Nelson’s header in OT sends Schalick to SJ Group I boys soccer final; Cougars host Palmyra for title Saturday

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
Semifinals
Schalick 1, Haddon Twp. 0
Palmyra 4, Woodstown 0
Finals
Palmyra at Schalick, Sat., 11 a.m.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News 

PITTSGROVE – With a quick flick of the head and a nod to history, Schalick’s boys soccer team ended 10 years of playoff frustration at the hands of Haddon Twp. Wednesday.

Mike Nelson got his head on a free kick by Anthony Sepers and redirected it home with 5:19 left in the first overtime – a golden goal – to give the Cougars a 1-0 win over the defending sectional and state champions in the South Jersey Group I semifinals.

The top-seeded Cougars (17-4) will host Palmyra for the sectional title Saturday at 11 a.m. Palmyra (18-2-1) blanked Woodstown in the other semifinal, 4-0.

“When you’re making your way up the mountain you want to take down the guys who have been doing; they’ve been doing it for years now,” Schalick coach Joe Mannella said. “These guys just keep amazing me with the grit that they show and the perseverance. You can’t ask for more. It’s what it’s all about. We couldn’t have asked our guys today to do anything different. They did everything they were asked to do.”

The Cougars had been 0-4 all-time against the Hawks in a series that began in 2013. The last three meetings all took place in the South Jersey playoffs (2014, 2020, 2021). Two of the games were in the sectional semifinals, including the most recent prior to Wednesday.

The teams played to a scoreless, but entertaining tie in regulation, with attacks and counter attacks from both sides with and against the wind.

The team that had the wind had the advantage and most of the action was played in those attacking ends.

The Cougars took the wind to start overtime, just as they had in the second half, because they felt they had the momentum and it paid off.

Sepers took his free kick from midfield after Cooper Willoughby was fouled. He drove the ball into the box where Nelson’s 6-foot-2 frame rose above the crowd. 

The sophomore meant to head it down towards the front of the goal, but was late to the ball. But he was able to get the back of his head on it and sent it past Hawks keeper Collin Feeley into the right side of the goal.

Feeley got a hand on the ball but not enough to deflect it away. The Schalick bench erupted in celebration and mobbed their teammates still on the field.

It was Nelson’s seventh goal of the season. He scored the only goal in the Cougars’ quarterfinal win over Pitman Friday in a similar fashion.

“I was just tired, I wanted to get it done, I wanted to get it over with,” Nelson said. “I wanted to be the one to get it. I flicked it and I didn’t see it go in, but I heard everybody screaming and then I turned around and it was in the net. I was last one that touched it, so I was very happy that I got it.”

“We practice stuff like that all the time,” Mannella said. “We know particularly in the playoffs free kicks are huge. They won their game against Audubon off two free kicks. We won our Pitman game off a free kick. Late in the season when teams are so well matched sometimes that’s the difference.”

Evan Sepers and the Schalick defense were once again brilliant on their end. Among their more memorable plays, Willoughby cleared the ball from harm’s way when Sepers got out of position early in the game, the keeper made a point blank save on Ian Hewitt midway through the first half and later tipped Gabe Chatten’s header off a corner kick over the crossbar. He was credited with five saves, but it seemed like a lot more.

The Cougars have now won eight in a row and have posted six straight shutouts. They have not allowed a goal since the second half against Glassboro, a stretch that now covers 12 straight halves and an overtime without giving up a goal.

“With the wind coming at us it wasn’t very easy to defend, especially balls played over the top, so it was a little big nerve-wracking,” Sepers said. “But our defense locked down and came up with a W.”

“They know defense wins championships,” Mannella said. “Everybody knows defense wins championships. It’s easiest if you just keep the ball out of your net.”

The Cougars played Palmyra earlier this year and lost 4-0 in a game that put them on the path to the sectional final. They have gone 10-1 since that game with a different outlook on things.

“Honestly going up there early in the season and getting our butts whupped kind of opened these guys’ eyes,” Mannella said. “They wanted that game. We’re going up there just going to play a soccer game, I think it was a Friday afternoon, let’s go have a fun soccer game, and they pushed us around. They manhandled us.

“As opposed to Haddon Twp., who I know has a young team, this is Palmyra’s year to do it. They’ve been bumping into Haddon Twp. all these years, so to them it’s their year. They’ve got a senior-laden team and they showed us how to play like you want a game. That gave us something to chase.”

PALMYRA 4, WOODSTOWN 0: The Panthers scored four goals in the first half then kept the Wolverines (15-4-1) at bay the rest of game. Jase Jennings scored twice, while Richie Butler and Luke Cannuli scored once. The Panthers (18-2-1) peppered Woodstown keeper Ben Stengel with 15 shots, while controlling the midfield and limiting the Wolverines’ possessions and counterattacks.

“They are the better team and they played really well,” Wolverines coach Darren Huck said. “Palmyra is solid at every position and play unselfish soccer. We had a very good season and when you get this far in the season you are going to face teams like that.”

The loss snapped Woodstown’s seven-game winning streak. Palmyra takes a six-game winning streak into the match with Schalick. With the loss, striker Aiden Ibarra ended his season with 26 goals, a school record for goals by a junior.

“I’m proud of my players for the season they had,” Huck said. “Well deserved because of the time and work they put in in the offseason. They understand the culture that is within this program, which I am very proud of.”