Saint Joe’s Prep beats La Salle 2-0 for first win over PCL rivals since 2018

Timothy Comey scored off a free kick in the first half and Liam Waldrup added a second half goal to lead Saint Joseph’s Prep to their first win over La Salle College in seven years in a Friday night Philadelphia Catholic League match at the University of Pennsylvania.

“You have the alumni coming out tonight, the student section,” head coach John McIntyre said after the match. “It was big for the school, for the program. Last year was a big jump, and then this year everybody’s buying into what we’re trying to do. It was like a playoff atmosphere tonight and the boys were ready to play.”

Saint Joe’s last win over La Salle was a 2-1 victory on October 2, 2018. They had a draw and five losses over that span to the Explorers, winners of 6 of the last 8 PCL championships.

“All my friends were here and celebrating with my classmates just means so much,” Waldrup said of the rivalry win. “Obviously, we couldn’t do it in football and we haven’t beaten them in soccer in years but we’re gonna do it again in playoffs.”

Saint Joe’s improved to 10-1 in league play (12-2-3 overall) with one game remaining against Lansdale Catholic. Though a win would match Roman’s 11-1 record, Roman has the tiebreaker advantage over Saint Joe’s with a head-to-head win. La Salle’s loss was just their second in league play this season.

Comey’s free kick goal from 20 yards out was a first half spark for the hosts that almost didn’t happen. Comey said he hurt his ankle early in the first half and wasn’t sure he should take the free kick but McIntyre encouraged him to take it and the goal unleashed a celebration with fans lining the fence at Penn Park.

“As soon as that goal went in we took the game by storm,” said Comey, a senior. “Senior year it just means a lot to get this win and just to take what we did last year and carry into this year.”

The PCL postseason kicks off with the first round this Wednesday and the final is slated for Saint Joseph’s University on October 25.

Matthew Ralph

Matthew Ralph is the managing editor of Philadelphia Soccer Now. He's covered soccer at all levels for a decade in the Philadelphia region and has also written for TheCup.us, NPSL, PrepSoccer and other publications. He lives with his wife and two young children in Broomall, Pa., but grew up in South Jersey and is originally from Kansas.

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