HAVERFORD, Pa. – The men's soccer team put an exclamation point on the 2011 Haverford College fall athletic season by winning its last six regular season contests and qualifying for the Centennial Conference playoffs for the first time in program history.
The fifth-seeded Fords were not content to simply make it to the Centennial tournament as once there they grabbed headlines with a 2-1 upset of host and top seed Johns Hopkins University in semifinal action. It was the first victory over the Blue Jays since 1995. Closing the season on a nine-game unbeaten streak, the Fords came up just short of the Centennial title and the automatic berth to the NCAA tournament after playing Dickinson College to a 1-1 tie through regulation and a pair of overtime periods, but falling 3-2 in five rounds of penalty kicks.
Picked fifth in a very tight 2012 poll of the Centennial preseason coaches that saw three teams receive multiple first-place votes, Haverford faces expectations from around the conference according to second-year head coach Shane Rineer. "Coming off our first ever Centennial Conference playoff berth and a run to the finals we have a ton of expectations on our shoulders," offers Rineer.
The Fords will be out to prove that last year was not a one-time occurrence. "The days of sneaking up on anyone in our conference or in the region have passed, so we now have to contend with the challenge of being a target instead of targeting others," reflects Rineer.
Returning nine starters to an upperclassmen-laden squad should help Haverford successfully confront the challenges the season presents. Providing another sense of security will be a defensive unit that is coming back nearly intact from last year's magnificent run. The junior trio of Adam Morollo, Matt Johnson and Jamie Reingruber, a 2011 second-team All-Centennial honoree, will join senior Dan Garfing in protecting junior goalie Nick Kahn who finished fourth in the conference in goals against average (0.80) in 2011.
Senior Matt Gorski, a first-team all-conference selection last season, will be counted on to lead the offense. Finishing second on the team in scoring last season, Gorski will need junior Colin Lubelczyk, sophomore Nikko Giannasca and junior David Robinson, who scored the game-winning goal against Hopkins that sent the Fords into the finals, to step up and share the scoring load for Haverford to be successful. Rineer identifies scoring as the primary area of concern. "We must find ways to create chances and score goals. It has been a weakness in the past and if we can attain reliable goal production we have a great chance against anyone," said Rineer.
The Fords will benefit from a much deeper squad this season as Rineer feels he can go three-deep at each position. Senior Trevor Barlowe and junior Ford Bohrmann are players to watch in 2012 along with the incoming freshmen class. Rineer emphasized, "the newcomers will help with overall depth but the upperclassmen that didn't see time last year have made great strides this preseason which is a testament to their dedication in the off season to make an impact."
A formidable non-conference slate brings 2011 NCAA tournament participant Messiah College, ranked third in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America 2012 preseason poll, to Walton Field in the first week of the season. Haverford will also have the opportunity to face the fourth-ranked team in the preseason poll when it travels in mid-October to Rutgers-Camden University, an NCAA Elite Eight participant in 2011. Meanwhile, the Centennial schedule figures to be treacherous once again as defending champion Dickinson received votes in the NSCAA poll.
The Fords open the season on Sept. 1 as they make the short trip to Rosemont College, 2011 Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) playoff participant, for a 1:30 p.m. contest.