By: Josh Abrams

(Photos/Videos: Josh Abrams, Kathy Leister, Lennie Malmgren & Krystal Williams) 

Week two of Friends School League competition has concluded, which brings us to this second edition of  results around the conference.

We are in the early stages of conference competition, but sometimes how you start can dictate how your season will look. 

Last November,  Westtown secured their fourth FSL championship in five seasons dating back to 2017 (sans 2020 due to COVID) and appeared in the PAISAA Final Four. 

If the inaugural week of league games for the girls showed anything, it's that the Moose are back and aren't taking any familiar foe lightly. 

Westtown has rolled over their opponents despite having to travel for the first three games of conference play. 

Shipley Gators trekked to East Falls last Tuesday to take on a young and upcoming Germantown Friends School squad. The teams traded goals, resulting in a 1-1 draw. 

Freshman Kayla Tidwell put the visiting Gators on the board. She used sheer persistency and determination to score her goal; a rebound off the hands of GFS goalkeeper Abby Mahler bounced to Tidwell and she fired the ball into the top right corner of the net. 

Junior teammate Sophia Pascale provided the initial rush to the net and got multiple shots on goal. But ultimately Tidwell's follow-through was the one that would find the back of the net. 

Shipley got in the win column the following Thursday with a 4-0 shutout victory over George School. Tidwell continued her scoring spree with a tally, while seniors Shaira Mujahid & Riley Medina and junior Olivia Coia scored goals as well. The Gators continue their FSL schedule versus Barrack at home and at FCS on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. 

Barrack was tasked with hosting a powerful Westtown squad for their first ever FSL contest, and the mighty Moose downed the Cougars 9-0. Barrack bounced back in a big way, though, and took their loss from Tuesday and bounced back on Thursday with a 8-1 league victory against FCS.

George School does not travel this week, while Barrack will hit the road for both of their games. GS starts the week versus FCS, while Barrack travels to Shipley. The two squads will meet on Thursday. 

Trailing 1-0 for a majority of the game and the entire second half, a hard-fought loss was on the horizon for Germantown Friends. 

Junior Sarah Goldberg had other intentions. Sophomore teammate Emmie Day attacked the right side of the net, found Goldberg who was lurking in the middle of the field, and the two connected for the crucial, game-tying goal. 

Being down for that long, even if it's just one goal, can mentally drain a team. Sarah gave credit to her coach, Manolo Sánchez, for being the catalyst behind the team staying composed. 

"I think our main thing is we stay focused," said Goldberg. "And no matter the result of the game, we come back the same way we entered and finish stronger. We want to keep winning... and Manolo does a really great job of keeping us on track." 

The boys have played one extra week of games compared to the girls, and we're starting to see some teams find their groove and show the rest of the league who is legit. 

Moorestown Friends used a six-goal first half at home last Tuesday against Barrack en-route to a 7-1 victory. It took junior Preston Galanis less than 15 minutes to record a hat trick. He and sophomore Vincent Lu scored the Foxes' first five goals of the game, while senior Ben Batra and junior Vikram Verma also added goals. Senior Daniel Abiola recorded two assists.

MFS used another fast-starting first half to handle ANC 6-1 on Friday. Junior Jared Kolaris secured a hat trick, while Galanis, Batra and Abiola also found the back of the net. 

The Foxes have scored 11 goals in their last 80 first-half minutes, and they look to build on that when they travel to Shipley & FSS on Tuesday and Friday, respectively. 

FCS & Westtown went 2-0 on the week, as the Phoenix stayed at home for both contests while the Moose split home/away games. 

A pair of shutouts got the job done for FCS; 4-0 over FSS and 6-0 over George School. Through four league games, the Phoenix are out-scoring their opponents 16-4; a ratio that ranks fourth-best in the conference. Their third week will see them host ANC on Tuesday and travel to Barrack Thursday.

Much like FCS, Westtown's 2-0 week consisted of two shutouts in commanding fashion. The Moose hosted AFS and won 8-0, then finished the week traveling to FSS and handling the Falcons 5-0. Westtown has yet to allow a goal in FSL play, boasting a 21-0 goals scored-goals against clip. They'll look to keep the streak alive @ GFS on Tuesday and home versus Shipley Friday. 

Mother Nature making her presence felt around the area caused Shipley to only play one game this past week. Luckily, it was as exciting of a game as you could get.

ANC got off to a nice start in FSL play when they picked up two league wins in the first week. The second week was not as kind to the Lions, however, as they were tasked with traveling to GFS and MFS. Both games resulted in 2-1 and 6-1 losses, respectively. ANC hits the road once again to start this week; they'll trek to East Falls to take on GFS on Tuesday before ending their week at home versus George School on Friday.

George School only played one game this past week due to inclement weather postponing their Tuesday home game against Shipley. It was an away contest at FCS on Thursday, which resulted in the Phoenix blanking the Cougars 6-0. Their quest through the FSL continues this upcoming week when they host Barrack on Tuesday and travel to ANC on Friday. 

Abington Friends split their league contests, as they lost to Westtown 8-0 in West Chester. But the Kangaroos bounced back in a big way against Barrack at home, shutting them out by a score of 6-0. They are looking to get into the multiple-wins category in the FSL when they commute to FSS on Tuesday and play host to GFS Thursday. 

FSS ran into some stiff competition for their second week of league play. A Tuesday road match at FCS resulted in a 4-0 shutout for the hosts, while a home battle versus Westtown ended with 5-0 showing on the scoreboard in favor of the visitors. The Falcons' quest for their first league victory will continue on Tuesday and Friday; home matches versus AFS and MFS. 

Barrack's schedule to start conference play was quite the gauntlet; Shipley & GFS. They are also still searching for their first league win, as contests this past week against MFS & AFS ended in 7-1 and 6-0 scores, respectively. The Cougars' quest for such a feat will carry on at George School on Tuesday and at home against FCS on Thursday.