By: Josh Abrams
Photos/Videos: Josh Abrams, Kathy Leister & Chelby Elam
Mid-October has made its way to the forefront, which means regular season action in the Friends School League is starting to wrap up.
Some teams are already looking ahead to the conference tournament (which begins the last week of this month) while others still need to play one more game to finish out their seasons. We expand on that, and much more, in this week's roundup.
Girls Soccer: Westtown clinches top spot, while MFS, GFS rise in standings
The number one seed in the upcoming FSL tournament has been locked up; for the second straight year, it will be Westtown School (WT) representing at the top of the standings. The Moose look to defend their title from last year, where they soundly defeated Shipley by a score of 4-0.
WT got to this point in large thanks to a 2-0 week where they added to their shutout streak. A 7-0 road win at aforementioned Shipley on Wednesday was followed by a 2-0 home victory over George School on Friday. Through six league games, the Moose have scored 35 goals and still have yet to allow any.
Westtown vs. Shipley on 10/11. (Photos by Kathy Leister for PSD)
Last season, Westtown finished league competition with a 36-2 goal scored/allowed differential. They look to officially outperform that mark this Tuesday when they conclude their FSL season at FCS.
MFS senior Foluke Balogun gets Foxes in scoring column early versus Shipley (Video/Josh Abrams)
Balogun's second tally doubles MFS' lead late in the first half (Video/Josh Abrams)
Moorestown Friends School split another pair of FSL contests this past week. Their Tuesday afternoon at George School resulted in a tight, narrow 2-1 loss to the Cougars. MFS senior Remi Cooke tallied the lone goal for the visitors.
The Foxes did not let the tough loss get to them, however, as they played host to Shipley on Friday and prevailed over the talented Gator squad by a score of 3-1. Fellow senior Foluke Balogun provided the somewhat-comfortable cushion for MFS. Shortly after a Fox own-goal was fired off the foot of Shipley freshman Kayla Tidwell, MFS sophomore Jade McRae responded with a goal off a rebound to put the lead for the Foxes back to two, 3-1.
Said Balogun on the importance of this victory over Shipley: "We have history with this team, so we wanted to win right off the bat. Last year, we got to the (FSL) semifinals and they beat us, and that was pretty sad so we came in here today with a bunch of fire and energy."
Moorestown Friends can guarantee themselves at least a top-three seed in the FSL tournament as long as they finish the season on Tuesday with a win at Barrack. A simultaneous George School loss can elevate the Foxes into the 2-spot.
MFS sophomore Jade McRae kicks in rebound to ice game for Foxes (Video/Josh Abrams)
MFS senior Foluke Balogun discusses what led to the Foxes' crucial victory over Shipley (Video/Josh Abrams)
Germantown Friends School gave themselves a much-needed boost in the standings after getting off to a 1-2-1 start. Their two results this past week included a 4-1 home victory over Barrack on Tuesday and a Friday road win at FCS by a score of 6-1. The Tigers close out FSL play with a home match on Tuesday against George School. The winner of that game will all but secure the third seed in the conference tournament.
George School and Shipley round out top-five
George School remains atop the league standings, and looks primed to take the two-seed in next week's FSL tournament after recording a humongous win over MFS, 2-1, last Tuesday. Their week ended with a 2-0 defeat to top-ranked Westtown on Friday, but it has to be encouraging for the Female Cougars knowing they hung in there for 80 minutes against the clear-cut best team in the league. George School can lock up the second seed with a road win at GFS on Tuesday.
George School vs. Moorestown Friends on 10/10 (Photos by Kathy Leister for PSD)
Shipley School faced the gauntlet of the league this past week when they hosted Westtown on Wednesday and traveled to MFS on Friday. The visiting Female Moose defeated the Gators, 7-0, while the Foxes held tough on their home field, winning 3-1. An own-goal from MFS off the foot of Kayla Tidwell allowed Shipley to stay in it but they could not tie it up late in the game. The Gators conclude their FSL play at home on Tuesday and look to finish strong against AFS.
Shipley GK Rylee Loudon staying strong in net for the Gators (Video/Josh Abrams)
Sophia Pascale's second half shot just misses the net against MFS (Video/Josh Abrams)
More Around the League: Barrack, AFS & FCS Looking for a Spark
Barrack split their pair of league contests with a 2-0 road loss to GFS on Tuesday and a commanding 6-1 home victory over AFS on Thursday. The Cougars' last FSL affair of the regular season takes place on their home field on Tuesday versus MFS.
Abington Friends School also split both of their home games this past week. A convincing 4-0 win versus FCS on Tuesday was followed by a 6-1 loss against Barrack. Junior Angela Stevens scored four of AFS' five goals on the week, including a hat-trick against FCS. Sophomore Keira Kushin provided the other tally in the shutout win. The Kangaroos travel to Shipley on Tuesday to conclude their FSL season.
Friends' Central School dropped both of their league contests last week, with a 4-0 road loss to AFS on Tuesday and home defeat against GFS by a score of 6-1 on Friday. The Phoenix's season will come to an end on Tuesday when they play host to Westtown.
Boys Soccer: Westtown Still Perfect, Shipley Holding Strong & GFS Keeping up in top-3
Westtown School officially secured the top seed in the upcoming FSL conference tournament with yet another pair of shutout victories. They squeaked past FCS on the road, 1-0, and hosted George School under the lights on Friday night and handled the Cougars by a score of 5-0. Their goals-against mark still sits at zero, and the team has its eyes set on a perfect 9-0 conference record when they host Barrack on Tuesday.
Shipley School got back on the right track this week and won two road games, shutting out both George School (4-0) & ANC (2-0). Their only loss in FSL competition is a 2-0 road defeat to Westtown on October 5th, and with a win already over third-place GFS, the Gators did their part in locking up the second seed in the FSL conference tournament. Their last game in league play at home against FCS on Tuesday.
Germantown Friends School was another FSL team who racked up two more league victories. The Tigers recorded a pair of 2-0 shutout victories, both on the road, against MFS on Tuesday and FCS on Friday. Their 6-2 conference record places them in third amongst their peers, trailing just Shipley and Westtown who GFS lost to earlier this season. The Tigers will safely secure the third seed in the conference tournament if they win their FSL finale on Tuesday at home against FSS.
MFS, FCS are still in good shape in standings
Moorestown Friends School split their two home league affairs this week, after winning both games the week before to elevate their conference record to above .500. A 2-0 loss to GFS on Tuesday was followed by a vital 2-1 victory over AFS. In the win for MFS, freshman Allen Aurelien got them on the board and junior Jared Kolaris scored the game winner in the 65th minute.
The Foxes are tied in the standings with FCS, but with a win over the Phoenix earlier this season, they own the tiebreaker for fourth place. MFS' final contest of the league season takes place at George School on Monday.
It has been a tale of two weeks for Friends' Central School; after rattling off five consecutive victories in league play, the Phoenix dropped both of their contests this past week. Though they got to stay home, FCS still fell to Westtown, 1-0, on Tuesday and 2-0 to GFS on Friday. Luckily for the Phoenix, their conference record still sits at 5-3, and they can finish three games above the average mark with a win on the road at Shipley on Tuesday.
Friends' Central in game vs. Westtown on 10/10. (Photos by Chelby Elam for PSD)
More Around the League: George School, FSS and ANC Seeking Top-6 Finish
George School had a rare three-game week since their original game against Shipley had to be rescheduled. The Cougars began with a home win on Tuesday vs AFS by a score of 4-1. They stayed in Newtown to face the Gators on Wednesday and lost 4-0 before traveling to the Friday Night Lights of Westtown on Friday, falling to the Moose 5-0. George School sits at 3-4-1 coming into the last week of the regular season and will look to finish strong against MFS in the only game taking place on Monday.
Friends Select School recorded their first perfect week of the season when they notched a pair of road victories. The first came on Tuesday in a nailbiter against ANC, 3-2, and the Falcons kept it going with a 6-0 shutout win over Barrack on Friday. Standing at 3-5 in the league, FSS seeks one more win to end the season on a high note on Tuesday at GFS.
Academy of the New Church wrapped up their FSL season and lost a hard-fought battle last Tuesday when they fell at home to FSS by a score of 3-2. Things did not get better for the Lions, as they hosted Shipley on Friday and fell to the Gators, 2-0. They finish with a 2-6-1 record in FSL play.
George School in game vs. Abington Friends on 10/10 (Photos by Kathy Leister for PSD)
AFS finishes season, Barrack with one more in inaugural FSL year
Abington Friends School concluded their season with two road games. They fell to George School to start the week with a 4-1 defeat, and ended with a tough 2-1 loss at MFS. The Kangaroos finish the FSL season with a 1-8 mark.
Barrack School played just one game last week; they hosted FSS and fell to the Falcons by a score of 6-0. Their last chance to pick up a league victory is Tuesday, but it has to be done against an almighty Westtown squad.
Girls Soccer FSL Standings (League Games Only, Through Monday 10/16)
Westtown (6-0)^
George School (4-2)*
MFS (4-2)
GFS (3-2-1)**
Shipley (3-2-1)
Barrack (2-4)
AFS (1-5)
FCS (0-6)
^-- Westtown has secured top seed
*-- George School defeated MFS, giving them tiebreaker
**-- GFS w/ more goals scored, giving them tiebreaker
Boys Soccer FSL Standings (league games only, through Monday 10/16)
Westtown (8-0)
Shipley (7-1)
GFS (6-2)
MFS (5-3)*
FCS (5-3)
George School (3-4-1)
FSS (3-5)
ANC (2-6-1)
AFS (1-8)
Barrack (0-8)
*-- MFS defeated FCS on 9/19, giving them tiebreaker