BOYS SOCCER: George School nails down first win By Rick Woelfel Correspondent | Posted: Tuesday, September 23, 2014 11:14 pm BRYN ATHN — After tilling the field in search of goals George School enjoyed something of a harvest Tuesday afternoon. The Cougars took a two­goal, first­half lead and went on to a 4­2 Friends Schools League boys soccer win over the Academy of the New Church. It was the first win of the season for George (1­4 overall, 1­2 in the FSL) and the first defeat of the campaign for the hosts (6­1­1, 1­1). The Cougars’ four­goal output doubled their total from their previous four games combined. “We’ve been playing tough teams,” said John Arth, George’s senior striker. “It’s really good to finally get a 'W' and get going again.” Arth himself played a major role in the proceedings, including netting the game’s first goal. It came off a set piece at the 12­minute mark. Ethan Lamb took a free kick from the left wing, 30 yards from goal, and served a ball toward the far post. He connected with Arth, who headed it past Lions keeper Willie Loeb III. The Cougars extended their lead 11 minutes later. Gunhee Han delivered a hard strike from the right side at close range. Loeb made the save, but Nick Colando put in the rebound. “That definitely helped,” Arth said, “but you can’t let up.” ANC got back in the game nine minutes before halftime when Brennen McCurdy crossed a ball into the box from the right flank. James Vandergrift finished the play, beating Cougars keeper Freesoul El Shabazz­Thompson from inside the 6­yard box. The Lions pressed the issue for the balance of the first half, but George's back four of Seamus Mulcahy, Bill Wang, Yuval Thuroff and Kit Kripalani stood firm.
“It was very good to retain the lead to the half,” said George coach Paul Machemer. “The boys did well.” The Cougars struck quickly in the second half. Aaron Conyer finished a cross from Arth with a header in the 42nd minute before Lamb scored a goal of his own a minute later, again on an assist from Arth. The Lions' second goal came off a set piece in the 69th minute when Zach Brock converted Andreas Buss’ corner kick. “You need to give ANC a lot of credit,” Machemer said. “They kept working hard and playing to their patterns and came back twice, which was good for them, and something we’ll have to work at.” For their part, the Cougars didn’t sit on their lead and pressed forward right to the end of a very satisfying win. “You have to continue pressuring,” Arth said, “otherwise you’ll succumb to the pressure eventually. We’re not an Italian­style team that is able to sit back and take a lot of pressure. Our team’s strength is our offense.”