Schalick takes the wind in the second half, scores game’s only goal in win over Audubon to reach SJ Group I finals
SJ GROUP 1 BOYS SOCCER
Tuesday’s Semifinals
Schalick 1, Audubon 0
Haddon Twp. 4, Palmyra 1
Friday’s Championship
(2) Schalick (16-3-2) at (1) Haddon Twp. (15-5-1), 6 p.m.
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE — The Schalick boys soccer team is headed back to the South Jersey Group I title game after a windy, workmanlike 1-0 win over Audubon Tuesday and some might say they won this at the coin toss.
The second-seeded Cougars won the toss, defended against the wind in the first half and got the game’s only goal with the wind at their back in the second half.
It wasn’t just a little breezy. The wind was howling straight down the field at 20 mph, with gusts up to 30. The team that could take advantage of the conditions best had the best chance of winning and having control of when you got the wind was as big a factor in the match as any strategic move.
“It’s bigger than you think, especially on days like today when the wind’s ripping like that; definitely got the luck of the coin there,” stopper Cooper Willoughby said. “You don’t really think of it that much – it’s more of just an afterthought, like let’s get this over with and start playing – but it really helped us today.”
“That was the thing,” captain Jaxon Weber said. “We knew the wind was a huge factor today and capitalizing on the coin toss, luck, but we took our side that we wanted to go against first knowing the second half we could come out and dominate.”
The Cougars almost always will take the wind in the second half because it’s much harder to score an equalizing goal against the wind.
“Especially when we’ve got wind like this we love taking the harder end, having the wind coming against us, in the first half, just to weather the storm,” Willoughby said, “so we can really get it going in the second half hopefully with the wind, which we did manage to do today.”
The Cougars (16-3-2) now play at top-seeded Haddon Twp. in the sectional final Friday. There is talk of the game being played at 6 p.m., which would put it opposite of Schalick’s sectional final football game at Glassboro, but nothing has been determined.
Weber scored the game’s only goal, heading home a long, curling shot from Josh Stecher into the top left corner with 21:17 to play.
Stecher was about 25 yards out on the right side and his shot cut through the wind to the far post where Weber was positioned for the finish. The freshman assisted an Anthony Sepers goal on a similar shot from the left side on Senior Night.
“I really like to cross in the box a lot, that’s one of the good things I like to do,” Stecher said. “I was really hoping someone could get a head on it and get it in.”
The Cougars almost scored eight minutes before Weber broke the ice when Steve Chomo banged a shot off the crossbar.
Weber just missed a goal with three seconds left in the first half when the Cougars were going against the wind.
“That one was really close,” Weber said. “That keeper made an unbelievable save. He couldn’t have made a better save I put it in the exact spot at the exact place I wanted it, so him making that save was incredible.”
“That would’ve been perfect,” Schalick coach Joe Mannella said. “We finally got a little patience. It seemed like we were settling in and really had a nice little sequence there. Anthony put it on the platter and Jaxon hit a shot and the keeper made a great save. That would’ve been some nice momentum going into halftime.”
Audubon did mount some attacks with and against the wind, but each time they did the Cougars’ senior back line gobbled it up and cleared the ball to the most open side to start their own attack. And when the Green Wave tried to clear those, the Cougars intercepted and attacked again.
“That’s a big thing with Coach Joe,” Willoughby said. “Get it wide and move it quick.”
GROUP 1 BOYS SOCCER
Friday’s Section Finals
South
Schalick (16-3-2) at Haddon Twp. (15-5-1)
Central
Middlesex (14-6-2) at Delaware Valley (18-5)
North I
North Warren-Emerson Boro vs. Pompton Lakes-Waldwick
North II
Verona-Wallington vs. Glen Ridge (17-4)
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