On October 7, the boys varsity soccer team squared off against the Marple Newtown Tigers in the team’s senior night matchup.
The team honored their seniors before the game began, hosting their senior night ceremony. The seniors honored were Robert Valcich, Dylan Zeitz, Charles Hardy, Emmanuel Pickup, Colton Anckaitis, Brandt Broome, Jonathan Leuthold, Skylar Sacks, and Tyler Mickleberg.
“It’s special for me, because I coached a lot of them when they were in the Nether Youth Club, so when they were seven, eight, [or] nine,” head coach Ryan O’Neill said. “To come back and be full circle for them to be seniors now, it’s a little scary, but it’s fun, enjoyable, and great to watch them grow and be young men.”
Among the goal scorers in the match was junior Halen O’Neill.
“For three years, playing with them [the seniors], it’s been great. I’ve learned a lot,” he said. “They’ve been really motivating and always positive, helping us [underclassmen] to get so much better,”
The game was a hard-fought victory for Haven, which went completely scoreless for the entire first half.
“It was zero to zero at halftime, and we kept working, kept playing, and the second half was so much better,” O’Neill said.
Coming out of the half, junior John O’Rourke scored a commanding goal, bringing the game to 1-0. Throughout the game, the two teams exchanged words, making the game very physical and increasing players’ determination.
“Marple’s a hardworking team. They’re dangerous, they bring the ra-ra [trash talk]. So we just had to make sure that we’re mindful in the game of not making mistakes, and not letting the game of overheatedness get to anybody,” coach O’Neill said.
The rest of the game, Haven kept composure and finished strong, with Halen scoring a goal as well as Valcich hitting a header to cap the night off.
“It’s about dedication,” Valcich said. “Today, I was on the bench, kept my head in the game, then I finally got in and I scored.”
Valcich’s goal iced the game, with the student section’s cheers drowning out the Tigers.
“It [the soccer team] taught me great kinds of team-ship and leadership,” Hardy said. “We go through lots of downs and losses, but when we get that win, everything in the past gets erased.
The boys varsity soccer team looks forward to their next matchup away against the Lower Merion Aces on October 9, at 4:00 p.m. at Lower Merion.
