Cougars take an emotional win over Penns Grove in SJ Group I boys soccer tournament; Pennsville blanked by top seed Haddon Twp.
| SJ GROUP 1 BOYS SOCCER |
| FRIDAY’S QUARTERFINALS | TUESDAY’S SEMIFINALS |
| Haddon Twp. 6, Pennsville 0 | Palmyra at Haddon Twp. |
| Palmyra 1, Pitman 0 | Audubon at Schalick |
| Audubon 5, Riverside 2 | |
| Schalick 4, Penns Grove 0 |
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE — Schalick scored three goals in the second half after a dust-up right before intermission and handled Penns Grove 4-0 in the South Jersey Group I boys soccer quarterfinals.
In a game between two county and division rivals, tempers flared along the far sideline just as the first half ended. There was some discussion of ending the game right there with Schalick leading 1-0, but it was agreed the game would continue if the principal protagonists, Schalick’s Anthony Sepers and Penns Grove’s Michael Schultz, did not play in the second half and no further incidents would be tolerated. There were no red card ejections.
Schalick coach Joe Mannella declined to comment on the incident and Penns Grove’s Mano Massari said he was preoccupied with getting a sub into the game at the time and didn’t have a good enough vantage point of the scuffle to comment.
Officials, coaches and administrators huddled at midfield during the entire halftime before making their decision to continue.
The second-seeded Cougars were on their Ps and Qs after that so not to jeopardize their playoff hopes. Playing for their ousted teammate, they scored three times in the second half.
“It definitely fired us up,” Mike Nelson said.
“We wanted to do it for our teammate,” Jaxon Weber said.
Marco Spinnato told Sepers after the incident he was going to score a goal in the second half and he scored the first of his two five minutes into the period to give the Cougars some breathing room. He had a third goal waved off for offsides. Nelson got the other goal in the half, deflecting a long free kick from Weber inside the left post.
“I think that motivated us and pushed us to win this game,” Spinnato said. “It helped us because we knew if we made one mistake we were out of there.
“Our coaches, Jaxon, our captains, all told us we have to stay through the game plan and we have to keep motivated, we can’t let one thing get to us because if we let it get to us we’re jeopardizing our playoff run.”
“Momentum is a real thing,” Massari said. “They did nice job of putting the ball in the back of the net and staying in control. Good team over there.”
Nolan O’Toole banged home a rebound for the first goal of the match midway through the first half.
In terms of what took place between the lines, the Cougars (15-3-2) controlled the action on both sides of the ball. They created numerous chances on offense and when the Red Devils (9-6-3) appeared to mount an attack their defense was there to collect the ball and move it out of harm’s way. Goalie Evan Sepers had three saves.
“Defensively we continue to play really strong; we know that’s the key to winning in the playoffs, keeping the ball out of your net,” Mannella said. “They continue to do that and they were excellent today.”
The Cougars now host third-seeded Audubon in Tuesday’s semifinals.
HADDON TWP. 6, PENNSVILLE 0: The top-seeded Hawks scored three goals in the first eight mights of the second half to open a comfortable margin and finished it off before the 20-minute mark to end Pennsville’s historic season and reach the sectional semifinals.
Sophomore Brody Beals scored his first career hat trick and Bobby McIlvaine scored twice to lead the victory. Danny McIlvaine scored the other goal.
Beals and Bobby McIlvaine scored in the first half to give the Hawks (14-5-1) a 2-0 lead. Beals opened the scoring in the second half and the McIlvaines scored a minute apart to make it 5-0.
“We ran into one of the best Group 1 teams in the state and they were on form,” Foglein said. “We battled with them for the first half, but then in the second half every shot they had was perfect.
“I know it’s crazy to praise my keeper in that scoreline, but Coen (Rinnier) was fantastic. He made some unbelievable stops in the first half. When it got to the second half, it wouldn’t have mattered who the goalie was.”
The Eagles (11-7-2) checked off a lot of boxes during the season. They enjoyed their winningest season since 2017, won their first division title in 32 years and won their first playoff game since 2014 in the opening round.
“It leaves a sour taste tonight, but tomorrow we’ll wake up and remember that we had a historic season,” Foglein said. “That’s what I reminded the guys on the bus.”
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