GFS head soccer coach Sam McIlvain (standing) says that the willingness of his players to apply themselves during practice is one reason for the Tigers' success this fall. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

Through graduation and the attrition of underclassmen, Germantown Friends went into the 2016 soccer season without 10 players who were on the varsity roster last season.

That would spell trouble for many teams, but the Tigers are off to the best start the GFS boys' program has seen in a number of years. In 2015, GFS ended the Friends Schools League season with a 1-0 loss in the FSL tournament semifinals to three-time league champ Shipley School. This year the Tigers ended the first week of October with a 4-0 league ledger, and Shipley was one of the victims.

The meeting with the defending champion Gators came just after Germantown Friends had opened league play with a 2-0 home field win over Westtown. After a 0-0 first half at Shipley's Farm Fields in Gladwyne, the Tigers notched the game winner with 10 minutes remaining.

On the attack, GFS freshman Nolan Grady drew a foul, and senior A.J. Mowafi drilled the free kick 30 yards into the Gators' cage.

Shipley had not lost a league game in almost three years, and GFS annals indicated that the Tigers had not beaten the Gators since 2007. Two more road games followed, the first one producing the team's first victory over George School in five seasons (2-0), and the second a 1-0 win at Moorestown Friends last Tuesday.

"We only gave up four goals in the league last year, one each to four different teams," noted fifth-year GFS head coach Sam McIlvain. "Those happened to be the first four league teams on our schedule this year, and we won by shut-out in all of those games."

The first of this season's five shut-outs (thus far) for 6'5" junior goalie Pietro Berghella had come in the team's first non-league match. After the personnel losses from last year, the Tigers received a confidence boost when they were able to duplicate 2015's 0-0 standoff with Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.

Even though there was definitely a new look to this year's team, senior Ray Hill-Cristol remarked, "We have a good attitude and we gelled pretty quickly - it just sort of happened."

Hill-Cristol forms the backbone of the GFS defense along with his classmate and fellow co-captain, Jeremy Berman. Mowafi and winger Noah Gansallo are the other seniors on the squad.

The man behind them all in the goalcage, Berghella, declared "We play for each other, not for ourselves. We want to win as a team."

Now a seasoned starter as a third-year varsity player, Berghella can sense his own progression as a goalkeeper.

In the past, he related, "Sometimes I would go off my line, and I wasn't so confident telling other players what to do. This year I've stepped up because I knew it was time for me to be one of the leaders of the team."

In addition to the SCH match, the other non-league bouts the Tigers have played thus far have also come against Inter-Ac League squads. Germantown Friends tied Malvern Prep, 1-1, and was edged 1-0 by both Germantown Academy and by current Inter-Ac leader Episcopal Academy.

The Tigers' top scorer from last year, Isaac Myran, is back as a junior.

Unfortunately, early in last Tuesday's physical, emotional contest at Moorestown Friends, Myran collided with a rival player and landed on his right shoulder, breaking his collarbone. He'll definitely be back in action for winter sports, and he still hopes to return for the tail end of the soccer season.

With Myran down, Mowafi came through with the lone goal at Moorestown to take the Tigers to a 4-0 mark in the FSL.

All in all, everyone seems to concur that the Tigers' defense forms the foundation for their success.

"They communicate well because they've got good chemistry," McIlvain commented, "and they've bought into the idea that defending is a collective enterprise."

Berman and Hill-Cristol are both veteran returning players in the back, but GFS graduated two strong outside defenders from last year's team. Those vacancies have been filled by talented freshman twins Aidan and Liem Kleitz, who have earned starting roles. While Berghella can certainly hold his own in the goal, his defenders are determined to give him a relatively light workload.

"These last few games we've really only allowed a couple of opportunities for shots on goal," Hill-Cristol said. "We've only let in three goals this year, and none in the league, so that's pretty exciting for us."

The senior continued, "I think one thing that's different for us this year is that we really defend as a team. I think that's due to Sam; he really knows how to organize players to defend together, and not just one-v-one the whole time."

Berghella added, "We don't think of it as just the defense's role to stop goals, but the whole team working as a unit. It's a source of pride when we don't give up a goal."

GFS GIRLS - On the same day that the boy booters raised their league record to 4-0, the Tiger girls got back close to the .500 mark overall with an 8-0 non-league victory over visiting Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School. Senior Lilly Dupuis chalked up a hat trick in the game, and sophomore Gabby Schwartz scored twice. Senior Hannah Hanson and juniors Corin Grady and Portia McKoy netted the other three goals.

After using a nine-day break from competition to hone their skills, the Tigers (3-4 overall) will host Shipley School this Friday (October 14), looking to level their Friends Schools League record at 2-2.