Southeastern Pa. boys' soccer notes

Lower Merion, whose boys' soccer season unexpectedly ended last Thursday in the second round of the District 1 Class AAA tournament, lost just three times this season, and each defeat came with at least a hint of peculiarity.

First there was the demoralizing loss to Central League rival Conestoga, a game decided by an own goal by the Aces.

Then there was a head-scratching defeat against neighboring Harriton, in a game that featured a negated Aces goal (the refs called a foul on the play).

Then came the team's playoff exit against 14th-seeded Council Rock South, which finished its Suburban One National schedule an average 5-5, while Lower Merion spent several weeks in the top 50 of national high school polls.

And yet . . .

"We had, I think in a lot of people's opinions, overachieved [this season]," Aces coach Nico Severini said.

The Aces did lose nine senior starters from their 2010 District 1-championship team, but they still began the season as one of the most intimidating in the state, with a physical defensive backline and dangerous strikers in senior Ben Hriscu and junior Kenny Lassiter.

Lower Merion, the district tourney's No. 3 seed and 15-3 overall this season, garnered national attention, and was considered a strong district contender, if not a potential state-title challenger, at the season's outset.

"Sometimes you win games you're not supposed to, and sometimes you lose games you're not supposed to," said Severini, a second-year head coach.

The Aces, who featured three first-team all-Central League picks, will graduate four more key players from a team that didn't lose a decisive contest all year, and appeared a couple of lucky bounces away from still playing.

"Who would have thought we would have the regular season that we had?" Severini said.

Slumping Haverford. Through the season's first 10 contests, the Haverford School was nearly flawless. They were undefeated, outscoring opponents by 45-0. The Fords' only non-win before last week was a 0-0 draw with Inter-Ac League foe Malvern Prep.

Last Tuesday. That's when it began to slip.

Haverford fell to Malvern, 3-2, in overtime for its first loss of the year in, for all intents and purposes, what was the Inter-Ac championship game played between the only teams in contention.

The real knockout blow for the Fords, who last week were ranked No. 11 in the nation by ESPN Rise, came three days later: a stunning 1-0 defeat against Penn Charter.

That loss, coupled with a Malvern victory over Episcopal Academy, put the Inter-Ac hardware out of reach - the Friars a perfect 8-0-1 and the suddenly reeling Fords at 6-2-1.

The loss to the Quakers came with a depleted lineup, one missing four Fords starters. The typically potent scoring attack hit four posts, but netted zero goals.

The result: a previously unthinkable two-game losing streak.

"Even with the injuries that we had, we still put a team out there that was good enough to win the game and probably should have," Fords coach Bill Brady said of the loss to Penn Charter.

This year marks the first Pennsylvania Independent School Championship soccer tournaments. Haverford is the tournament's No. 1 seed - the bracket was set before the Fords' losses - and Malvern is No. 2.

It all sets up for a potential all-Inter-Ac clash on Nov. 10 (location, time to be determined).

Brady says he thinks the losses will alleviate some of the "pressure that's been hanging around the concept of a perfect season."