toughest tests of the season so far will be taking place this week. They travel to George School on Tuesday (9/26) and, in a rematch from last year’s FSL title game, host Germantown Friends on Friday (9/29). 

Westtown School started league play with two impressive road victories; both resulted in shutouts over Academy of the New Church (6-0) and Moorestown Friends (2-0). It was the whole team for the Moose against ANC. Six players chipped in goals; senior Leo Salvucci (4’), junior Mariano Alonso (15’), junior Santiago Chacon (25’), sophomore Asier Luengo (36’), senior Alex Carty (38’) and senior Santiago Caballero (66’). 

Junior midfielder David Perez (47’) and Caballero (47’) scored 30 seconds apart from each other against MFS, and that was all the Moose needed to take care of business on the road in New Jersey. Fellow juniors Mariano Alonso (to Perez)and Carlos Salazar (to Caballero) picked up assists as they helped get their team on the board early in the second half. 

The Moose will look to remain perfect in FSL play and stay home to start the week as they host AFS on Tuesday. They’ll finish the week on the road Friday at Friends Select.  

If there’s any team who knows a thing or two about competing in one-goal games, it’s certainly Germantown Friends. They stand at 3-1-2 overall, with half of their games ending in one-goal scores.  Not to mention their last two contests of 2022 resulted in one-goal showings.

Their first league game of the season certainly did not play out as such; a 12-0 victory over visiting Barrack. But the second contest put the Tigers in all-but-familiar territory. 

“We talk a lot about ‘next play’ mentality, learning how to let go of your mistakes,” said McIlvain. “And right now, for us it’s still theoretical.” 

12 of GFS’ 19 goals scored this season came in one game, which means they only have seven goals scored in the other five. McIlvain offered his perspective on how the team can improve in that regard going forward. 

“Good things happen when you shoot,” said McIlvain .  “Sometimes I feel like they fear missing shots as opposed to enjoy scoring. Don’t think about the opposite, think about what happens when you score.”

Academy of the New Church has two wins and one loss to start their FSL competition. They played the lone game back on September 12th and handled Abington Friends School by a score of 5-1. The Lions hosted Westtown to start the following week, losing to the mighty Moose 6-0. ANC ended their week with a roadtrip to Barrack and defeated the new FSL members 7-0. They will be on the road often this week with two games scheduled @ GFS on Tuesday and MFS on Friday.

Moorestown Friends started their FSL season with a thriller; a 4-3 road win over Friends Central. Trailing 3-2 at halftime, it became the Preston Galanis show in the second half. Just five minutes into the frame, the junior midfielder drilled a penalty kick past FCS goalkeeper Nigel Pierman to knot everything up at three apiece. Then, 12 minutes later, he took the feed from fellow junior Matt Schlotterbeck and got it past Pierman again. The score would hold there the next 23 or so minutes and MFS found themselves the victors after fending off the feisty Phoenix.

MFS ended their week with a 2-0 loss to an extremely tough Westtown team, dropping their FSL record to 1-1. The Foxes will stay in New Jersey for Week 2, as they host Barrack on Tuesday and ANC on Friday.

George School’s FSL season so far in 2023 has consisted of two very close and low-scoring contests. 

The Cougars started league play with a narrow 2-1 road victory over Friends Select. The home Falcons took a 1-0 lead after 40 minutes of play, but George School stormed back with goals from the junior duo of Benedict Kroetz and Sam Tchoumandrine. Cougar senior goalkeeper Efram Krasovic made two ginormous saves late in the game to seal the victory for George School.  

They followed up that impressive win with a home match against a very well-coached GFS squad. 90 minutes passed without either team scoring a goal until McLoyd got his footer to fall. The Tigers emerged from Newtown victorious, but George School HC Glen Curry was more than pleased with his goalie’s efforts. 

George School stands at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in FSL play. Their second week of league competition will consist of hosting first-place Shipley on Tuesday, followed by a trip to FCS on Thursday. 

Curry noted what his team has to improve in order to stay afloat in the conference, especially as games begin to ramp up in the fall. 

“Teamwork, passing in between, especially midfielders and forwards getting on the same page.” 

Friends' Central split league contests to begin their play in the FSL. They hosted MFS on Tuesday, where the visiting Foxes erased a 3-2 halftime deficit to take home an exciting 4-3 victory. The Phoenix ended their week on a high note when they traveled to AFS and shutout the home team by a score of 3-0. They have scored six goals over two league games thus far, which puts them at fifth-best in the FSL. They’ll host FSS on Tuesday and George School Thursday this week. 

Friends Select School had a 1-0 lead at halftime in their league opener against the visiting George School, thanks to a goal from junior Sage Matunda. They conceded two second half goals to the Cougars, however, and could not recover as they fell by a score of 2-1. The Falcons stayed at home to play a Shipley squad that is taking no prisoners so far, as the Gators took care of FSS 5-0 on Friday. They will travel to FCS on Tuesday and host Westtown on Friday. 

Abington Friends School is one of two teams with an extra league game played; they played the lone game on September 12th against ANC and lost by a score of 5-1. Their tough early conference schedule continued a week later when they trekked to Bryn Mawr to face Shipley. The Kangaroos fell once again by a score of 5-1. Their most recent league contest resulted in a 3-0 home defeat to FCS. Their week 2 consists of a roadtrip to Westtown on Tuesday and home match vs Barrack on Thursday. 

Jack M Barrack Hebrew Academy (Barrack, for short) is making their FSL debut this season. They’re still searching for their footing in one of the more premiere conferences in the area, which can be much easier said than done when you are tasked with playing the class of the conference as part of your FSL debut. 

Barrack played their first two games on the road against Shipley and GFS (2022 FSL Title Game); the results were 10-1 and 12-0 defeats to the Gators and Tigers, respectively. Most recently, they fell to ANC at home 7-0. They will take on AFS on Tuesday and MFS on Thursday, both road games.

Shipley (3-0)

Westtown (2-0)

GFS (2-0)

ANC (2-1)

MFS (1-1)

George School (1-1)

FCS (1-1)

FSS (0-2)

AFS (0-3)

Barrack (0-3)