Late rally not enough for Haverford
HAVERFORD — The unseasonable cold did little to stop a determined Harriton squad. A sloppy Haverford effort only helped.
The Rams, behind a second-half onslaught, beat the Fords, 10-7, Thursday in a Central League match. It was a key victory in the league and for playoff positioning, and Harriton, distancing itself after a 2-2 halftime tie, made the most of it.
“We started to settle in and control the ball a little bit better,’ Harriton coach Joe Proud said. “Try to limit their production.’
Patrick Stewart and Charlie Veasey scored goals fewer than three minutes into the second half to make it 4-2. After Haverford’s Bob McClure netted the second of his three goals to cut the lead in half, Jack Veasey scored to give the Rams more breathing room.
Late in the third quarter, Billy Farrell (who had two goals) found the back of the net to make it 5-4, but all that did was ignite Hakan Atillasoy. The Harriton sophomore scored 36 seconds before the end of the third and 96 seconds into the fourth quarter. After that, the visitors had a three-goal lead — and the game — in hand.
In all, five Rams scored. Patrick Bernicker had three goals, Stewart and Atillasoy each had two, the Veasey brothers combined for three.
“That’s what we want, we’re trying to get a balanced offense,’ explained Proud, who said his team “settled down’ after halftime. “Whoever gets the good shot at the end.’
Haverford wasn’t doing much to help its cause.
Shaky passing, limited possession and some defensive breakdowns combined to make it a tough night for the hosts. They were down 10-5 with 93 seconds left in the game before McClure and Luke McCallion scored in the final seconds.
That might help in the always-sensible District 1 power poll, but it did not help the Fords on this night.
“We’ve just got to improve,’ Haverford coach Dan Greenspan said. “We’ve got to clean up mistakes.’
Greenspan signaled out the stick work, passing and catching. He also noticed the guys on the other side of the field were pretty good on this frigid night.
“They won some faceoffs, they did some nice offensive stuff,’ he said of Harriton. “That kind of set the tone for the second half.’
Mark Edler scored less than a minute into the second quarter to give Haverford a 2-1 lead. It held that advantage for about 10 minutes until Bernicker connected on his second goal to tie the game 1:36 before half.
It was a sign of the second half to come for the Rams, who really needed the win if they could even think about claiming a playoff spot.
However, a five-goal victory would have been a lot better than the three-goal advantage they wound up with. Proud, coaching to score to the last second because of that, knew it.
“Those two goals could come back (to bite us),’ he said.
It’s a sliver of something positive for Haverford to take into the weekend and into the rest of its Central League slate. After this setback, Greenspan didn’t want to think about what it meant for his team’s playoff hopes.
He’s just focused on the next game against Strath Haven.
“We gotta pay attention to Tuesday,’ he said.
