1st Test

The 7th seeded Aces hosted #10 seed Wissahicken this afternoon in the 2nd round of the District One Playoffs, after receiving a bye in the 1st round.

On a dreary afternoon, under a constant drizzle, LM would have to play without their strong senior midfielder David Novacich, still out with a concussion. They would also receive limited play from their senior striker Ryan Tillman, nursing a bad back that has kept him less than 100% the last couple of games. It was time for everyone else to step up, and they did just that.

It was an uneventful 1st half, with very little action until the 27th minute. Wissahicken would get a free kick from about 25 out and ripped a shot that senior Aces' keeper Sabastian Jenkins handled solidly. One minute later LM got a long throw deep in the offensive zone. Senior midfielder Andreas Blobel jumped on a bouncing ball and went bottom right. The keeper got a hand on it but couldn't make the save. 1-0 Aces. LM controlled the time of possession, as well as field position, as Wissahicken was content to keep 6 players back on defense. Each team got 1 good chance in the half and the Aces cashed in on theirs. 1-0 at halftime.

Wissahicken came out pumped up early in the 2nd half but couldn't penetrate the strong LM back line. Controlling the middle were senior David Smith & junior Thomas Podrasky, with senior Som Safavi & junior Zach Goldstein handling the outside. With only 7 minutes gone, Blobel, playing outstanding soccer the past several games, took the baseline with some nifty moves and put another one past the Wissahicken keeper. 2-0 Aces. With Wissahicken beginning to move more players up on attack, LM countered by moving midfielder junior Kirk Robinson back to help support the defense, a move that paid off. He was around the ball, breaking up plays, the entire half.

Midway thru the 2nd half Safavi lifted a beautiful cross to junior Max Shapiro, who blasted it home to give the Aces a 3 goal lead. It seemed insurmountable as keeper Sabastian Jenkins controlled LM's box nicely, making good judgements on every ball. Aces' senior Erez Potok-Holmes, back from an injury, played a very strong game filling in for the injured Tillman up front. As the rain intensified Wissahicken got on the board, scoring off a free kick, but it was too little to late. The Aces were thru to the quarter-finals with a 3-1 victory, and will play Saturday against the winner of the #15 Penn Wood/#2 W.C. Henderson game. Details in tomorrow's blog.