There are plenty of boys soccer powerhouses in the Washington area. Sidwell Friends isn’t usually among the first names on that list.
So if the Quakers feel slightly overlooked, maybe they should. But if respect from outside sources isn’t forthcoming, at least they’ve left no doubt who rules the Mid-Atlantic Conference.
Senior midfielder Kevin Huang headed home a free kick from junior teammate Yoni Berhanu in the 56th minute and Sidwell Friends hung on for dear life down the stretch as the Quakers secured a 2-1 win at Potomac School to earn the MAC championship outright.
“We’re not the biggest, fastest, strongest team around,” said Huang, who last month verbally committed to play soccer at Stanford. “There are no blazers or brutes here. But we have a lot of skill and guys always willing to make a pass. That’s how we win.”
Sidwell, with five only seniors on its roster, improved to 16-2 overall and 11-1 against MAC competition. Potomac School is 8-4-2 overall and 7-3-1 in the MAC. The Panthers will be the third seed in next week’s MAC tournament.
“It would have been pretty hard to take not winning a title senior year,” said Huang. “The expectations were high for us and we lived up to them.”
Berhanu, a forward, also scored a first-half goal for the Quakers, who struggled to put shots past Potomac School senior goalkeeper Alex Gross. He finished with 10 saves, including a diving point-blank stop on a Sidwell shot early in the second half.
The Panthers tested Sidwell sophomore keeper Sam Kernan-Schloss late.
He survived a smash just wide of the net by Potomac School sophomore Daniel Rizk and later watched Huang clear a ball off his line in the final minute to preserve the lead and the win.
MAC attack
» Sidwell Friends last won the Mid-Atlantic Conference boys soccer championship in 2004.
» The Quakers already avenged a 6-3 loss to MAC rival Flint Hill with a 2-0 win over the Huskies on Sept. 26. Now they have a shot at avenging their other loss, 3-0 to Wilson in the final of the John Warring Invitational on Sept. 8. The two teams meet again on Thursday afternoon.
» Potomac School’s goal was scored in the first half by freshman midfielder Bennett Varney, who finished a rebound off the crossbar by junior Sam Abramson.
