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Season Review: Men's Soccer Adds Another Championship To Run of Success

Season Review: Men's Soccer Adds Another Championship To Run of Success
Posted: Dec 06, 2018

Signature win: All season long, the Haverford College men's soccer team was on a mission to win its third Centennial Conference Championship in four years. The Fords realized that goal in early November as they shut out Dickinson in the conference semifinals and followed that up with a 3-2 overtime victory against Franklin & Marshall on Championship Sunday. Although Haverford never trailed, the Diplomats were never far off the pace. The Fords scored their first goal just 7:51 into the match as Michael Carr got the day started, only to see F&M level the match just under six minutes later. Haverford again went back in front when Centennial Conference Tournament MVP Peter Baroff scored during the 24th minute. Nevertheless, the Diplomats answered just 1:33 later to knot the score at two-all.

After a fast and furious start to the match with four goals in the opening 25 minutes, the two sides battled without either finder a go-ahead tally during the next 77-plus minutes of game action. However, that wait proved worthwhile for the Fords as Baroff found eventual All-American and Centennial Conference Player of the Year Nick Jannelli in transition as the Fords' junior striker beat the Diplomats keeper during the 103rd minute of play and sent Walton Field into a frenzy. The title also made it three times in four years that the Fords were crowned Centennial Conference Champions on their home turf. Haverford has hosted the Centennial Conference Tournament by virtue of a first-place finish across the conference table during four of the last six seasons.

Awards:

Season Notes: Haverford went 14-4-1 overall with an 8-1 record in Centennial Conference play … The Fords finished the season receiving votes in both the United Soccer Coaches Association and D3Soccer.com National Polls … Haverford won its third Centennial Conference Tournament Championship in four seasons and fourth overall (2012, 2015, 2016, 2018) … The Fords won 11 straight matches as they went unbeaten during the month of October before winning the Centennial Conference Championship, the second-longest winning streak in program history … The Fords will carry a 12 match unbeaten streak into the 2019 season after tying New York University in the NCAA Tournament before falling in penalty kicks … Haverford has now made the Centennial Conference Tournament during each of the last eight seasons, with six appearances in the Centennial Conference Championship match during that span … Haverford's senior class finished as the winningest in program history with a combined 56-16-12 record over the past four seasons … The Fords have gone 31-5-3 on Walton Field during the past five seasons … Haverford has won 24 straight home Centennial Conference matches dating back to the 2013 season and is unbeaten in those last 25 instances; both of those marks are program records … Haverford will enter the 2019 season with an eight-match unbeaten streak during home matches, the second longest stretch in school history (11 straight home wins in 2015) … Haverford made its seventh appearance all-time at the NCAA Tournament (1976, 1977, 1980, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2018) … Nick Jannelli was Haverford's first All-American since Sam Yarosh '15 during the 2015 Elite Eight season … Haverford players have combined for 82 All-America accolades during the program's storied history … Jannelli will enter his senior campaign already ranked among the Fords' all-time greats with a school-record 14 career game-winning goals, 34 career goals (t-11th), 84 career points (12th), and 16 career assists (t-20th) … Senior Jeremy Astesano graduated with third-best career GAA (0.98), seventh-best save percentage (.791), and 10th most victories (19) in school history … Michael Carr broke the College's record for matches played in a career (80) and tied for second all-time with his 74 starts … Michael Iacono will enter his senior campaign holding the sixth-best career GAA (1.06) … Seniors Nick John and Max Krieg finish their decorated careers tied for eighth in program history with 75 career appearances … The Fords' three All-Mideast Region selections match the program record previously set during the 2015 and 2016 campaigns … Haverford's seven All-Centennial Conference honorees are tied for the second-highest total in school history and are just one shy of the 2016 team which had eight players recognized … The only other time Haverford had four players earn first-team all-conference came as a member of the Middle-Atlantic Conference when the Fords also had four honorees during the 1976 and 1981 seasons … The 13 student-athletes named to the Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll were the second highest total among the Fords' conference peers … Haverford earned the United Soccer Coaches Association Team Academic Award for the 18th straight season and the 20th time in the award's 21 year history.

Looking forward: Haverford's 11 member senior class will surely be missed as that group won 56 matches, the most among any class in program history. Nevertheless, the class leaves behind a foundation of success as the Fords have hosted the Centennial Conference Tournament four times in the past five seasons and won the conference title on Walton Field three times during the past four years. Despite the graduation losses of a deep and talented class, Haverford will return All-American and Centennial Conference Player of the Year Nick Jannelli as he joined goalie Michael Iacono as a first-team All-Centennial Conference selection. Centennial Conference Tournament MVP Peter Baroff joins Jannelli at forward for what should be another Fords team ready to carry on its perennial spot among the top teams in the Centennial Conference and throughout the entire Mid-Atlantic Region.

Scoreboard
  • Sat, 10/28 | Men's Soccer vs. Swarthmore L, 2-0 (Final) RC | BX
  • Tue, 10/24 | Men's Soccer at Scranton W, 1-0 (Final) RC | BX
  • Sat, 10/21 | Men's Soccer at Johns Hopkins T, 1-1 (Final) RC | BX
  • Wed, 10/18 | Men's Soccer vs. Ursinus W, 2-0 (Final) RC | BX
  • Sat, 10/14 | Men's Soccer vs. McDaniel W, 2-0 (Final) RC | BX