November 6, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

GFS boys succumb to Shipley surge
by TOM UTESCHER

GFS junior Manolo Sanchez  who scored the only goal in Friday’s championship game, which was won by Shipley School, 4-1. (Photo by Jimmy J. Pack Jr.)For more photos visit www.chlocalphotos.com

Last Friday, the boys’ soccer teams from Germantown Friends and Shipley School squared off in the Friends School League championship game for the third year in a row, as the top-seeded Shipley Gators hosted the No. 2 GFS Tigers.

Shipley won the match-up in 2006 and Germantown prevailed last season. But this year the FSL crown went back over to Bryn Mawr as the Gators recovered from an early 1-0 deficit to secure a 4-1 victory.

“They’re a very strong team,” GFS coach Matt Zipin remarked, “and against a strong team you have to play well, you have to get some breaks, and you have to capitalize on the opportunities that you have, and we missed some shots that we could’ve scored on.”

In the regular season, Shipley edged the Tigers, 4-3, to hand the Germantown squad its only loss in Friends League play. Shipley went into the playoffs 8-0 against league rivals, but the Gators struggled in last Wednesday’s semifinal round, going into overtime at 0-0 before finally beating fourth-seeded George School on penalty kicks, 4-3.

Although only one seed separated GFS from third-ranked Westtown, the Tigers dominated the other semifinal match, 4-0. The bout had been pushed back a day due to Tuesday’s unseasonable snowfall. The only goal the Tigers would need for the “W” came five minutes into the contest, when a skillful assist by junior Marcelo Osorio-Soto set up a strike by senior Caleb MacTavish.

Junior Manolo Sanchez converted a penalty kick for the second Germantown goal, and then Sanchez delivered a corner kick to his classmate Jason Symonette, who gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead at the half. Symonette also scored the final goal of the day (assisted by senior Jack Koehler), which came just five minutes into the second period. Midway through the second half, starting senior goalie Zach Fernberger (two saves) turned over the cage to junior understudy Jay Query, who completed the shutout.

With the successful outcome, the 2008 Tigers established a new single-season school record for victories, with 16 (they would finish with six losses).

Two days later, GFS crossed the river to play the championship game on Shipley’s artificial turf field.

“I don’t think the turf’s much of a factor,” Zipin said. “It’s nice to play at home and of course they’re used to the turf, but it’s sort of an advantage for both teams because it’s a smooth, consistent surface.”

Indeed, the Tigers made themselves right at home as they took a 1-0 lead just two minutes into the game. Senior Abdus-Salaam Muwwakkil, who had returned from a hamstring injury just in time to participate in the playoffs, passed the ball out of the defensive end to Sanchez at midfield. The junior forward took the ball the rest of the way in, beating several defenders and, finally, Shipley goalie Nick Irvine.

The Gators tied it when Geoff Stewart placed a high, back-to-the-goal shot right in the corner, and when GFS miscommunicated on an offsides trap, Shipley scoring ace Evan Seltzer was left unmarked and he gave the hosts a 2-1 halftime lead.

In the teams’ regular-season encounters, GFS had rallied from a 4-1 shortfall at the break to make it a 4-3 final, but this time the Tigers couldn’t find the net in the second half. Midway through the period, Shipley converted a penalty kick to make it 3-1, and the Gators added another insurance goal later on.

The penalty had been called against Fernberger, the Germantown keeper, as he and a Shipley forward went up for what the GFS contingent felt was a 50/50 ball in the air.

“It’s a call that you don’t usually see,” Zipin said. “But the fact is, we weren’t able to score again, so the game wasn’t decided by a single goal anyway.”