from the Times Herald: Tom Kerrane http://t.co/5y3XsUZc

WORCESTER — This was a rough two-day stretch on the schedule for Methacton.The Warriors had to play defending Philadelphia Catholic League champion La Salle on Monday, then come right back less than 24 hours later against Pioneer Athletic Conference stalwart Spring-Ford.It might have looked like a tough spot early on in the schedule, but Methacton came through it with a well-earned split, the Warriors knocking off the Rams on Tuesday afternoon, 3-0.“This just shows we’re learning as a team and we are building on those first few games,” senior midfielder Matt Skelly said. “We want to keep building on this.“This is a big confidence boost for us, knowing we can play with the best. We think we should be up there for the league title.”The regular season started off slowly for Methacton, which is now 1-1-1 in the Pioneer Athletic Conference (2-3-1 overall). The Warriors did not score a goal in their first two matches, then came a tie in the league before the offense erupted against non-league Glen Mills over the weekend.That took Methacton to La Salle, a 3-1 loss to the Explorers leading the Warriors toward S-F.“We did Glen Mills and La Salle to get us ready for (Tuesday),” Methacton head coach Brian Robbins said. “The league is so tough.“We were fortunate with the bounces, but we worked hard and we’ve been working hard. We beat a playoff team (Tuesday) and that’s what we wanted to do.”Justin Ardman got the Warriors on the board in the 15th minute on a feed from Skelly. Eight minutes later, Luke Herber headed a ball in traffic out in front of the goal which had the Warriors up 2-0.“Clay (Henery) hit one from about half and I just went up with the keeper,” Herber said. “It somehow went through and I got my head on it. That was a big momentum swing, to get that before half.”Meanwhile, Spring-Ford was hardly able to get an attempt off against Methacton goalie Taylor LeSage. The Rams managed just five shots on the afternoon.“It just wasn’t reflective of Spring-Ford soccer at all,” said Rams head coach Doug Landis, his team losing for the first time and falling 1-1-1 (3-1-1 overall). “Methacton came out, they played great, they played hard, they won almost every ball in the air. They took it to our guys.“We won a tournament to begin the season and our spirits were high. I think we were counting too much on our accolades, and it can come back to bite you sometimes.”S-F won two matches at Coatesville over the opening weekend of the season, then knocked off Boyertown before a 1-1 tie versus Owen J. Roberts. Tuesday, however, the Rams were just not able to get anything going against the Warriors.With just 1:40 to play in the second half, Skelly followed up on a loose ball in front of the net to give Methacton its third goal.“It was good to score goals,” Skelly said. “We know Spring-Ford’s a good team, so it was good to come out and beat one of the better teams in the league. Hopefully, we can build on this for the next game.”Scoring has been a recurring problem for the Warriors in the recent past. So far this season, the team has just two goals in the four matches it has either tied or lost. In the two wins, however, Methacton has outscored the opposition 10-0.“I thought it was really important we got some goals (Tuesday) because we haven’t been able to in the past,” Herber said. “We’ve been struggling to score and this can go a long way.”The opening stretch of the season has been a tough one for the Warriors. Tuesday’s win was the only home match in a period of playing seven of their first eight on the road. But it was a big win against one of the top teams in the PAC-10.