UMHS Boys' Soccer Team Are on the Map

The state playoffs are underway without the Upper Moreland boys’ soccer team participating in the festivities.

The Bears are disappointed for now, but put together a season for the record books. 

After coming into the season as district champions, a huge target was on the backs of Upper Moreland.

Things didn’t look bright from the beginning as the team posted a 2-4 record and playoffs were far from sight.

All of a sudden Jack Knauss and his troops were winners of 11 straight and one of the hottest teams in the area. Just like any good coach, Knauss doesn’t want credit for a turnaround.

“Don’t give me any credit,” said Knauss. “All the credit goes to the boys. We may have tweaked a couple of things. When we were 2-4 we were losing games by a goal. I know that we have a lot of good talent and putting them in the right decision. It just took a little longer for us to get everything together.

In the past two years, Knauss has made Upper Moreland boys’ soccer a force. In the past two seasons the team has been able to make a deep run into the playoffs.

“You give the kids credit for the past few years,” said Knauss. “I think it will take the kids a couple weeks to realize what they accomplish in the last two years. Winning the district championship and into states and then the next year go back to the district final is something unheard of in Upper Moreland.”

The Bears were able to be a winning team by playing a simple style of soccer. Each player made a contribution. This season was no different.

“We didn’t blow anyone out, but our offense came alive,” said Knauss. “We always relied on our defense with players like Tyler Kleinert, Tim Kistner, and Nick Perkins. Weather they were hurting or not, they played amazing. Having Kyle Lynch as the sweeper and Carl Wambold as the stopper, it was a pretty solid defense.”

When the Bears had a big week near the end of the season, they responded with key goals. Each game was a must-win situation, and Upper Moreland didn’t fold under pressure.

“The boys understand that you can’t do it all by yourself,” said Knauss. “They counted on each other.”

Defense was the theme throughout the season for Upper Moreland. The Bears moved players around to make the right combination. During its playoff win against Harriton, Upper Moreland relied on the defense to keep a hot Harriton offense at bay.

“The defense always kept us in every game,” said Knauss. “We had a bunch of players that were scoring goals every game. We scored from every part of the field. It wasn’t just Tommy [Hayes] all the time or just Tyler [Foerst]. They worked great as a duo. It was great to have other players contribute as well.”

Next season the team will look a little different. Key players will graduate, including senior goalie Kyle Walder. Hayes, Roberts Wambold, and Foerst will also be gone.

Hayes finished with 15 goals while Foerst and Wambold both contributed with 10 assists.

Either way, Upper Moreland will be ready, no matter what players are on the field.

“We are going to take couple weeks off and take it easy,” said Knauss. “We go into indoor practices and indoor leagues. August 15 we will start up again and take care of business.”

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