Monday roundup: Salem field hockey team opens up after loss to Gloucester, Woodstown boys soccer bounces back with draw with Gateway, and more
MONDAY’S SCORES
FIELD HOCKEY
Gloucester City 4, Salem 1
Schalick 2, Our Lady of Mercy 1
BOYS SOCCER
Gateway 2, Woodstown 2
Paulsboro at Salem
Washington Twp. 7, Schalick 1
GIRLS SOCCER
Washington Twp. 3, Schalick 2
Woodstown at Audubon
GIRLS TENNIS
Schalick 5, Haddon Heights 0
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
SALEM – The Salem field hockey team has gotten off to a rousing start, but it’s heading into the home stretch of the regular season (and presumably the playoffs) and after a hiccup Monday afternoon it felt a meeting was necessary.
After the Rams fell to Gloucester City 4-1 in the Monday matinee, the team gathered behind the auxiliary bleachers behind the bench. It was discussion first-year coach Shanna Scott called “productive” lasting through the first 10 minutes of the junior varsity game to set in motion the wheels going forward.
“Things like this, I’ll use myself as an example, I like when I’m challenged and I face trials because how I respond to that reveals a lot what’s in my heart,” said Scott, who leans on her faith for direction in such things. “I like that we went through this and it was challenging, it was hard, and we kind of had a little bit of a breakdown as a team, but that exposed a lot of things within our team, so in order for those things to be exposed we have to go through it.
“It’s uncomfortable, but in order to grow in those things that’s what we need to do to push through it. I think it revealed a lot about us and a lot of things we need to work on “
Scott gave the players their space and everyone had a chance to have their say. She’s had similar meetings when called to convene them.
“They deserve to be heard, their opinions are valid, if something is happening and they’re hurt I want them to know about it,” she said. “You want to pick each other up because if you spiral, then you’re going to crumble, you’re going to fall.”
It was only the second loss of the season for the Rams (8-2), but they gave up almost as many goals in the match as they had all season. They outscored their previous nine opponents 48-5 and their only other loss was a 1-0 overtime affair with Schalick.
They entered the game seventh in South Jersey Group I power points, one point behind Gloucester. They remained seventh after it ended, while the Lions rose into a tie for third with Woodstown. The Rams play Woodstown Tuesday and if they beat Gloucester Catholic next Monday they’ll clinch the Classic Division title and sweep their division for the first time since 2016.
In Monday’s game they had opportunities, but couldn’t capitalize on them. Through three quarters they had 11 penalty corners to Cumberland’s 3, but trailed 3-1.
The Rams tied the game on leading scorer Morgan VanDover’s 10th goal of the season from just inside the top of the arc with 9:31 left in the third quarter, then gave up three straight goals. Lauren Parry’s second goal of the game 67 seconds after VanDover’s score put the Lions (9-1) ahead for good. Kaelyn Zearfoss and Ryleigh Hunter banged home insurance goals.
“We’ve been struggling a little bit playing as a team so today was definitely big for us,” Lions head coach Alyssa McFerran said. “To come together and put four goals in the cage is awesome.”
Zearfoss has scored at least one goal in every Cumberland game this season; McFerran, also a first-year head coach, called her a “feisty” player who works hard.
Parry’s goals were her first since Sept. 15. Her first goal came 71 seconds after Rams keeper Dominique Lewis began serving a two-minute penalty for being improperly equipped (missing mouthguard).
“She’s a starter for us and sometimes she does struggle on the left post, which is a hard position to play,” McFerran said. “Two goals today was good for her. She definitely needed it.”
“I hadn’t scored in a while, so it felt pretty good to put it in and get out of that funk a little bit,” Parry said. “I hadn’t been able to receive the ball as much as usual, I’ve been having issues with that, so it was good to have those goals right off the pass.”
SCHALICK 2, OLMA 1: Ava Scurry and Sophia Longo each scored a first-half goal for the Cougars (8-4).
Cover photo: Salem’s Morgan VanDover winds up for the shot that produced the Rams’ game-tying goal in the third quarter against Gloucester City Monday.
Gloucester 4, Salem 1
| Gloucester (9-1) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 – | 4 |
| Salem (8-2) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 – | 1 |
Goals – G: Lauren Parry (4), 8: 39 1Q; S: Morgan VanDover (10), 9:31 3Q; G: Lauren Parry (5), 2:05 3Q; G: Kaelyn Zearfoss (16), 2:05 3Q; G: Ryleigh Hunter (4), 5:17 4Q. Penalty corners: Gloucester 7, Salem 12. Shots on goal: Gloucester 13, Salem 7. Goalie saves: Gloucester 6, Salem 9.
Boys soccer
WOODSTOWN 2, GATEWAY 2: The Wolverines were looking to bounce back from a loss to rival Schalick on an emotional Saturday. They were down several starters and didn’t get a win, but coach Darren Huck was encouraged by the things he saw.
Jacob Garrett scored the game-tying goal on a penalty kick 12 minutes into the second half and the two seven-win teams battled even the rest of the chilly morning matinee.
For the second straight game the Wolverines (7-2-1) held leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but couldn’t close the deal although they had several strong chances to break the tie, including a sharp header by Jack Morris is overtime Gators keeper Alex Horwitz just got over to clear.
“Today I would say I got resiliency, I think that’s the word,” Huck said. “These guys were resilient, they came back. I’ve been around the game for quite a long time now and I’ve seen other schools, other teams, where they’ll come off a big win or a really tough loss and they’re still not the same the next game. I was happy to see what we had today.”
Blake Bialecki opened the scoring three minutes into the match, but Gateway’s Colin Hojnowski got the equalizer a minute later. Adrian Ibarra gave the Wolverines a 2-1 lead with an assist from Bialecki four minutes before halftime.
The penalty kick came on a somewhat soft foul in the back of the box, but Garrett, one of South Jersey’s most prolific scorers, was true on his kick for his 13th goal of the season. Before the half ended, though, Ibarra and Bialecki both had good chances to score.
“That (penalty kick) didn’t stop them from continuing the fight and work hard and play hard,” Huck said. “Yeah, we were down three or four starters today and we showed a lot.
“That was important for me to see as a coach because you can say what you want and they may be hearing you but are they really listening and today they were listening and they responded well.”
Woodstown 2, Gateway 2
| Gateway (7-5-1) | 1 | 1 | 0 – | 2 |
| Woodstown (7-2-1) | 2 | 0 | 0 – | 2 |
Goals – W: Blake Bialecki (3), 3′; G: Colin Hojnowski (3), 4′; W: Adrian Ibarra (16), 36′; G: Jacob Garrett (13), 52′. Shots on goal: Gateway 12, Woodstown 14. Goalie saves: Gateway 10, Woodstown 10.
Girls tennis
SCHALICK 5, HADDON HEIGHTS 0: The Cougars (15-2) won all five matches in straight sets to score their sixth win in a row. They’ve lost only two individual matches during the winning streak and 16 all season.
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