Photo courtesy of Jewels Quedenfeld
On Tuesday, October 2, the EA varsity boys soccer team defeated the Malvern Prep Friars in a decisive 3-1 finish, extending their undefeated 8-0 season. Senior captain Anthony Romano ’27, Graham Quedenfeld ’28, and Andrew Roberts ’28 all recorded goals.
Earlier, on Friday, October 2, the team defeated the Germantown Academy Patriots 2-0. Assisted by Romano, Quedenfeld scored the first goal against Germantown, bringing his personal tally to eight at the time. On the backend, goalkeeper and senior captain Charlie Esterhai ’27 kept the Patriots from scoring, a clean sheet that marked his sixth of the season. Late in the second half, senior captain Graham Roe ’27 forced a Patriots own goal, sealing the Churchmen’s victory.
The 8-0 start to the season is an historic one for the team, which hasn’t won the Inter-AC in 31 years. The team’s success includes big wins against schools such as Roman Catholic High School and the Westtown School, both of which were ranked higher previous to their defeat by the Churchmen, who now stand at #12 in Pennsylvania. Quedenfeld attributes the team’s success to their strong chemistry, saying, “We play so well as a team. We work together. We find the way through. Obviously, the team bond is better than it’s ever been, and that’s what’s really allowing us to win these games.” He adds, “Everyone knows what they have to contribute, and it’s leading us to winning games that maybe on paper we shouldn’t be winning, which puts us in a really good spot.”
Going into the season, expectations were lower than past years, primarily due to the loss of 14 seniors as well as current players’ club teams preventing them from playing for their high school. Romano details the reaction to these departures at the beginning of the season, saying, “We had a lot of new guys come in, but expectations, even though they were low, the standards were set very, very high.”
This 8-0 start puts the team in a good position to win the Inter-Ac and potentially stage a deep PAISA run. Despite this exciting prospect, Romano describes the team’s mindset as “The most important game is the next one.”