District 1 Soccer

Boys Soccer: Gerzabek makes the stops at Springfield advancesMike Gerzabek only had to make three saves behind a fine Springfield defensive display as the Cougars, ranked No. 14 in the District One Class AAA soccer tournament, turned back Harriton, 2-0, Thursday.

With the win, Springfield (12-7) advances to play at No. 3 Wissahickon in the second round Saturday (3 p.m.). Nick Jannelli and Danny Korinth scored the Springfield goals. Jannelli tallied his in the 62nd minute, scoring with a low shot inside a near post off an assist by Jonah Levin. Korinth scored from the top of the 18 box in the 82nd minute off an assist by Mike Wallace.

Harriton’s Lucas Serlin played well in goal for the Rams, making 10 saves.

Boys Soccer: Lower Merion edges Boyertown, 1-0, in District 1-AAA opener

Sometimes, the ball just doesn’t bounce the way it’s supposed to. No. 12 Boyertown found that out Thursday as it lost to No. 21 Lower Merion, 1-0, on a cold, windy evening in the opening round of the District 1-AAA playoffs at Memorial Stadium. Off a corner kick which bounced around in front of the Bears’ net, Lower Merion sophomore Ryan Tillman headed it in to give the Aces the game’s lone goal.

With the victory, Lower Merion (12-6-1) travels to face No. 5 Plymouth Whitemarsh Saturday at a time to be determined.

“We’re really happy with how the team played tonight,” Lower Merion head coach Nico Severini said. “Being underdogs, we know that it’s just going to keep getting tougher the rest of the way. So at this point, we’re just taking it one game at a time.”

Just over 28 minutes in, Aces sophomore Anthony Hughes slipped past Boyertown defender Matt Hudson, and fired the first shot on goal, which was knocked high by goalkeeper Tim Lawlor. A few minutes later, after a restart, Lower Merion’s Alex Moureaud sent it in front of the net off a corner kick, which was then deflected by teammate Gian-Luca Hail right to Tillman, who headed it into the net to make it 1-0 with 5:25 left in the frame.

“Right place, right time,” admitted Tillman. “It was all the momentum we needed. With our defense, we knew if we got ahead in the game, we could definitely stay ahead the rest of the way.”

Trailing 1-0, the Bears registered zero shots on goal, while allowing five in the first half. The Bears were also outnumbered in corners, 3-0.

“We came out prepared and put our best foot forward,” Severini said. “Our team has been really tough defensively all season, so we knew that if we could get on the board that we could gain a huge edge.”

Girls Soccer: Tannert-Schmidt’s goal lifts Strath Haven

The Strath Haven girls soccer team advanced in the District One AAA playoffs Thursday night in dramatic fashion. After West Chester Henderson tied the game with 5:54 remaining, Maddy Tannert-Schmidt grabbed a late winner to give the Panthers a 3-2 home victory.

“Lizzie (King) took a shot and it deflected off the goalie,’ said Tannert-Schmidt. “It was right there. Right place, right time I guess.’

The goal was Tannert-Schmidt’s second of the game, and it came with just 4:36 to play.

“They had just scored, so it was really high intensity at the time,’ the senior midfielder said.

The Warriors led for much of the first half. Sydney Zandi opened the scoring less than five minutes into the contest to spot Henderson a lead. Strath Haven had its chances to equalize, but all went begging. King, the Panthers’ leading scorer, fired over the crossbar from the top of the 18-yard box midway through the half. She atoned for that miss and then some. With 4:07 on the clock in the opening frame, King broke through the right side of the Henderson defense. She was forced wide, though, and found herself near the end line.

“I’ve scored from that angle before, but it was a tough angle,’ King said. “I couldn’t see them, but I heard people screaming.’

The sophomore striker sent a ball across the box that Tannert-Schmidt happily deposited in the back of the net. In the second half, King scored a go ahead goal in nearly identical fashion to her first half miss.

“I fell when I kicked it. I thought it was going over,’ she explained. “But I love it when I can make up for my mistakes.’

King’s goal looked like it would stand up. However, Henderson’s Madeline Pritchard brought the teams level late to set up Tannert-Schmidt’s heroics.

“It was an amazing win, a gutsy win,’ said Strath Haven coach Gino Miraglia. His Panthers (13-3-2) will visit Spring-Ford Saturday afternoon in the second round.