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BOYS’ SOCCER: Malvern Prep Strikes Out Haverford In Away Win

By Eileen Wickline, 10/16/16, 2:45PM EDT

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HAVERFORD, PA – Malvern Prep travelled to the Haverford School’s turf on a brisk Friday afternoon, as the two teams met up in an Inter-Ac league match-up. Haverford is the reigning Inter-Ac champion, with Malvern Prep being a huge contender this season.

Although Haverford has built itself up as a team to beat in this league, one that other Inter-Ac teams do not look forward to playing, they fell short to Malvern Prep. The Friars were able to pull out a shut out win on a goal that no one would have seen coming.

The game was scoreless until the 12-minute mark when, on a rebound of a corner kick, Lucas Hammond scored a huge goal to put the Friars up one as the time went down in the quarter.

Malvern held strong through both halves in both their defensive and offensive games. Senior defender, Nate Albergo, exhibited fast feet and huge stops of powerful drives to keep the Fords from completing scoring plays. Malvern’s defense continued to be tested, but fought back with huge clears and saves by senior goalkeeper Michael Sheridan to keep the game in their favor. 

Malvern Coach, Andrew Kummerer, explained how the Friars prepared for this game and how it helped them to ultimately pull away with the win.

“Base thing is just preparation, we spent a lot of time getting ready the past 7 days since last Thursday before Penn Charter,” Kummerer said. “We spent a lot of time getting ready, cleaning some things that needed to be corrected. Restarts, corner kicks, throw ins, things like that. Oddly enough that’s what won us the game, a rebound on a corner kick.”

Although they came up short, Haverford displayed strong offensive skills by sophomore forward, Nick Pippis and junior midfielder, Parker Garvina. Both players were essential in moving the field to deliver chances for goals. The Fords demonstrated strong connections between their offensive players with multiple players taking big shots on goal, but unfortunately falling short - something that coach Bill Brady has recognized in being the obstacle his team needs to get past. 

In his 6th year of coaching, Brady recognizes what is keeping his team back and what they need to work on moving forward through the season.

“We’ve really struggled to score goals this year, not create opportunities, but to score goals,” Brady said. “These guys are still going to work hard. I think we’ll still be a factor in determining placement in the league and make a run in the placer tournament.”

Both teams have built themselves up as strong competitors within the Inter-Ac competition for boy’s soccer this season and will continue to fight for their spot in the league as they go through the rest of the season.

Haverford will face off against Germantown Academy at home Tuesday, October 18th at 3:45pm while Malvern Prep will face Springside Chestnut Hill Academy at home Tuesday at 4:00pm.