Much-needed win

Pennsville girls erupt for six goals in second half, crush Penns Grove 7-0 for first win of season; Miller scores 4 more in Schalick rout

SALEM COUNTY GIRLS SOCCER
Monday’s games
Pennsville 7, Penns Grove 0
Schalick 7, Overbrook 0

PENNSVILLE – The Pennsville girls soccer team needed a win in a bad way and the players knew it. So, they took matters into their own hands.

Sparked by the good feeling of two players-only dinners over the weekend and a pre-game pow-wow before Monday’s game, the Eagles took self-reflection to another level. It paid huge dividends as they erupted for six goals after a messy first half and crushed Penns Grove 7-0 for their first win of the season.

The first half was played in miserable wind-blown rain. Riley Bowman scored the only goal when she banged home the rebound of a Karsen Cooksey shot 3 minutes and 13 seconds into the match.

The weather broke at halftime and the Eagles broke out. Cooksey scored twice, Bowman picked up a second goal and Anikka Macalino, Molly Gratz and Kallie Morrison each scored once in clearly their most prolific half of the season.

It led to their most goals in a game since a 9-2 win over Salem on Oct. 26, 2021, and their highest scoring half since putting up six in the first half of that same game.

“It was needed, it was so, so needed,” Pennsville coach Sam Trapp said of the win. “It was just a morale booster for the team; the girls needed to win and to feel confident in themselves and believe in themselves again.

“This was huge for us, this win today. We have a chance for the win Wednesday (at Salem) and a chance for the win Friday (Camden Tech) and I told them today’s the day we need to change the season around, change the trajectory of what the rest of the looks like.”

Barring a tie, one of these teams was going to get its first win of the season.

The Eagles (1-5-1) were winless in their first six games of the season against teams of varying skill sets, with a 2-2 tie with Clayton the only positive result. They began to see progress by winning the second half of their 2-1 loss to Glassboro Thursday, and it started to register when they went to dinner after the game at Gus’ Pizzeria on South Broadway, followed by another get-together over the weekend at captain Bowman’s house.

Trapp was invited to both gatherings, but gave the players their space. She didn’t know about the meeting before Monday’s game until the players came out of the locker room, but she was happy to see the players take the initiative.

“I’m always proud to see the captains are stepping up and taking leadership responsibilities and taking accountability to get their team focused back on the energy,” Trapp said. “I always say the captains are a reflection of me and they saw what was needed and they went and implemented it.

“I love that they took the initiative. They didn’t really have to check in with me. They know it’s something I’m going to support, so I loved that they did that on their own.”

And it just might be the thing that turned their season around.

SCHALICK 7, OVERBROOK 0: Emily Miller scored four more goals, running her season total to 22, just over half of last year’s school record (43) set by Kerri Jackson. Miller has scored at least two goals in every game this season and has scored 16 goals in her last four games.

Pennsville 7, Penns Grove 0

Penns Grove (0-3-1)	0	0 –	0
Pennsville (1-5-1)	1	6 –	7

Goals: P – Riley Bowman (unassisted), 3:13; P – Riley Bowman (penalty kick), 54:10; P – Karsen Cooksey, 58:00; P – Anikka Macalino (unassisted), 61:16; P – Molly Gratz (unassisted), 69:14; P – Karsen Cooksey (Kallie Morrison) 73:26; P – Kallie Morrison (unassisted), 74:53.