October 4, 2007 Issue
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Classified Chestnut Hill Local Don't Miss an Issue, Tell us what you see or Winner of Two |
Local SportsNorwood hockey handles host GFS
Expanding a 1-0 halftime lead, visiting Norwood Fontbonne Academy capitalized on more of its scoring opportunities in the second half than it had in the first, recording a 6-0 win over the Germantown Friends middle school varsity last Wednesday afternoon. Alli Sabia scored twice for the Bears, while single strikes came from her fellow eighth-graders, Anna Prestoy and Ali Stever, and from seventh-graders Dominique Nyzio and Lauren Stabler. Due to a seventh-grade function that day, the GFS Tigers played an all-eighth grade squad. In earlier games this season, Germantown defeated Baldwin School, 4-1, and had a match with Penn Charter end in a 0-0 draw. One of the best ways for a team to raise its level of play is to face challenging opponents, and the Tigers certainly did that last Wednesday. The NFA Bears are the defending champs in the Girls Catholic Academies League, and they opened their 2007 season with a 5-0 defeat of Gwynedd Mercy, which was the league runner-up last fall.
CHA soccer captures Inter-Ac opener
After taking a 2-0 halftime lead in last Friday’s Inter-Ac League soccer debut, Chestnut Hill Academy gave up a goal to visiting Haverford School 10 minutes into the second half but was able to hang on for a 2-1 win. To be fair, the host Blue Devils did more than just hang on, enjoying a number of scoring opportunities in the second period while Haverford had to adjust its personnel in the face of four yellow cards (to CHA’s one). Taking advantage of offensive openings hasn’t come easily to the Devils this season, though, and that’s a major factor in their 3-4-1 showing so far this fall. The Fords slipped to 4-2-1 with Friday’s setback. “We’re creating the opportunities,” said CHA coach Mark Weinmann, “but we’ve got to put the simple ones away, and it would’ve been a different game if we did. We’ve got to be more aggressive going to the ball in the final third; when we have numbers in the box, we have to recognize that and just go for it.” In a rare occurrence, Weinmann found himself matching wits with another redhead in Haverford coach Kevin Tryon. After a few Haverford rushes at the outset, Chestnut Hill got on the board just two minutes and 37 seconds into the bout. Alex Blenheim took the ball in along the right edge of the box and then passed it inside to assist Chris Eckert’s close-range strike.
A win and a draw for PC booters and sticksters
Penn Charter cruised to a 3-0 win in soccer over visiting Springside School last Tuesday afternoon, but a few fields away the Quakers and Lions battled to a 1-1 standoff in field hockey. A 2-1 winner over Agnes Irwin in its Girls Inter-Ac hockey debut two weeks ago, Springside left Charter with a record of 2-2-1 overall and 1-0-1 in the league, while the Quakers had a record of 2-3-1 against all opponents and 0-1-1 in league play. PC had been edged by Notre Dame, 1-0, in its first Inter-Ac contest. Charter’s soccer team had also succumbed to the Irish (2-1) on opening day in the Inter-Ac, but Tuesday’s win over Springside brought the Quakers back even in the league, 1-1, and into winning territory overall, at 3-2-2. Springside continues to struggle on the soccer pitch; coming after a 4-1 loss at Agnes Irwin in the league opener, the setback at Penn Charter lowered the Lions’ record to 0-5-1. Assessing his soccer squad, Penn Charter coach Eddie Mensa observed, “We’re young, we’ve got some good speed and we’ve got good depth [of talent], but our intensity has to get a little better. In the Notre Dame game, they were a more physical team than we were and we didn’t react really well to it. We’re still trying to develop that finishing touch, that killer instinct. It’s getting better over time, and today was a good step forward.”
Chestnut Hill Youth Sports Club soccer updates U14 Girls The U-14 girls tied Upper Dublin Saturday 2-2. The Lightning got an early lead thanks to midfielder Gabriella Shumacher, who won two challenges to pass the ball on up for a score by Emma Ebert. Kelsey Chapman assisted in that first goal and scored the next on her own. Meanwhile Toni Hall was tenacious on wing, winning the ball again and again and Angela Cascio was equally tough in the back, catching balls with a foot stretched high and wide or locking horns—and actually knocking heads—with the Upper Dublin offense. The prior week, the U-14 girls ended Lighthouse’s 17-game winning streak, prevailing by a score of 4-3. Emma Ebert scored early with an assist from Kelsey Chapman, who went on to score the second goal with an assist from Toni Hall, as the mist turned to rain. Sarah Thomas showed great skill and endurance, out-maneuvering the Lighthouse defense to score next with a ball between the goalie’s legs. That left the score at 3-2 at the half, with Lighthouse coming back to quickly tie the score. Fans were on tenterhooks through the half, watching the midfield pass balls up to enable strong attempts on the goal by Sammie Clark and Julia Binswanger. Finally Tasmin Lamb booted a ball out of midfield which Kelsey Chapman caught with a left-foot shot that caromed off the goal post to seal a well deserved win.
GFS Boys’ Soccer Topples Shipley 3-0
The Germantown Friends School Tigers defeated Shipley School in a hard-fought, physically demanding boys’ soccer game on Tues., Sept. 25, dealing Shipley its first loss in the Friends Schools League in the last two seasons. “It was very hot and very intense on the field, with both teams playing with passion and energy,” noted head coach Matt Zipin of East Falls. The win brought GFS’s record to 7-2 overall and 2-0 in the Friends Schools League. Play began slowly, but after five minutes GFS earned a corner kick. Manolo Sanchez of West Philadelphia made the kick as GFS and Shipley players surrounded the goal. Under these crowded conditions one of the Shipley defenders attempted to clear the incoming kick and unfortunately for him, sent the ball into the back of the net instead. In the second half, about eight minutes in, Tom West of Gwynedd Valley won a ball and sent it to Sanchez, who was in the 18 yard box. Sanchez flicked it over the head of the defender, took a quick dribble, then beat two defenders plus the onrushing goalie with a left-footed shot that settled into the back of the net. Notes Zipin, “A 2-0 lead in soccer is substantial, and our defenders – Owen Smith, Chris Allen, David Marvin and goalie Zach Porges — were steady, poised and aggressive in defending our lead. David Marvin was particularly outstanding, making play after play, never backing down or conceding ground.” At the 68-minute mark, GFS scored its final goal of the day, “the most spectacular goal we have scored all season,” according to Zipin. Jason Symonette of Mount Airy took a ball at full speed to the left corner and unleashed a perfect left-footed cross that soared over the goalie’s hands and went right to a completely unmarked Sanchez, who leaped and expertly headed in his third goal of the day.
Mount volleyball conquers Crusaders The second and third games in last Monday’s volleyball match were tooth-and-nail tussles, but visiting Mount St. Joseph Academy gave a more convincing performance in the first and fourth games to emerge with a 3-1 win over the Crusaders of Lansdale Catholic High School.
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