The first point of the 2021 GA-PC rivalry was won a week before the actual day's events as the GA golf team bested Penn Charter, 7-1. The Patriots clinched the Inter-Ac Championship and the PAISAA title this season as well. Unfortunately, Penn Charter recorded victories in six other competitions and won the Competition Cup for the second-straight year, 6-4.

In the pool, the Patriots lost both matches, with the girls falling, 17-4, and the boys falling in a close one, 14-13. For the girls, Charlotte Harobin '22 had three goals and four steals. For the boys, Asher Sasson '23 led the way with five goals and four steals, while goalkeeper Brendan Page '22 had 16 saves.

Field hockey bested Penn Charter, 1-0, behind an assist from Gracen Brant '23 to a Sarah Marvin '23 goal. Co-Captain defender Sydney Cameron '22 was named MVP of the game.

The boys cross country team fell, 19-39. A missed turn plagued lead runner Alex Badami '22 and he came in 10th. Ethan Feigles '22 and Chaz Murgia '23 were GA's top finishers at fourth and fifth place. The girls team was bested, 18-49, with co-captain Juli Gonzalez '22 as GA's top finisher in third place. Kayla D'Eletto '23, Maggie Morrissey '24, co-captain Livi Merrill '22, and Carolyn Connolly '23 finished as a pack in the 10-13 spots.

On the soccer field, Sage Battisto '23 scored the Patriots' lone goal on a pass from Alex Goodridge '22 during a 3-1 loss to the Quakers. Senior Caitlin Boland-Szura '22 had 13 saves in goal.

The battle on the courts was epic! Before play was stopped due to rain, the Patriots were up 3-1 and fighting in three different super tiebreakers. The teams came back two days later to finish the match and a win by first team doubles Grace Petersohn '24 and Ellee Segal '23 clinched the 4-3 victory.

The boys soccer team entered the PC matchup with a unique opportunity. Not only would a win against the long-time rival Quakers bring the Patriots a coveted point on GA-PC Day, but it would also give the team its first Inter-Academic Athletic League title since 2009. GA came into the game winners of seven-straight Inter-Ac games. The first half of play saw a 0-0 draw despite plenty of shots on goal, but following intermission, Roan Harrington '24, Sean Lipschutz '22, and Christian Combs '22 (Alumni Soccer Award Winner) found the back of the net and JoeJoe Cava '22 made several saves to secure the win and the Inter-Ac Championship. 

Despite the day starting with beautiful weather, heavy winds at the start and periodic downpours throughout gave the longest prep school football rivalry in the nation more drama than expected. In the end, Penn Charter came out with the victory, 35-32, in the 135th annual GA-PC football matchup. With the loss, the Quakers now lead the all-time series (which dates back to 1887) 87-37-11.

An 11-yard run by Evan Spivey '23 gave the Patriots a 26-25 lead midway through the third quarter before the Quakers put up a touchdown and a field goal to pull away. GA picked up a last-minute touchdown when quarterback Tristan Machado '23 connected with Mike McGhee '22 from 4 yards out, but the ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Quakers, who were able to run out the clock.

On the season, junior quarterback Tristan Machado '23 went 102-of-152 for 1,452 yards and 10 passing touchdowns. Senior running back Brian Allen '22 had 196 carries for 1,435 yards and 13 touchdowns, while junior Evan Spivey '23 had 34 catches for 604 yards and six touchdowns. The Patriots finished the season with a 5-4 mark while the Quakers ended up at 4-5.

The stage is set for next year's battle - Saturday, November 12, 2022 at Germantown Academy!