Attendance at soccer games has steadily improved over the past five years, and these days it is not uncommon to see 100 spectators at a game.
Five years ago, it was uncommon to have 25 students going out for the soccer team. These days, schools are getting 50 students trying out, and almost every school has a junior-varsity and freshman team, too. Lower Merion has a summer league, and almost 300 young players were involved in the league this summer.
"Nobody's trying to replace football," said Sam Holt, the Radnor soccer coach, "but people are beginning to realize that there's another beautiful sport out there."
Here's a league-by-league and a team-by-team look at the soccer programs across the Main Line:
INTER-ACADEMIC LEAGUE
EPISCOPAL ACADEMY
Coach: Mark Luff enters his sixth year at Episcopal. In five years, his career record is 64-20-13. In the past three years the Churchmen, under Luff, have gone 48-4-6, winning Inter-Ac championships in each of the past three years. Luff played soccer at Washington College and in high school at Germantown Academy.
Last Year: The Churchmen were 14-2-4 overall, 6-1-3 in the league.
Players Lost: The Churchmen lost Gabby Roe, now at Virginia, who played center halfback; Franklin Whelan, now at Hobart, who was a stopper; Bill Miller, a striker, also at Hobart; and goalkeeper Andy Cross, now at Bloomsburg University.
Players Returning: This year's two co-captains, Andy Christos, a center halfback and sweeper, and Matt Evans, who plays the same positions, were both on last year's team. All told, there are seven returning lettermen: senior Bill Marvin, a wing; junior Evan Stein, a striker; senior Steve Strawbridge, a wing; senior Sean Casey, a midfielder; junior Christian Smith, a half back; senior Dave McMullin, a fullback; and junior Brett McGovern, a midfielder.
Outlook: Luff believes the Inter-Ac will be extremely competitive. "There
