50-Year Teammates From South Jersey Capture 'Over-The-Hill League' Soccer Title

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Three men who first shared a soccer field in Moorestown during the Nixon administration are winning titles together 50 years later.

Joe Dwyer, Paul Harrison, and Brian O'Connor were teammates at Moorestown United, a club Harrison formed in the 1970s. Their adult soccer careers have reunited them again at F.C. Wanderers, a Massachusetts-based team.

The Wanderers were undefeated this year in the New England Over-the-Hill Soccer League, capturing the over-62 title in late November.

Dwyer and O'Connor provided an assist in the 4-0 match with Harrison helping keep a clean sheet in defense.

O'Connor, 66 and Dwyer, 64 both played at Moorestown High where O'Connor was a two-year captain. Harrison, 68, captained the Moorestown Friends School.

The trio took paths out of South Jersey after high school, and all played soccer in college: Harrison at the University of Pennsylvania, Dwyer at James Madison University, and O'Connor at Harvard College and the Universite de Grenoble in France.

All three live in Massachusetts now, O'Connor told Patch.

O'Connor and Harrison have been playing together in the Over-the-Hill League about a dozen years ago, competing against Dwyer on some occasions before he joined them at Wanderers.

“Playing with Brian, and now Joe, is a bit surreal,” said Harrison, who just began refereeing after years as a player and coach. “To think we used to kick it around and play together in the 1970s and that we’re still doing it 50 years later is just amazing. We’re still upright – and that’s what really matters. We are as passionate about each match as we were as teenagers.”

Dwyer said his slightly-older Moorestown soccer mentors helped foster his love of the game.

“I have been looking up to these guys on and off the field for 47 years since they invited me to play at Moorestown United,” he said.

“I feel the three of us have been handed a gift to be able to continue to play at this level and to win games. We all play with a smile on our face and a keen appreciation for how lucky we are.”

O'Connor remarked on how much collective experience the trio has on the soccer pitch.

“Between the three of us,” said O’Connor, “we have over 150 years of playing experience – much of it with each other. If we’re not doing it right by now, we never will.”

Adapted from a submitted press release.