LM Soccer Alumni News

LM grads Strong, Packel find Ace soccer kinship with Julian Aoyama

Lower Merion grads Bill Strong (left) and Ed Packel (right, but not pictured as photo was to big for this blog), who went on to play soccer for Amherst College, join a fellow LM grad, Julian Aoyama, who is currently starring for the Amherst soccer team.

When Lower Merion High School graduates Bill Strong and Ed Packel (both from the Class of 1959) recently attended the 50th anniversary reunion of the 1960 Amherst College men’s soccer team (which was undefeated), they had a pleasant surprise in meeting another Lower Merion grad on the current Amherst squad, Julian Aoyama.

It turns out that Aoyama, who scored the game-winning goal that day in a 2-0 win against Connecticut College, plays the same position as Packel — attacking left midfielder (known as left wing back in Packel’s time) — and wears the same jersey number (6).

Aoyama scored the winning goal last weekend against Plattsburgh in the NCAA Division III tournament, helping Amherst advance to the round of 16.

“We found Julian to be a delightful young man and were extremely impressed by the skills he showed on the field,” said Strong.

Packel and Strong played on the 1958 Lower Merion team that won the Suburban One and district titles, and lost by a goal in the Eastern Regionals (the equivalent of the state championship, since there was no high school soccer in Western Pennsylvania at the time).

Strong and Packel were the only sophomore starters on the 1960 Amherst squad, and were co-captains of the 1962 team.

After graduating from Amherst, Packel went on to get his doctorate in mathematics at MIT and has been for many years a tenured professor of mathematics and computer science at Lake Forest College, north of Chicago, including a stint as chairman of the department. He also served as men’s soccer coach in the 1970s, and is an elite runner, having won a number of age-group titles in long-distance races.

Strong received masters degrees in communications (from Annenberg School) and political science from Penn. Following a 13-year career in broadcasting with CBS/Westinghouse Broadcasting, starting at KYW-TV and covering six cities from coast-to-coast, Strong moved into the sports business as a senior executive in sales and broadcasting with the Pittsburgh Penguins for 12 years (and two Stanley Cups) and, more recently, for 17 years with the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars (and one Stanley Cup).

In 1986, Strong watched as his son’s Quaker Valley High School team won the PIAA state soccer championship, ironically after having upset Lower Merion in an early-season ELCO tournament.