Girls Soccer Super 7, Oct. 5
The first soccer notebook of the season ran Monday, which means it’s time for the first Super 7 since the preseason, which looks a fair bit different now. Stat leaders can be found here for the Central League, while a Delco-wide leaderboard is coming soon. Standings are available under each league and are as up-to-date as possible. If we’re missing games (and coaches, you know why that is), you can find that out under each team’s hub. Email me at mdegeorge@21st-centurymedia.com and we’ll get it corrected.
Here’s how the girls teams in the county stand this week.
That record is apparently correct for the Owls, who’ve had a plethora of games either postponed or cancelled early this season. That leaves plenty of questions marks that will be resolved in short order now that the Inter-Ac slate opens. For now, the assumption is that the Owls, even without Hannah Keating, remain tops until someone in the county has proved otherwise. That means either a Central League team emerging from the crowd or perhaps…
Unlike Agnes Irwin, EA has a win to hang its hat on, downing reigning league and Pennsylvania Independent School Athletic Association tournament champ Penn Charter, 3-2. Much like the Owls, there’s so much yet to be played in the Churchwomen’s season that conclusions are difficult to discern. But through the early going, they’ve put themselves in a position to succeed and challenge for a league title.
Time for the Central League conundrum, which I readily admit I have no idea on how to sort out yet. If you consult the District One power rankings, Haverford is tops among this group, while Strath Haven is sixth among the Central League contingent (behind four-win Garnet Valley). Not quite sure how that works out. The backloaded schedule that has many of the top competitors playing each other late – which is sheer coincidence – means many of the relevant questions have yet to be asked. Provisionally, I’ve got the Fords as the top of that group. They have the easiest remaining schedule (among the Central elites, only Strath Haven is left). In their last three Central League outings, they’ve beaten Penncrest and Conestoga and drew with Radnor.
The Panthers boast one of the more robust nonleague schedules of the group, and the loss to Radnor last week was a bit of a surprise. It’s their only Central League loss, though they have a brutal run into the finish. Given the conditions, the Radnor game may not be the most reliable gauge of the teams’ relative abilities. It is concerning, though, that Lizzie King was a quiet as she was against Radnor, though much credit goes to the Raiders defense.
The knock against Penncrest will remain until proven otherwise. They can beat Chichester and Upper Merion and accumulate a gaudy win total, but when it comes to the league, they have to get by those established teams that make playoff runs year after year. This is a quality team, and games against Strath Haven and Radnor this week will be illuminating. Something to watch is the way in which Haverford effectively muted Olivia Mancarella in their game last week, and she needs to be a more connected threat in games against top teams.
Any game in which the Tigers have Megan Lynch and Julia Lynch, they’ve got a chance. A switch has apparently flipped with them as seniors: I’ve yet to see a Marple game this year, but having watched those two play since their freshman years, it seems clear that their ability to affect games is on a completely different level this campaign. The win over Conestoga was the signal that they’ve arrived, but following it up with 1-0 results over Octorara and Lower Merion shows that the Conestoga victory wasn’t a fluke.
I’m conflicted about having Radnor this low, especially after the way they beat a good Haven team at their place. The spine of the team led by Abby Lord and Allison Lanzone is formidable, and Maura Holst is a special creative talent. But consistency is still elusive for them. Penncrest and Marple Newtown still remain on the schedule, so we’ll see how the Raiders fare.
Honorable Mention: Garnet Valley (4-4-4, scraping out that win over Marple Newtown likely keeps their playoff hopes alive, and there’s work to do on that front thanks to all those early-season draws); Notre Dame (3-3, finishing in the top half of the Inter-Ac might be a challenge, but any team with Phoebe McClernon on it poses a grave threat any day); Sun Valley (6-5, why not throw the Vanguards in here? They’re 2-0 vs. Delco teams and still have Chichester on the slate to add to that).
