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Sports

Lower Merion Rings in Severini Era With a Win

In head coach Nicholas Severini's debut as coach of the Lower Merion boys soccer team, the Aces rode two second-half goals from Sasha Safavi to a 2-0 win over West Chester East on Saturday.

The Nicholas Severini era is off to a good start. On a windy Saturday in Ardmore, the new coach of the Lower Merion boys soccer team watched senior striker Sasha Safavi find the back of the net twice in the second half, giving him his first victory as headman of the Aces by a score of 2-0 over West Chester East.

After playing to a scoreless stalemate in the first half, senior midfielder Michael Lemonick's long throw-in found Safavi all alone in the Vikings' box, and the senior from Toronto knew what to do with it, heading it into the net for the first goal of the 2010 season. Lower Merion, winners of the last three Central League titles, hired Severini in May, and the former University of Pennsylvania star came up with a rousing debut. Despite a sluggish start, Severini's squad turned on the pressure in the second half and came up with a dominating performance.

Lower Merion produced a bevy of scoring chances in the first half. Nine minutes into the contest, Lemonick sent a header from a free kick just a few feet over the crossbar. Minutes later, a free kick deflected off the Viking keeper to the waiting feet of Kenny Lassiter, but the fortuitous bounce went for naught as the sophomore midfielder sent his low shot attempt directly into a defender.

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Lemonick's strong arms played a major role in the Aces' attack, as several of his throw-ins found teammates or bounded threateningly through the Vikings' box. With 23 minutes remaining in the first half, Lemonick guided a long throw to Safavi, who controlled the ball nicely before threading a probing ball between two defenders to Matthew Lindheim, but the sophomore midfielder's low shot attempt was saved with a diving effort from the Vikings' keeper. For Severini, having a midfielder with the throwing ability of Lemonick adds a unique wrinkle to a high-powered offense.

"It's an asset," he said. "It's difficult to defend. That being said, we need to move the ball and create off the run of play."

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"We created one or two [opportunities] in the first half. We want to create to the best of our abilities but also use our assets on substitutions," Severini said.

Safavi missed a golden opportunity to put the Aces on top minutes into the second half. A through ball from Italian midfielder Ben Hriscu found him all alone in the Viking box, but his screaming attempt bounded harmlessly wide of the keeper. The Canadian import made up for the missed opportunity with his tie-breaking effort just a few minutes later, and put the finishing touches on the shutout win with a beautiful effort in the late stages of the contest. Severini was impressed with Safavi's resilience.

"He has character," Severini said of his star striker. "He didn't let it affect him, and he was ready for the second one, and that's what we need from our players."

Asked about his team's season-opening performance, Severini called it "not bad." If a dominating effort like this one could be termed as such, the Aces have to like their chances to win a fourth straight Central League title.

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