BY MIKE LIVINGSTON
(Videos/ Mike Livingston, Photos by Mike Nance for PSD)
PHILA. PA - The defending Inter-Ac champions The Haverford School Fords kicked off their 2024 conference schedule on a high note with an on the road 9-4 win over the William Penn Charter Quakers.
The Haverford School, who came into the afternoon’s contest ranked second in the state of Pennsylvania by Inside Lacrosse - are 9-0 after the win and looking poised to make a run at a repeat Inter-Ac championship bid.
“I think we can go as far as our seniors will take us,” said Fords head coach Brenden Dawson. “We got a great group and they play really well together, they work really hard and I’m just excited to see how in our remaining games it can shake out for these guys because they have the skill to be competitive on certainly a state but national level as well.”
The Fords got the party started early with a first quarter goal by senior Jack Long but struggled to get much else going against Penn Charter’s freshman goalie Charlie Kraus who recorded a stunning 18 saves on the afternoon against the vaunted Haverford attack.
It was senior Ayden DiRocco and freshman Conor Morsell who pulled Haverford from the early hole in the second period with two goals of their own to make it a 3-2 game at halftime.
The Fords have been widely regarded as one of the nation’s best clubs for the past few years and got their Inter-Ac season started with the state’s 39th ranked club in Penn Charter who they handled in both meetings last year 18-5 and 15-4.
“Yea, we were ok,” said Dawson. “It’s hard in this league to get out of school early, get on a bus, and go play on a Tuesday afternoon. In those spots we just seem to not have much juice. I didn’t really think we played with much energy to start but we sort of figured it out towards the end of the game.”
The Haverford School vs. William Penn Charter 4/9. (Photo by Mike Livingston for PSD)
The Fords vs. The Quakers League Opener Highlights by Mike Livingston for PSD
Through the second half the Fords put the pedal to the metal as Morsell and DiRocco both got their second goals on the day while senior Finn Lawrence made it 6-2 at the end of the third period.
In the fourth, despite some scrappy fight from the Quakers and a couple more incredible saves by Kraus, Haverford drained three more goals to give them nine in all. Evan Large got the fourth period scoring started while DiRocco made it a hat trick along with Long who got his second on the day.
Penn Charter seniors Harrison Quinn and Gavin Michener evened the playing field a bit in the final quarter with goals of their own as the final horn sounded at 9-4.
“Every team is different,” said Dawson. “I think every team you just need to coach a little differently and this one is certainly different from the last, but there is certainly a lot of talent and some good guys. We’re just fired up to go through this season together.”
With the win the Fords move to 9-0 on the season and 1-0 in the Inter-Ac They’ll prepare for a Friday afternoon home contest against Springside Chestnut Hill Academy at 4:00 pm, as they continue their quest for a repeat title.
As for Penn Charter, they’ll fall to 2-7 on the season and 0-1 in the Inter-Ac. They will move on to a Friday night lights matchup with Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square for a 7:00 pm face off.
