It’s a moment Owen Haney will never forget.
Haney is a lifelong soccer player who grew up in a soccer family. When he was a kid, his dad was the coach of the Archbishop Ryan High School girls soccer team, and as a huge soccer nut, Haney was always around the program.
He remembers a lot of the fun from those teams, but one vivid memory sticks out far above the rest.
That memory was after his dad Ryan Haney gave up the girls job and took over the boys program.
“I’ll never forget, it was right before I got here, I was in eighth grade, I was on the sideline that year they beat Judge in the championship,” said Haney, now a junior defender on the same team his dad coaches. “It was crazy, honestly. It went into PKs, I remember Joey (Phillips, a senior goalie) saved and then scored. I remember running over to my dad and giving him a big hug. It’s a great memory because I knew he had been fighting to win that.
“He is a great coach, and he won Catholic League championships. With the girls and the boys. It’s a lot different soccer. I was really proud of him when he won. I think even more now because it takes so much work, so much time. I’m seeing that now.”
The younger Haney isn’t a fan and cheerleader anymore.
Now he’s one of the guys who will determine how well the Raiders do.
After coming in as a freshman and seeing limited minutes on the varsity field, he became a fulltime starter as a sophomore. He was learning his craft and watching how the veterans acted. That led to this year when he is no longer the follower. Now, he’s one of the leaders showing the other players what it takes to play soccer for Archbishop Ryan.
Nobody knows it better.
“I played with a lot of the seniors on this team when I was growing up, so I learned a lot from playing with guys like Luke Marchesano, who is my cousin, and Jack Stackhouse and Dom Lewandowski. We all played for Philly Soccer. I knew Luke and Jack outside of soccer, I knew Jack from my dad and his dad being friends.
“Last year, I was nervous. I was young. I wasn’t as big as this year, I would get beat up a lot. The guys showed me how to play hard and push through it. Last year was a lot harder. This year, I feel a lot more comfortable.”
That’s good because while the Raiders haven’t started off perfectly, they are right in the mix.
Actually everyone is because the Catholic League is as tough as it’s ever been.
Roman Catholic, St. Joe’s Prep, La Salle and Father Judge occupy the top four spots and all are solid teams. So are Devon Prep, Conwell-Egan and Archbishop Wood, which are just below the top-tier teams. Ryan is right in the mix.
DraftKings doesn’t take bets on the Catholic League, but it probably wouldn’t shock too many people if any of those teams listed won. Any of those teams could get hot and hoist a trophy later this month.
Why not Ryan?
“We still have a lot to do better in,” Haney said. “But we are playing better. It’s fun because every game in the Catholic League is a tough game. So when you win, it means a lot.”
No matter the record, Ryan soccer means a lot to Haney.
Ryan means a lot, and so does soccer, which has become huge for the family. Owen proudly talks about his grandfather, who helped make soccer bigger in Northeast Philly. And of course his dad, who won as a player and as a coach with both teams at Ryan.
“I’m doing something with soccer seven nights a week,” said Haney, who lives in Somerton. “It’s every day. I’m watching my brothers play soccer or I’m watching it on TV, I play at home, with Ryan and club.
“Soccer is huge at Ryan. And my whole family loves it, my pop pop, my dad. Soccer is a huge family thing. My pop pop started Philly Soccer. And I love Ryan, too, it’s a good school. Soccer is really important there. The student section goes crazy. We have the best fans.”
He also has the best family.
Haney not only has that soccer bond with his father and grandfather, it goes beyond that.
“Normally, my favorite thing to do is hangout with my brother,” he said. “Jackson. He’s 6. Normally we’ll play soccer with him, I like to play anything, baseball. I love seeing Jackson do things, like a move on the field that I taught him, it makes me feel good. It’s fun to see him do well.
“And my whole family. My mom, she does a lot. She gets out of work a lot for me, to come see me play. If I need to get somewhere to train, she’ll get me there. She always takes care of me. And my sisters, too. Elizabeth, she’s at Scranton, she did the play at Ryan, but she liked sports. And my younger sister is 4, and she doesn’t play any sports. She will ,though. I think she’ll play soccer. Maybe basketball.”
And he’ll be there, front and center for whatever she does.
Just as he hopes she is when he gets to share another hug with his dad, this time as they win it together.
“That would mean everything, just winning with him,” he said. “I know he did it, and I know how hard it is. Just do your job, make sure everything you need to do is taken care of. If you do that, you have a chance. If we do that, we’ll put ourselves in position to reach our goals. And our goals are to win the Catholic League championship and a state title.
“Yeah, that would be a great hug.”
