By Alex Frazier
Meet…Dave Lovecchio
There are those soccer players who make soccer their life, competing for elite club teams and striving to reach the next level. And then there are those soccer players who just play to enjoy the game and the camaraderie.
And that’s not to say that the former don’t love playing, or the latter aren’t competitive.
But for Norristown’s Dave Lovecchio, soccer is a sport he enjoys playing. It’s not even his No. 1 sport–baseball is.
Lovecchio is not the best player in the league, but he is one of the best on Norristown’s team. In fact, coach Bob Davis is in somewhat of a dilemma as to where to play him.
For the past two years, Lovecchio has played goalie for the Eagles, although he had played forward for much of the time with his Jeffersonville club team.
The last two years he played for Jeffersonville, the team had no goalie, so he volunteered to step between the posts. When he came into his sophomore year in the high school, he continued playing keeper, which wasn’t all a bad thing.
“I like goalie because for baseball I catch, so it’s kind of a similar position,” he said. “I like using my hands. At the same time it can be frustrating because although you can’t always put the blame on yourself, you kind of tend to.”
But this year he chose to play on the field.
“He’s gotten used to that (playing on the field),” said Davis. “We were in the Continental Conference last year, and he kind of got beat up. Our average margin of defeat was less than two goals a game. A lot of it was him.”
He still remains Norristown’s best goalie, but so far this year he has played up front. In the team’s first win of the year over Ridley, he scored three goals.
“Scoring is fun,” he admitted. “It worked well for me because they played the offsides trap, and we would have somebody chip the ball up, and I’d use my speed to my advantage. I had good footwork that day.”
“He’s a tall kid and he’s got good foot speed,” said Davis. “He’s not a real aggressive kid, but he’s smart. He’ll get theball down to his feet and make the right play. He’s an asset to us.”
Davis’ predicament is that his starting keeper is not eligible to play, so he’s forced to go with a green sophomore. Should he move Lovecchio back and lose scoring punch or keep him up top and give up goals?
“We do everything but finish,” said Davis.
So for now, he counts on Lovecchio.
Lovecchio’s best sport, though, is baseball, where he is a catcher. In his sophomore year he broke his ankle during indoor soccer in the winter and wasn’t able to play until the last three games of the season. But as a junior, he was a regular behind the plate. Over the summer he attended a showcase and hopes to get some college recognition.
He is undecided about which college he would like to attend, though Temple and Penn State are high on the list because he would like a large school where there are many opportunities for different activities. Of course, if he chooses a Division One school, he may not be able to play on an intercollegiate team. But that’s all right with him. Even if he doesn’t, he knows he will still stay active playing intramural or club sports.
“It comes down to whether I want to play baseball in college and go to a smaller school or if I want to go toa bigger school and be more involved but probably not be able to play baseball,” he said.
Getting into a good school shouldn’t be a problem because Lovecchio carries a 4.4 grade point average.
“I definitely value school more than I do sports,” he said. “As much as I love sports, I go by school first. I don’t plan to slack off.”
He is also the recording secretary for the student council.
“It’s a way to keep you involved,” he said. “You actually have a chance there to put your opinion forward and go through with plans you wish to happen at school.”
Given his interest in math, right now Lovecchio is considering engineering as a potential career, though he’snot sure which aspect of it he will pursue.
“I know it’s a lot of work in college, but I know it will pay off,” he said.
Colonials on the march – When Steve Flack stepped down as Plymouth Whitemarsh coach last year, he knew he had an able successor. Although only 26 years old, Nico Severini already has a laundry list of soccer credentials to his credit.
He grew up playing for some club teams in Argentina. At Haverford High School, he was an All-American and played on the ODP national pool. His FC Delco club team went to nationals three times, winning one championship.
After high school, Severini played soccer for the University of Pennsylvania, winning an Ivy League title his junior year.
His father George played professionally in Argentina and is also a professional coach. Nico started his coaching career in the Haverford Township recreation league at the age of 14. He now coaches a girls’ travel team in Lower Merion as well as an ODP team.
“I’ve been pretty seriously involved with it (coaching) the last four, five years,” said Severini. “It’s part of my profession as an educator.”
Two years ago, he was an assistant at his alma mater before coming over to PW last year to teach Spanish and be the assistant to Flack, whom he credits for having helped him make the transition to his first high school head coaching job.
“Coach Flack from last year has helped me tremendously,” said Severini. “To him I have to give a lot of credit and a lot of thanks.”
Severini’s other two mentors are his father, who coaches at Haverford and recently won his 200th game, and Temple basketball legend John Chaney.
“They are the two coaches that influence me the most,” he said.
With his vast knowledge and experience, Severini is looking to build PW’s program. The Colonials have only made the playoffs once in the history of the sport at the school.
That’s about to change.
Not overnight, however.
Severini has no illusions about a quick turnaround.
“It’s going to be a long process,” he said. “We’ll have our ups and downs. We want to go slowly but surely.”
Under Severini, PW went undefeated in the preseason, going undefeated in the Avon Grove tournament, as well as beating Haverford High and Archbishop Carroll. In the opening Shipley Labor Day tournament, PW defeated the host squad before losing to a strong Conestoga team.
“We’re very young,” said Severini. “We’re a little bit inexperienced and we have our work cut out for us, but we’re going to try to keep a positive feeling and see what happens.”
Since then the Colonials defeated Academy Park, tied Quakertown and lost to Upper Merion and Wissahickon. The loss to Upper Merion came off a throw in and was the Vikings’ only shot of the game.
They were tied with Wissahickon 1-1 at the half and gave up the game winner on Wissahickon’s second shot of the game in the final half.
“We now seem to be competitive in most of the games,” said Severini. “For us that’s good right now. For me right now it’s not the results, but how we come out and play. We only have league games left now and we want to do something.”
Leading PW this year are seniors Ryan King (center midfield) and Will Majer (defense), juniors Jim Garrison (midfield) and Sam Negley (defender) and sophomore midfielder Kastro Fazliuou.
“Those are our leaders and they have responded well,” said Severini.
Around the league – Abington started like gangbusters, winning its first three games, including a big 2-0 victory over Neshaminy in the National Conference opener last Friday. Marco Paparo scored both goals for the Ghosts, while keeper Sam Matthews stopped seven shots. Wednesday, however, Pennsbury’s Eddie Adams popped the Ghosts’ bubble, scoring in overtime to give the Falcons a 2-1 win.
Last Friday in a matchup of two defending conference champions, Central Bucks East shut out North Penn 2-0. East keeper Jake Pickering made three saves, playing on a leg and half. Pickering sprained his right ankle in practice earlier in the week and was playing his second game with the injury. Every time he punted the ball, he doubled over in anguish. Fortunately for him, North Penn didn’t put him to a stern test.
On Wednesday, East handed Pennridge its first league loss with a 2-1 win on goals by Alex Schubert and Sean Peckham.
North Penn also rebounded with a 2-1 win over Souderton on Nate Harder’s game winner.
Council Rock North also made its debut in the National Conference on opening day a memorable one by blanking a highly touted Pennsbury squad, 1-0. Rock keeper Andrew Foran stopped 17 shots.
But the Indians were ambushed Wednesday by William Tennent, which featured former North coach James Barry. Justin Massaro gave his new coach the win over his old team with a first-half goal, which held up for the victory and gave the Panthers their first league win in three tries.
Top Five SOL teams
1. Central Bucks East
2. Council Rock North
3. Pennsbury
4. Abington
5. Neshaminy
Southeastern Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association Rankings (through Sept. 7)
1. Downingtown West. . . 2-0-0
2. Lower Merion. . . 3-0-0
3. Central Bucks East. . . 2-0-0
4. St. Joseph's Prep. . . 3-0-0
5. Father Judge. . . 2-0-0
6. Abington. . . 2-0-0
7. Holy Ghost Prep. . . 1-1-0
8. Council Rock North. . . 2-0-1
9. Pennsbury. . . 2-1-0
10. Neshaminy. . . 2-1-0
11. West Chester Henderson. . . 1-1-0
12. Strath Haven. . . 1-0-1
13. Pennridge. . . 3-0-0
14. Christopher Dock. . . 3-0-0
15. Central. . . 1-0-0
16. Bayard Rustin. . . 2-0-1
17. Radnor. . . 2-1-0
18. Archbishop Ryan. . . 1-2-0
19. Germantown Friends. . . 1-0-1
20. La Salle. . . 1-2-0
Others receiving votes: Episcopal Academy, Upper Darby, Bartram, William Tennent, Archbishop Wood, Haverford School, Conestoga, North Catholic.
NSCAA/adidas® National Rankings
Region III 1st Poll - Sept. 9
1. St. Benedicts Prep (Newark, N.J.) 0 - 0 - 0
2. Downingtown West (Downingtown, Pa.) 2 - 0 - 0
3. Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) 0 - 0 - 0
4. Father Judge (Philadelphia, Pa.) 3 - 0 - 0
5. Delbarton School (Morristown, N.J.) 0 - 0 - 0
6. Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, N.J.) 0 - 0 - 0
7. Central Bucks East (Doylestown, Pa.) 2 - 0 - 0
8. St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia, Pa.) 3 - 0 - 0
9. Ramapo (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) 0 - 0 - 0
10. Harrison (N.J.) 0 - 0 - 0
11. Fox Chapel (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 5 - 0 - 0
12. Central Dauphin (Harrisburg, Pa.) 4 - 1 - 0
13. The Pingry School (Martinsville, N.J.) 0 - 0 - 0
14. Manheim Township (Lancaster, Pa.) 3 - 1 - 0
15. Ocean City (N.J.) 0 - 0 - 0
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