Hark! … Haverford School cashes in on his timely free kick against Malvern Prep

MALVERN — For 70 minutes Tuesday afternoon, Haverford School hammered away at Malvern Prep’s defense, waiting for something to click. They’d possessed and probed, played long and short, yet on each sortie forward, one element or another of the synchrony needed to finish a chance was lacking.

So in the 71st minute, when Mitchell Hark looked up from the free kick he stood over and detected the same weakness at the back post that right winger Trent Davis saw, it took one call, one pass and one finish to equal one win for the Fords.

Davis deposited the only goal of the game off that free kick, his run perfectly timed to meet and tap home Hark’s out-swinging delivery with nine minutes left on the clock, propelling Haverford School to a well-deserved 1-0 Inter-Ac League win over Malvern Prep.

“Mitch called it out,” Davis said. “He said, ‘Trent this is to you,’ and I got far-back post and saw no one was really covering me, I made the run and the ball was there. It was a great ball.”

The free kick was one of a slew of Fords’ set pieces from dangerous areas, including three within a four-minute span as a tiring Malvern squad grew looser with its physicality. After all the near-misses, Hark was just looking to stir up trouble in the box, as close as possible to where he hoped Davis would be.

“I just try to put it in the most dangerous spot possible, because it’s really hard to pick out a single man,” the center back said. “But I saw Trent drifting back post. Their entire line just turned off, the ref blew his whistle, I called out Trent’s name and I just tried to put it on his foot the best way possible, and he buried it.”

The goal put an end to the Fords’ general frustration. They controlled play but had precious little to show for it. Particularly coming off a game against Penn Charter in which it held one-way traffic but was beaten by one attacking move from the Quakers. Despite their technical ability in midfield, Tuesday’s soccer was typically Inter-Ac: Physical, skilled but often stalemated in the center of the park beyond one or two strung-together passes.

The result was few clear-cut chances for Haverford School but a lot of the ball and a vague notion of pressure.

Hark’s journey to that set piece was particularly arduous. He’d spurned the game’s best chance in the 47th minute when his penalty kick was saved. Malvern Prep goalie Ryan McNeill had rushed off his line to punch a quality ball by Luke Macaione that finally unhooked the defense and gave forward Zach Seaman a chance to settle with just McNeill to beat. Seaman played the ball off his chest, and McNeill punched the airborne ball away, but in the process drove his fists into Seaman, a clear penalty.

Hark stepped to the spot, but he’d tipped his hand that he was going to McNeill’s left. The keeper read Hark’s eyes and pinned the ball to the ground, cradling it behind him just on the goal line.

“I went for the ball and I hit the ball and the ref made a call, which was fine,” McNeill said. “(Hark) lined up for the PK and he was staring the left side down, so I went right and I saved it.”

“It’s a good save on his part,” Hark said.

It was the latest miss for the Fords. Midway through the first half, McNeill dove to corral a long-range effort from Joe Pariano. Kieran Bradley and Bernie Rogers were the first on the scene for the Fords, and McNeill managed to smother a ball on Bradley’s foot before extinguishing the play with his body on top of the ball.

A second-half corner led to a similar scramble, McNeill charging off his line to punch but getting nothing but air. With the keeper off his line, Macaione had a shot blocked, and Hark’s effort to run onto a bouncing ball was snuffed out by a slide tackle from Malvern midfielder Conor McNally that had to be inch-perfect in the box.

“It’s extremely tough not to put your head down,” Hark said. “But as a team, I think we’re picking ourselves up one by one. The two other captains, Luke Macaione and Will Boyes, really picked me up during the game.”

Boyes had an easy day on the other end, making just two saves without much difficult. Finally in the second half, the Fords started to turn up the pressure on Malvern. With coach Dan Keefe reliably rotating six to eight subs off the bench, wingers like Davis were free to press the Malvern back line higher up the field, leading to more dangerous free kicks and more frustration from the Friars.

It finally paid off, giving the Fords the rivalry bragging rights.

“The rivalry between Malvern and Haverford is irritating,” Hark said. “And it feels incredible to come to their field, away and win, especially with all their fans here.”

Also in the Inter-Ac League:

Penn Charter 4, Episcopal Academy 2 >> Tristan Whittaker notched his first varsity goal, and Xander Lostis scored off a Brendan DePillis feed, but the Churchmen couldn’t overcome a 2-0 halftime lead. Alex Geczy made 11 saves for EA (2-3-4, 0-2 Inter-Ac).

In the Bicentennial League:

Delco Christian 7, MaST Charter 0 >> Cole Levis scored and handed out three assists as the Knights rolled to victory. Micah Metricarti recorded a brace, and Jason Woo and Jack Dill provided a goal and an assist apiece.

In nonleague action:

Upper Darby 8, Interboro 0 >> Sheikh Sirleaf scored twice and added two assists, and Jonathan Stanczak also notched a brace as the Royals poured it on for their third straight win. Francis Early, Terrance Doe, Mohammed Elhassan and Stathi Tsaousidis also scored for UD.

Marple Newtown 5, Academy Park 0 >> Ciaran Corr scored twice, Fidel Inglis handed out two assists and Justin DiBona and Tommy Wenger scored to augment an AP own goal as the Tigers (7-6-1) rolled.