Girls Soccer: Haverford’s formula works out against Upper Dublin in District 1-4A first round

UPPER DUBLIN >> The formula has been pretty simple for Haverford girls soccer.

Annalena O’Reilly will get a chance, turn it into a goal and a stout defense will find a way to make it stand up. It worked pretty well in the regular season, so there wasn’t any need for the No. 17 Fords to change it when they visited No. 16 Upper Dublin in the first round of the District 1-4A playoffs Tuesday.

O’Reilly got the goal, and the defense held off a determined Cardinals side for a 1-0 win.

“We warmed up really well then in the first half, they were taking it to us, especially in the midfield and they were the better team,” Fords coach Jeff Jackson said. “We talked at halftime that there needed to be another gear and I thought they found it right off the bat and our star player changed the game like she always does.”

O’Reilly bagged her 15^th goal of the fall, a solid number by any metric for the senior attacking midfielder. Weigh it against the total goals allowed by the Fords, which currently stands at 14, and it becomes more clear why Haverford’s formula works so well.

Still, there was the problems Upper Dublin presented in the first half and they were problems that certainly taxed Haverford. That was a result of Upper Dublin’s own winning formula at work, one that’s withstood a season-long rash of untimely injuries and players shuffling positions seemingly match by match.

“It was a great game, from what we’d heard about (Haverford) we knew it would be tight,” UD coach John Topper said. “We knew they were stingy defensively and we knew O’Reilly was a dangerous player. I was very happy with the way we came out tonight and the first 20-25 minutes, we had the better of play but we know if you don’t capitalize when things are flowing your way, it becomes a little more difficult.”

UD’s wins have started with a commanding effort in the center midfield and the Cardinals got that out of seniors Lexie Moss, Priya Kaneria and Tina Haig and junior Laura Pendleton, or at least when she wasn’t playing center back. Up top, Anna Desch, Julia Eustace and Emily Booth gave the Fords fits with their pace and seemingly endless runs right at the back line.

Click HERE to read the full article.

Haverford’s Brooke Snopkowski collides with Upper Dublin’s Priya Kaneria while going for the ball during their District 1-4A first round game on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. (Gene Walsh/Digital First Media)