September 27, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Germantown Friends School fans see soccer, tennis teams triumph
by TOM UTESCHER

GFS’ Jason Symonette, who scored two goals in the game against Abington Friends School, gains control of the ball from AFS’ Max Manstein. (AFS’ Brian Hood and GFS’ Berge Koksuz, who also scored a goal, are in the background.) For more photos visit www.chlocalphotos.com.

Germantown Friends School supporters had no need to nervously gnaw their fingernails last Thursday afternoon, when the Tigers hosted matches in boys’ soccer and girls’ tennis and won each contest convincingly.

In their 2007 Friends School League debut, the Tiger booters (6-2 overall) banged in a pair of goals in each half to conquer the Kangaroos of Abington Friends, 4-0. The GFS courtiers, who had started off this fall by playing most of their toughest opponents all in a row, bagged their first victory of the season, blanking The Christian Academy from southern Delaware County, 6-0.

After the soccer match, GFS mentor Matt Zipin generously suggested that Abington had provided more resistance on the field than the numbers on the scoreboard indicated. Nevertheless, goals win games, and the ‘Roos were unable to get anything past Tigers keeper Zach Porges, who finished with six saves.

The Tigers, meanwhile, scored each of their first-half goals in a similar manner, sending a pass up from the midfield to a breaking forward, who then beat Abington’s deep defenders to launch a successful shot. The only goal the hosts would need for the win came courtesy of Jason Symonette about a quarter-hour into the action. Later on, Manolo Sanchez doubled the Germantown lead, striking five minutes before the interlude.

GFS continued to attack as the second half got underway, and a third goal went up on the board with 10 minutes elapsed. Here, Ben Gemberling-Johnson carried the ball into the right side of the box and got off a shot on goal. The keeper dove to get his fingertips on the ball and deflect it across the front of the cage, but at the far post the Tigers’ Symonette was waiting to stuff the loose ball into the net.

Germantown capped off its performance with a fourth goal with about three minutes remaining in the contest. The Tiger attack displayed good off-the-ball movement once again, as a well-struck right-left cross by Sanchez found Berge Koksuz in position to score from near the left edge of the cage.

In several of the Tiger tennis team’s setbacks at the start of the season, the GFS girls (1-5) had taken the court without injured number one player Demi Iepuras, the “Moldova Diva.” With the senior back in action last Thursday, the Tigers could move their other players down onto their regular rungs on the team ladder, and they easily disposed of their rivals from The Christian Academy.

GFS captured all of the bouts in straight sets, and Iepuras did not even drop a game as she sailed through at first singles, 6-0, 6-0. The Germantown victories in the other singles matches came almost as quickly, with number two Laura Erstad and number three Liz Cheek each winning by scores of 6-1, 6-0.