Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/3/24
Staff Report
It had been eight minutes since the last goal from either team and going on 13 minutes since Haverford School had last scored when Jack Long picked the ball up Thursday afternoon.
The Fords and Malvern Prep had traded volleys for 47 and a half minutes, through different paces of play and close calls at both ends. But with 19.9 seconds left, possession on the right wing and the ball in his stick, Long had a chance to have the final say.
He duly obliged, dodging past his short-stick d-middie and snapping off a low-and-away bouncer before the slide came off the crease with 12.7 seconds showing, the final blow in a classic 10-9 win for the Fords that clinches at least a share of the league crown.
Haverford (15-0, 8-0, No. 1 ranked by Phillylacrosse.com) remains unbeaten in the Inter-Ac League. By sweeping the season series over the No. 2 Friars (13-3, 6-2), the Fords move two games ahead in the standings with two to play. Haverford can clinch its second straight Inter-Ac crown by defeating Germantown Academy on Tuesday.
Long’s last shot finished a hat trick. In a game where two outstanding defenses and the elite goaltending (18 saves) of Haverford’s Brody Murphy ruled the day, Long made the kind of offensive play so scarce on both ends.
“We wanted to get it to the backside and get it back to the corner for a dodge,” the Michigan commit said. “They were a little bit pressed out there, so I kind of took it myself. I spun and took it down the alley because that’s what they were giving me.”
The game had a little of everything. The first quarter was chaotic, Haverford rampaging to a 6-3 lead. But play then settled into a more genteel, Inter-Ac pace. Both defenses were excellent 6-on-6, Malvern with its active sticks, Haverford in its sound matchup play anchored by Murphy.
The Richmond signee was simply spectacular. He made 18 saves, including a couple of key transition stops. After Jake Bickel tied the game with 8:01 to play, Murphy came up with four stops down the stretch, including a save off his helmet from a Logan Turley bullet that caromed out of bounds. He repelled a bouncer by Owen Mears and a leaping attempt by Michael Ortlieb in the final 90 seconds, giving the Fords possession with less than a minute to play.
“Brody is probably the most relieving player you can have on a team,” Long said. “If anybody is taking a shot even from 10 yards, I have confidence in him that he’s going to make that save every single time.”
Haverford dominated the first quarter and was lucky not to end up ruing that its halftime lead was only 7-6. Six players scored in the opening quarter, Aydan DiRocco capping it with 11 seconds left. Connor Nolen’s goal less than three minutes in was typical of the Fords’ quick-strike mentality.
Given how effective a defense led by Kyle Worsnup, Jack Lehman, and Brad Piffath is once it settles into the half-field, quick offense was the best offense for the Fords.
“They’re really good at getting out, disturbing what you’re trying to do on offense,” Long said of Malvern’s defense. “But I think for us before the game, one big thing we were trying to do was stay calm and collected throughout the whole time. If that means carrying it up to the 50-yard line to find the open pass, that’s what we were going to do.”
Goals by Mears and Ennis Udo (2G, 1A) in the final 2:14 of the first half got Malvern within 7-6, despite Nolen finding Brady O’Kane for his second goal of the game. The more sedate tempo of the middle quarters suited the Friars, who ended up conceding just four goals in three quarters.
“Even when we were down 6-3 at the end of the first, we were confident,” Worsnup said. “We always have confidence in our team and our training and our coaches. Trusting each other, that’s just the way we play. We’re never out of it.”
“With these types of games, you kind of know it’s going to happen,” Murphy said. “There’s going to be highs and lows. But having confidence in your teammates and knowing they’re going to make the right plays kind of calms you down.”
Haverford’s defense excelled, too, keeping Malvern’s leading lights quiet. LSM Gavin Cooper along with d-middies Kellen Gardner and Charlie Halpert were key defenders against Malvern’s talented midfield.
“We were getting a lot of great looks,” Bickel said. “When we hit pipes or the goalie makes great saves, we know we’re getting the looks and they’re eventually going to fall. Unfortunately, their goalie kept it up. We finished some towards the end, obviously wasn’t enough.”
Malvern won the faceoff battle, Nick Wehmeyer’s 11-for-19 powering a 13-for-23 overall showing. But Griff Meyer shifted the balance by going 7-for-9 in relief of Ben McCarthy, mostly in the second half.
Evan Large deposited an O’Kane feed with 1:15 left in the third to restore Haverford’s two-goal edge heading into the final quarter. But Turley’s second of the game halved the deficit 90 seconds in to 9-8, and Bickel’s alley dodge at 8:01 is one of the few goals Murphy might say he wanted back.
The teams traded man-up chances, turnovers and swings of momentum in the fourth, until Long brought it all to an end.
Haverford School 10, Malvern Prep 9
Malvern Prep 3 3 1 2 – 9
Haverford School 6 1 2 1 – 10
Malvern Prep
Ennis Udo 2g, 1a
Michael Ortlieb 1g
Jake Bickel 1g, 1a
Logan Turley 2g
Owen Mears 1g
Nick Wehmeyer 1g, 11-for-19 FOs
Daniel Lucovich 1g
Daniel Riely 1a
Heath Jones 5 saves
Haverford School
Jack Long 3g
Brady O’Kane 2g, 1a
Evan Large 2g
Aydan DiRocco 1g, 1a
Conner Nolen 1g, 1a
Ben McCarthy 1g, 3-for-14 FOs
Connor Morsell 1a
Griff Meyer 7-for-9 FOs
Brody Murphy 18 saves
