Last LM District Champion

LM Aces' boy's soccer teams have played in 13 District 1 Finals, winning 7 times ('54, '58, '65, '68, '88, '07, & '10), and finishing as the runner-up 6 times ('56, '60, '63, '64, '66, & '85).

The Aces won their most recent District 1 Title in 2010 (pictured below) in coach Nick Severini's 1st season as LM's head coach.

All-Central League Team

The 2012 All-Central League team was just announced and the Aces are well represented, as usual.

1st Team: senior tri-captain Matthew Lindheim

2nd Team: junior David Baer & senior keeper Connor Yju

Honorable Mention: senior Trevor Yu, junior Daniel Buckman, senior Alex Buckman, and senior Mark Abi-Khatter

Congratulations to all the deserving recipients.

The District 1 semi-finals that were scheduled for tonight were postponed until tomorrow. I will continue to post throughout the District 1 & State Playoffs, with all the game results, possible additional honors for LM players, as well as LM Soccer Alumni info.

Facing Elimination

The Aces traveled to North Penn this evening for a 2nd round District Playoff game. They were accompanied by their loyal parent & student body following, knowing that the season was on the line. Also, LM had lost both of their night games this season and were looking to remedy that situation. With league champion Conestoga losing on PK's to Souderton the Aces were the last hope for the Central League.

LM carried the play for the 1st 10 minutes or so before North Penn slowly took over. With just 13 minutes played North Penn capitalized on a scrum in front of the Aces' net to take an early 1-0 lead. About 7 minutes later NP were the recipients of a very controversial penalty kick call, and all of a sudden LM was in a 2-0 hole. It was a very physical game, with the refs having trouble taking control.

In the 2nd half the Aces got just what they needed, a quick goal to put them back in the game. Matt Lindheim lifted a beautiful long free kick just over the North Penn defensive line and junior David Baer headed it home to cut the lead in half. However LM still had their hands full as NP was a strong, quick team, with good height in the defensive end. Despite North Penn's very physical play the Aces weren't shy about giving it back. As time wound down LM got several great scoring opportunities coming off long throw-ins, free kicks, & corners. They fought til the end, giving it everything they had, but just couldn't put another one in the net. The game ended 2-1 and the Aces season was over.

It's always tough to end your season with a loss, but considering all this team had to overcome they should feel very proud of what they accomplished. They returned only a few starters from last year, and the new "Academy Rule" took away 4 of their better players. Despite this they finished in a tie for 2nd place in the Central League (just 2 points behind champion Conestoga), had a 14-4-1 overall record, and went to the 2nd round of the District 1 Playoffs. Congrats to all the players & coaches.

North Penn Tonight

The Aces face off against #7 seed North Penn tonight at 7 PM, played at North Penn H.S. The winner will advance to the District 1 quarter-finals and play the winner of this afternoon's match between #2 seed Great Valley vs. #15 seed Pennsbury.

Thursday's schedule

With the 2-1 win yesterday against Central Bucks West (see last blog), the Aces will travel to #7 seed North Penn Thursday night for a 7 PM 2nd round game.

Except for Conestoga, who had a 1st round bye, the other Central League teams did not fare very well yesterday. Harriton lost 2-1 to Abington, Upper Darby lost 2-1 in OT to Pennsbury, Strath Haven lost 2-1 in OT to North Penn, Radnor lost 1-0 in OT to Souderton, and Springfield lost 1-0 to Wissahickon.

Good Start

This afternoon the Aces hosted Central Bucks West in the 1st round of the District One Playoffs. The first 20 minutes didn't provide much offensive action as both teams seemed to be feeling each other out, although LM held a clear territorial advantage. Just after the midway point in the 1st half the "Bucks" grabbed the momentum. They finally got a few shots on Aces' keeper Connor Yu, and were winning most of the 50/50 balls. With 10 minutes left in the 1st half the "Bucks" connected with a goal coming off a long throw-in and LM trailed 1-0. This seemed to wake the Aces up as 5 minutes later junior Eli Cohen scored a beautiful hustling goal off a Greg Levy throw-in and it was all square at the half.

The 2nd half saw both teams alternating scoring chances, mostly coming from either free kicks or long throw-ins, but they were few & far between. Both defenses played solidly, and you could sense that the next goal would be the game winner. With 14 minutes left LM senior Trevor Yu took a long clearing pass from the defense, carried nicely through some open space, and ripped a 22 yarder toward the "Bucks" net. The shot hit a defender and deflected past the helpless "Bucks" keeper to give the Aces a 2-1 lead. The defense, and strong play from tri-captain Matt Lindhein, did the rest and LM moved through to the 2nd round with a 2-1 win.

Tonight #7 seed North Penn hosts #26 seed Strath Haven with the Aces playing the winner on Thursday in the 2nd round. Should North Penn win they would host the Aces at 7 PM Thursday evening. If Haven prevails then the Aces will host the Panthers at 3 PM on Thursday afternoon.

District Playoffs Begin

The Aces drew the #10 seed in the District 1 Playoffs, giving them at least 1 home game. They open with Central Bucks West on Tuesday at 3:00 PM on the turf at Arnold Field. LM lost an away contest to the "Bucks" 3-2 during the regular season, their only non-league loss.

Should the Aces win, they will play the winner of #7 North Penn vs. #26 Strath Haven, with the lower seeded team hosting the 2nd round playoff game on Thursday. LM was undefeated on Arnold Field this season and are hoping to keep that string going on Tuesday. To do that they will have to get back to their attacking style of play in the offensive end while keeping their defense tight.

To view the entire District 1 Playoff grid go to: http://www.district-one.net/brackets/boyssoccerAAA.htm.

The results of Tuesday's game will appear here on "Coach D's Blog" about 7 PM that same evening.

Go Aces!

District 1 Playoffs

In the past 25 seasons, from 1984 through 2011, the LM Aces have qualified for the District One "AAA" (big school) Playoffs 22 times. The longest LM consecutive streak has been 13 in a row (from '84 through '96). The current LM consecutive streak stands at 9 ('03 through '11) and counting.

Below I have listed the District Playoff results for the past 5 seasons:
* The top 4 seeded teams each year receive a bye in the 1st round

2007

3-0 vs. Pennwood in 2nd Round (received bye in 1st Round)

3-1 vs. Bayard Rustin in Quarter-Final

2-1 vs. C.B. East in Semi-Final

2-1 vs. Abington for District Title

2008

3-2 vs. C.B. South in 2nd Round (received bye in 1st Round)

3-0 vs. Radnor in Quarter-Final

1-1 (lost on PK's) vs. Neshaminy in Semi-Final

1-0 vs. C.B. East in 3rd Place Game
 

2009

2-0 vs. Great Valley in 2nd Round (received bye in 1st Round)

1-1 (lost on PK's) vs. Downingtown West in Quarter-Final

2010

5-0 vs. Chi-Chester in 1st Round

2-0 vs. Marple in 2nd Round

0-0 (won on PK's) vs. Pennridge in Quarter-Final

1-0 vs. Pennsbury in Semi-Final

0-0 (won on PK's) vs. Conestoga for District Title

2011

1-2 OT vs. Council Rock South in 2nd Round (received bye in 1st Round)

Strong Regular Season Finish

The Aces had more trouble than they expected against a Ridley team looking for their 1st Central League victory. Junior David Baer volleyed in a free kick from Matt Lindheim with only 10 minutes remaining to give LM a 1-0 slim victory. Goalkeeper Connor Yu registered his 7th shutout of the season. Unfortunately Conestoga (9-2) also won, easily handling Penncrest 7-1, so the Aces (8-2-1) finish in a tie with Harriton (a 1-0 winner over Strath Haven on a PK with 4 minutes left) for 2nd place in the Central League. Upper Darby (8-3) finished in 4th place with Springfield (6-4-1) in 5th.

After back-to-back losses in late September, the good news is LM finished strong with 6 straight victories, giving them a 13-3-1 overall record, a #10 ranking in the Inquirer's Top Ten soccer poll and #17 in the Southeastern PA soccer coaches pool. The bad news is they only scored 8 goals in their last 5 games while playing only 1 team with a winning record. Looking back on the Central League season I'm sure they wish they could have that Penncrest game back again, as that was the difference between finishing 2nd, and an 11th Aces Central League Title. Each of LM's 2 league losses came on their only 2 night games of the season (0-1 to Conestoga & 0-2 to Penncrest).

This Sunday the District One playoff committee will meet to choose & seed the 28 teams who will participate in the 2012 District One Playoffs. The top 4 in the District will also move on to the PIAA State Playoffs. I look for the Aces to be seeded somewhere between 8th & 12th and will definitely have a 1st round home game when the playoffs begin next Tuesday, October 23rd, at 3:00 PM. Once the seedings are reported you can find all the pairings at: http://www.district-one.net/brackets/boyssoccerAAA.htm, and also right here on "Coach D's Blog".

1st LM Central League Title Team

On the eve of another possible LM Central League boy's soccer title, let's look back a few years. The Central League was formed in 1967, and in 1968 the Aces (pictured above) won their 1st Central League Title. The number of Aces Central League Championships now stands at 10 ('68, '84, 85, '86, '87, '90, '04, '07, '08, & '09.

That '68 group was a was a very special team. Besides posting an overall record of 14-1-1, and scoring 41 goals against 16 allowed, they also went on to win the District One Title.

Because there was no official PIAA State Championship until 1973, the '68 Aces (District One champions) played ELCO (the District Three Champions) in what was then called the"Inter-District Playoffs". Since these two districts were by far the best soccer-playing districts in the state at that time, this was considered by many as the "unofficial" State Championship. With regulation play + overtimes resulting in a 2-2 tie, the Aces were declared the winners on the basis of accumulating more corner kicks than ELCO (this was how ties were broken before the penalty kick shootout).

This was also the only LM team to win the "Inter-District Playoffs", losing in '54 to North Lebanon 4-1, in '58 to Pequea Valley 1-0, and in '65 to Garden Spot 1-0.

Down to one

The Aces traveled to Archbishop Carroll yesterday for their last non-league game of the season. Behind the scoring of Matt Lindheim and Tyler Robinson, and goalkeeper Connor Yu's 5th shutout of the season, LM came out on top 2-1.

The Aces wrap up their 2012 regular season with a Central League game at Ridley, with the Central League Title still a possibility. Should LM win, and 1st place Conestoga loses or ties Penncrest, the Aces would be assured of at least a share of the league title. If the Aces win, and both Conestoga & Harriton lose, LM would be the Central League Champion all alone.

A lot on the line for this young Aces' squad.

One Last Chance

Yesterday the Aces took care of a good Springfield team, who had already upset a couple of the league's top teams earlier in the season. It was sophomore Gian-Luca Hail getting his 2nd game winner in the last 4 games as LM won 2-1. In other Central League action Harriton defeated Upper Darby, so the Aces moved into a 2nd place tie with Harriton. League leading Conestoga had an easy time with Garnet Valley winning 4-1.

Next Tuesday is the last Central League game of the season, with LM (7-2-1) visiting winless Ridley (0-9-1). Should they get past Ridley, and Conestoga (8-2-0) loses to Penncrest (3-4-3), the Aces would assure themselves at least a tie for the 2012 Central League Championship with Harriton (7-2-1), but the Rams still have to get past Strath Haven (6-4-0) in their last game.

Tomorrow LM travels to Archbishop Carrol for their last non-league game of the season.

Close Call

The Aces took care of business yesterday against Garnet Valley but it was closer than expected. Their 2-1 win moved LM (6-2-1) past Radnor into 3rd place, as the Raiders lost 1-0 to Springfield. Both Conestoga (7-2) & Upper Darby (7-2) won easily to stay tied atop the Central League standings with 2 games remaining. To win the league title the Aces (Springfield & Ridley left) need to win both their games, and have both Conestoga (Garnet Valley & Penncrest left) and Upper Darby (Harriton & Garnet Valley left) to drop one of their last 2 games. It's a long shot, but you never know.

Stretch Run

The Aces' game last Saturday with Friends Central was cancelled, so their overall record remains at 8-3-1 (5-2-1 in league play). Central League games this week are today at Garnet Valley (listed on the schedule as 3:45 PM, but in the paper today it has it at 7 PM), and Thursday at home with Springfield (3:45 PM). This Saturday LM travels to Archbishop Carroll for a non-league contest (time TBA). Next week the Aces wrap up their regular season schedule when they travel to Ridley for their final Central League match.

LM fell out of the Southeastern PA top-10 soccer poll, that has West Chester Rustin (the 3rd High School in the West Chester School District behind West Chester East & West Chester Henderson) as the #1 team, and Conestoga at #7 (the only team ranked from the Central League).

Central League Standings

Here are the up to date Central League Standings. Teams receive 3 points for a win and 1 point for a tie. As you can see that loss to Penncrest last Thursday night was huge for the Aces as with a win they could have been atop the standings with 19 points, with remaining games against Ridley, Garnet Valley, & Springfield. Now LM needs a lot to happen for them to have a chance at the top spot.

TEAM	W	L	T		PTS.
Conestoga	6	2	0		18
Upper Darby	6	2	0		18
Radnor	5	1	2		17
Lower Merion	5	2	1		16
Harriton	5	2	1		16
Springfield	4	3	1		13
Strath Haven	4	4	0		12
Haverford	3	5	0		9
Penncrest	2	3	3		9
Garnet Valley	1	6	1		4
Marple	2	6	0		3
Ridley	0	7	1		1

LM - Harriton, the game

This afternoon, in an on and off drizzle, the Aces & Rams faced off for the 27th time in their history. LM was looking for a little payback from last year, when Harriton dealt LM their 1st defeat ever. But even more important, the Rams held the top spot in the Central League standings, with the Aces clinging to an outside chance of staying in the race.

It was a typical LM vs. Harriton soccer game, a hard-nosed, take no prisoners battle. Both goalkeepers played outstanding games, with each one coming up big when the team needed it. Both teams hit the crossbar once, and both grabbed, held, and lost momentum several times during the contest. The Aces relied on their long throw-ins & corner kicks for most of their pressure, while the Rams took advantage of quick counter attacks off turnovers.

The 2 workhorses for LM were seniors Greg Levy and tri-captain Matt Lindheim. Eighty minutes of regulation ended in a 0-0 tie, so two 10-minute sudden-victory overtime periods would be played. With the Aces carrying the play in the 1st OT, their pressure would finally pay off. With only 27 seconds left Greg Levy got his 13th or 14th long throw of the afternoon deep in the Ram's end. He would finally connect as sophmore Gian-Luca Hail directed a deflection past the helpless Harriton keeper for the game winner. The LM bench poured onto the field to celebrate the "must win" they desperately needed, and got.

This Saturday LM goes out of league play when they travel to Friends Central for an 11 AM contest. I will post the updated Central League standings right here tomorrow or Saturday.

Harriton Rivalry?

The Aces took care of business with Marple yesterday with a 4-1 Central League victory. Junior Eli Cohen tallied twice while senior tri-captain Matt Lindheim recorded a goal and 2 assists. Next up for LM (tomorrow at Arnold Field, with a 3:45 PM tap) is league leading Harriton, who played to a 1-1 tie with Radnor yesterday. If you want to know just how big this game is keep reading.
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Lower Merion vs. Harriton is a different kind of rivalry, dating back 52 years to the first time these two schools played each other in soccer in 1960 (Harriton opened as a 2nd high school in Lower Merion School District in 1959).  It's not a rivalry based on win-loss records, championships, or a battle to be the best team in the area. This rivalry is based on pride alone, which Lower Merion School District high school soccer team can beat the other on one given day. Want to know what it felt like, just ask Chris Schreiner ('88), who not only played for LM against Harriton, but later also coached the Aces as well.

  "First let me start off by saying my wife is a '89 graduate of Harriton and she used to boo me at all the LM vs Harriton soccer games. As a former player and coach at LM, when we played Harriton it was always a no win situation. When we won the game we were supposed to win, if we tied the game we played horrible and Harriton played great, and ... We never lost!  The greatest part about the games between LM and Harriton was that everyone knew each other. Whether they were friends from your club team or another club team or just from the neighborhood. The games themselves were always tough, hard-nosed physical wars, with everything on the line. Bragging rights for another year and hanging out with more Harriton girls."

After about 10 years of playing each other every year the rivalry was ended. Some sources say that it got too heated and animosity built up between not only the teams, but the 2 student bodies as well. This was also apparent in other sports besides soccer. So to help promote unity & goodwill in the School District all athletic contests between the 2 schools were discontinued.

Both school's boy's soccer teams continued to flourish, with Lower Merion dominating the Suburban One (and then the Central) league, while Harriton was without equal in the Del-Val league. Finally in 1985, with both teams having qualified for the District One playoffs (there was only 1 division back then), Lower Merion met Harriton once again on the soccer field in the district quarter-finals. Both teams were ranked highly in the area and it would be an historic game. The Aces proved to be too big and too strong for the Rams that year, as LM won 4-0 and advanced thru the District Playoffs and into the State Playoffs.

Several years later games resumed (in all sports) bewteen the 2 sister schools, with Lower Merion playing the roll of the bigger school and expected winner, while Harriton would be the underdog with nothing to lose. In the 25 times these 2 soccer powers met (thru 2010), LM won 15, lost 0, and there were 10 ties. Last year the Rams finally broke thru and defeated the Aces 2-1 in a night game at Harriton.

Now they both play in the Central League, and within a few years their enrollments should be just about equal. Count on many years of exciting games still to come.

Have an LM vs Harriton memory? Send me an email at bubdavidson@comcast.net.

Looking to Rebound

After a crushing Central League loss on Thursday night the Aces were looking to right the ship on Saturday against non-league opponent Central Bucks West. After scoring only 1 goal in their last 2 games LM finally got their offense going, getting 2 goals past the Bucks keeper. With their defense giving up only 6 goals in their last 8 games that should have been plenty for the Aces, but it wasn't. The Bucks scored 3 and LM lost 3-2.

This week LM hosts Marple on Tuesday, league leading Harriton on Thursday, and travel to Friends Central on Saturday. Sitting at 7-3-1 overall, this is a very important week for the Aces.