Lower Merion, Harriton split pair of LM township soccer matchups
Lower Merion Township rivals Harriton High School and Lower Merion High School took to the pitch Tuesday, with the boys’ match taking place at Lower Merion in the afternoon while the girls played at Harriton in the evening.
Harriton made history in the girls’ match, posting its first victory against Lower Merion since the Ram girls soccer program was formed in 1989 with a 3-0 win. Lower Merion won the boys’ matchup in overtime, 1-0.
In the girls’ matchup, Harriton junior Morgan Rees got things started in the first half taking a perfect feed from sophomore Gabriela Mazzoni before making a move past Lower Merion keeper Lindsey Palish and depositing the ball into the far corner of the empty net with 12:19 remaining for a 1-0 lead.
“Gaby and I play club ball together so when I saw she had the ball in open space I was waiting for her to play the through ball,” said Rees. “Once she played the ball, I saw the goalie coming out and I just played a touch past the keeper; struck the ball and hoped for the best.”
Harriton added an insurance tally when sophomore Sydney Kobak received a pass from fellow sophomore Filippa Graneld and fired a shot far post. With 1:39 left, Harriton’s Nadine Horneck scored to provide the final margin.
“It feels so good to beat Lower Merion,” Rees said. “We have never beaten them and the whole team was so excited coming into the game. This is a big win and it gives us confidence as we continue with our season.”
In the boys’ contest, Lower Merion posted a 1-0 OT win with 6:59 remaining when Tim O’Hare ran down a perfect through ball from fellow senior Alex Moureaud, and scored.
O’Hare said, “I saw Alex (Moureaud) with the ball and as he hit his cross I cut right and peeled opposite side. As I ran down the pass I saw the goalie coming out and I struck the ball toward the far post hoping it would go in.”
The Aces’ win keeps Lower Merion in contention for the Central League title.
“This is a big win,” said O’Hare. “Harriton is a good team and anytime you can get a win over them is good.”
Lower Merion coach Nico Severini added, “Every win is important. The Central League is tough. We have been emphasizing team play and the kids are buying into it and I think the goal was a perfect example.”
Harriton keeper Jake Putnam did all he could finishing with 10 saves while Lower Merion keeper Sebastian Jenkins finished with three saves.
