Haverford falls to defending state finalists Parkland in PIAA state quarterfinals

A constant and unforgiving attack from Parkland allowed them to edge out the Fords in a classic state playoff victory.

In contrast to WC Henderson’s 0-0 shootout victory, a true offensive battle took place just a game prior on the same turf at Quakertown Community High School. However, this came as a surprise to nobody who was familiar with both squad’s talent up top.

“First of all, great game. Kudos to the other team, they’re obviously a very very well coached team,” said Parkland head coach Scott Mang.

Mang was referencing a Haverford team that snagged the District 1 title a little over a week ago. Their first since 1972. Needless to say, they were on a high and had plenty of reason behind it given their successes and talent.

University of Delaware commit and standout FC Delco MLS Next winger Seamus Lannon along with fellow seniors Eamon Brennan and Nathan Mulhern all aided the Fords attack during their final campaign.

Across the pitch Saturday afternoon stood renowned senior midfielder Anthony Bautista Yucra who has ECNL all conference honors with Ryan Bender (Senior), Karem Adali (Senior), and Edward Curelar (Junior) who all contributed to the 4 goal stack. Having already tasted district gold weeks ago and year prior, the Trojans came to Quakertown with purpose: an eventual state trophy.

“We’ve been very diverse all year, we’ve got, I think 5 or 6 guys with more than 20 points; a bunch of different goal scorers, so I’m not surprised we had 4 different goal scorers,” Mang said.

The first 40 saw an Anthony Bautista finish in the 12th minute; however, Haverford Midfielder Nathan Mulhern took one himself up the right sideline before cutting back in and sending one home in the 29th minute.

At 1 a piece, Eamon Brennan put one through off of a corner kick in the 36th minute giving Haverford their only lead of the game. With the scoreboard showing 2 minutes, Trojan attacker Edward Curelar put his quickness on display as he dribbled around a defender and struck the back of the net enabling both teams to strategize over a looming 2-2 score at intermission.

After a Karem Adali strike put Parkland ahead 3-2 in the 52nd minute, Ryan Bender sent one home in header fashion off of an Alex Hurwitz set piece long ball just 9 minutes later. This lead held until the 71st minute when Haverford responded.

Tensions were high for every remaining second as the Fords were granted a corner with 10 seconds remaining. With the crowd on their feet, the Trojan defense came up bigtime, clearing the ball and sending it up to the sunlit sky to run out the final moments.

The 7 point game total was impressive, but relatively expected given the skill on both ends and the stakes of the game. In the end, it only took one to keep the Parkland Trojans alive and allow them to circle Tuesday 11/11 for reasons other than Veterans Day: a chance to return to the state final with a victory over West Chester Henderson.