Neshaminy's Herrmann raises his game

Kenny Herrmann says his Neshaminy boys' soccer teammates and coaches describe him as having two moods.

There's "Good Kenny" and there's "Bad Kenny."

Herrmann, a senior forward, is a fiery, passionate player - a fact that is apparent on the field for the Redskins - and sometimes that passion gets the best of him, he concedes.

But it is also what makes him such so successful.

"It's just my mind-set," Herrmann said. "I can get down on myself, and when I do, it definitely shows. It is my competitiveness - it gets to me sometimes."

"Good Kenny" is showing up more and more for Neshaminy, and Herrmann says he is working every week on "staying away" from being "Bad Kenny."

A two-year starter who was the first off the bench for the Redskins as a sophomore, Herrmann has developed into one of the top scoring threats and distributors for a high-powered Neshaminy attack.

So far this season, he has netted nine goals and added six assists - numbers that have exceeded his totals for all of last year.

"He knew he had to take more of an offensive role," coach Tom Foley said. "He certainly took it on himself and put a lot of pressure on himself to do that."

The 6-foot Herrmann, who is very physical with the ball at his feet, set out before the season to average a goal a game. He expects to score every trip down the field, Foley said matter-of-factly.

"I'm not there, but what I'm doing is fine," Herrmann said. "Every game, I try to score because that's my job."

Paired with Herrmann up top for Neshaminy (9-1 overall, 7-0 Suburban One League National Conference) is 6-2 senior Kevin Goetz. Goetz also is good at using his body to shield and hold the ball before laying it off to a midfielder.

Goetz and Herrmann have meshed well, connecting on give-and-go passes and consistently setting up one another.

"I think he is a little more technical on the ball," Goetz said. "But I think Kenny and I are pretty goal-hungry. We have an eye for the goal, and we like to shoot. We are pretty similar in that way."

Monday against Central Bucks South, Herrmann's game wasn't going the way he wanted it. He missed a few "easy ones," as he put it, and his touch was just a little bit off.

Herrmann grew agitated with himself, annoyed after mis-hitting a shot intended for the goal and putting a ball in the box that didn't quite reach a teammate.

But in the second half, he rebounded, assisting on a goal by Goetz and then scoring one himself about 15 minutes later.

That performance, Herrmann said, was "Good Kenny."

Huge win for Fords. Haverford School coach Bill Brady knows senior captain Shane McBride isn't very emotional.

But when the midfielder walked over to the sideline Saturday night, his team having just beaten the top-ranked team in the country according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, St. Benedict's, the moment was so emotional that he had tears in his eyes.

He wasn't alone, as the high-paced win powered by a Connor Gregory goal in the 56th minute came against what Brady said is "the most individually talented" team the Fords (4-1) have faced in his three-year-plus tenure at the school.

Brady called the night - and the moments that followed the 1-0 victory - an occasion in which "handshakes and high fives don't cut it."

Instead, Brady said, the win called for "bear hugs."

Longtime Haverford athletic director John Nostrant visited the Fords at practice Monday to offer congratulations. He called the victory the program's biggest during his time there.

"I know that in 20 years, no matter what happens the rest of the season," Brady said, "they are always going to talk about that night at St. Benedict's."