It’s not every day you get to watch your high school sports teams play in a District Championship. It has been over 50 years since Haverford’s Boys Soccer team reached Districts. However, in 2025, the team finally made it back to the championship.
The Haverford Boys Soccer team had an amazing season, with a 17-2-2 record coming in. They came into Districts with a 7-game winning streak dating back to the end of the regular season. Their opponent, Abington, however, came in on a 21-game undefeated streak dating back to the regular season. Haverford and Abington faced off in the first game of the season. Haverford won that contest 2-1, which was Abington’s only loss this season.
Twelve minutes into the first half, senior goalie Sean Grein made a huge save to keep the game even. This save added to the list of huge saves Grein has made this season. “I just try to block anything that comes near me. If it’s on target, I try to throw my body at it, block it, however I can,” Grein said. A minute into the second half, Abington got a huge scoring chance on a throw-in. Abington’s first shot after the throw-in was blocked by senior Jio Ermilio. Abington’s second shot was saved by Senior defender and captain Cruz Corialos. Corialos cleared the ball down the line after this save, shutting down a huge scoring chance for Abington and showing another reason why he won Central League MVP.
With the University of Delaware scouts in the stands, senior Seamus Lannon delivered. Lannon, who has signed with the University of Delaware, received a pass from senior John Snopkowski. Lannon beat out the Abington defense and scored a goal on the far left part of the net. “I saw I was one-on-one with the kid. I dragged it by him, got a little bit of space, and then I was fully by him,” Lannon said. “I saw I could keep driving, and I just slipped it front post, and it got past the goalie.”
Thirty seconds later, Snopkowski scored for Haverford. After Snopkowski received a pass from senior Nate Spangenberg, Snopkowski tipped the ball over the goalie and scored. “I knew the moment it hit my foot, it was over the goalie, and I ran straight to the corner,” Snopkowski said.
With a little under thirteen minutes left, Spangenberg received a pass from junior Kieran Hevener right in front of the net. Spangenberg scored the dagger to put the Fords up 3-0. “I just knew the game was over right when the ball went in,” Spangenberg said.
While Abington scored a couple of minutes later on a free kick, it was too little too late for them. Haverford already had the game secured and finished off a 3-1 victory to win the PIAA District 1 Class 4A championship. “I’m over the moon proud of this team. Their work ethic, their work rate, it’s always been exactly where I want it. They’ve put in tons of effort this season. They deserve this,” Coach Michael Klemens said.
While winning the district championship is good enough, the Fords weren’t done yet. As a result of their championship, they went on to play in the State Tournament. They fell in the State quarterfinals to Parkland 4-3, but this loss did not dim the accomplishments of this historic season.
