St. Francis of Assisi wins CYO soccer title
The St. Francis of Assisi Bruins of Springfield recently defeated Sacred Heart, 5-0, to win the Region 25/30 CYO varsity soccer championship.
Luke Buscaglia scored two goals and Ryan Chiarlone, Ava Hennessy, and Caroline Walters added goals in the title contest for the Bruins. Goalkeeper Pat Bradley posted the shutout.
St. Francis finished the regular season with a 9-0-1 record, surrendering only two goals and recording eight shutouts. The team then earned a 4-0 decision over Ss. Colman/Neumann in a quarterfinal playoff match. In the semifinals, the Bruins took out St. Thomas, 3-0.
In the opening round of the Archdiocesan Tournament, Chiarlone scored in overtime in a 1-0 win over second-seeded Holy Trinity (Bucks County). In the semifinals, St. Francis battled back from a 2-0 deficit to get even with top-seeded St. Alphonsus (Montgomery County) before dropping a 3-2 overtime decision. In their 15 games, the Bruins outscored their opponents, 49-5, and had 12 shutouts.
Among the other members of the team were Jacob Babcock, Liam Beresford, Tommy Clark, Lexi Culp, Maggie Curtis, Luke D’Ambrosio, JZ Grafstrom, Claire Kutafaris, Kristen Kutafaris, Robbie Longo, Brian Meluskey, Gianna Mirigliano, Tara Sheehan, Carly Walters, Lex Aaron, Ty Adams, Kyle Coleman, Luke Ellis, Aidan Kreydt, Annabelle Kreydt, Annabella Mira, Tessa Purcell, and Stephanie Reardon.
Brian Coleman was the team’s head coach.
Rachael (Becker) DeCecco, a former Marple Newtown High and Princeton University athlete, was among the panelists at the recent Women’s Sports Foundation Athlete Leadership Connection in New York City.
DeCecco, the 1999 Daily Times Female Athlete of the Year, helped Princeton win the 2002 and 2003 NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse championships, and in 2003 she was named winner of the Tewaaraton Award as the top player in the country. She is a member of the board of directors of the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League.
The Leadership Connection featured sessions designed to give athletes practical experiences and skills to advance their athletic careers and to prepare them for the challenges they will take on outside sports.
Among the other panelists were Women’s Sports Foundation founder Billie Jean King, Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwon, and former United States National Soccer Team member Heather Mitts.
“The Women’s Sports Foundation is an incredible organization that has a long history of empowering female athletes,” DeCecco said. “It was an honor to share my experiences with the attendees, and a privilege to learn from their experiences.”
The Sports Legends of Delaware County Museum, which is located at 301 Iven Avenue in Radnor, is featuring one of the cards from its newest collection of top county sports figures each week on the museum’s website at www.sportslegendsofdelawarecounty.com.
The featured card this week is that of Haverford High and West Chester University graduate Cindy Timchal, who is head women’s lacrosse coach at the United States Naval Academy.
After coaching at Unionville High School and the University of Pennsylvania, she helped establish the women’s lacrosse program at Northwestern University. She was head coach at the University of Maryland for 14 years, and her teams won eight Division I championships, including seven in a row.
She became Navy’s first head women’s lacrosse coach in 2006, and in 2017 took her team to the Division I final. Her total of 394 career victories is an NCAA women’s lacrosse record.
The Sports Legends Museum will be hosting a book signing and memorabilia sale from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9.
Rich Westcott, former Daily Times sports writer who is the author of 25 books, will be among the authors in attendance. His most-recent book is “The Champions of Philadelphia: The Greatest Eagles, Phillies, Sixers and Flyers Teams.”
Also taking part in the event will be local sports historian Rich Pagano, whose latest book, “The Baron of Leiperville,” tells the story of boxing legend Baron Dougherty, and Bob McLaughlin, whose recent book is entitled “Danny Murtaugh and Mickey Vernon: Ordinary Heroes.”
Also appearing at the museum that day will be Bobby Shantz, former pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and New York Yankees who won the 1952 American League Most Valuable Player Award while pitching for the Athletics. At 92, he is the oldest living player to have won an MVP award.
For additional information, contact museum curator Jim Vankoski at 610-9094919 or vankoski21@comcast.net.
Vankoski also will provide for all who attend an update on the museum’s drive to raise funds to have a statue erected of Radnor High graduate Emlen Tunnell, a World War II hero and the first African-American elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The statue fund-raising committee plans to have the dedication ceremony in June 2018.
Additional information about the statue project can be found by visiting www.sportslegendsofdelawarecounty.com or www.emlentunnell.com.
Future Captain Sports will be conducting child development classes from Jan. 13Feb. 24 at the Healthplex in Springfield. Sessions are held from 9:15-10 a.m. for children from 18 months through six years of age.
Through a variety of games and activities, children will develop motor skills, build self-confidence, and learn about the game of soccer. The cost is $80 for eight weeks of classes.
Additional information can be obtained by calling 484-326-1606 or through Scott@FutureCaptainSports. com.
The Delaware County Athletes Hall of Fame has mailed ballots for voting for the individuals who will join the Hall at its awards dinner in April 2018.
Wednesday, Dec. 20, is the deadline for returns to be postmarked. Voters are reminded that they can vote for no more than six male athletes and four female athletes.
With fall sports seasons coming to an end, In the Community welcomes information and pictures about junior varsity, freshman, middle school, youth club, or CYO teams that have completed undefeated seasons or turned in special accomplishments, such as winning a championship or putting together a long winning streak.
Please make sure that anything submitted lists first and last names of all players and coaches. Also, be sure to provide first and last names of anyone as they appear in a picture.
Information and pictures can be sent to sports@delcotimes.com or to Harry Chaykun at hcgrandad@verizon.net.