Soffer’s goal starts Strath Haven’s triumph

Strath Haven opened the boys soccer season Friday by avenging the loss that ended the Panthers’ run last season.

Joe Soffer was fouled in the box and then buried the penalty kick, starting Strath Haven on its way to a 2-0 win at West Chester Rustin in a nonleague match.

Also in the second half, Cam Ricciardi scored off a throw-in into the box. Matt Eiel made the lead stand up, turning aside six shots, as the Panthers blanked the team that ousted them in the first round of last season’s district tournament.

Penncrest 5, Interboro 2: Drew Hanna’s two-goal effort ignited a second-half rally that saw the Lions go on a 4-0 tear to overtake the Bucs.

Goals by Sam Brown, Ricky Vogel and Charlie Simpson aided the attack, and keeper William Thomas made the comeback possible by stopping 11 shots. Interboro’s fast start was fueled by first-half goals from Diego Lopez and Willie Lopez.

Delco Christian 4, Chichester 2: Jordan Dozier pumped in a pair of goals and set up another score for the Knights, who stormed out to a 3-0 first-half lead. Ryan Norton added a goal and an assist and Daniel Nichols also found the back of the net, providing enough cushion for Brody Veleber (six saves) to hold on for the win.

Penn Wood 2, Hatboro-Horsham 1: John Manasary set up first-half goals by Prince Bla and Hassan Warritay, and the Patriots relied on goalie Collins Asimoah (six saves) and a stingy defense to maintain the lead over the final 25 minutes.

Haverford High 2, Devon Prep 1: Cole Mays scored and also assisted on Ryan Brown’s goal for the Fords, who needed six saves by Jared Frank to hold on.

In the Under Armour Prep School Classic:

Haverford School 2, Loyola Blakefield 0: Quinn Letter earned the shutout by stopping seven shots and was backed by goals from Senan Farrelly and Connor Gregory.

In the Vanguard Invitational:

Upper Darby 4, Oxford 0: Loseni Konneh cashed in passes from Ian Matherson and Ilais Tikos, Kelvin Paye and Jallah Acqui added solo scores and John Thornton (eight saves) was perfect in net, sending the Royals into Saturday night’s championship at Sun Valley.

In the Henderson Tournament:

Upper Perkiomen 1, Radnor 0: Raiders goalie Ben Toomey made six saves but the game-winner eluded him just under 10 minutes into the first overtime.