Schalick field hockey scores first goal, first win against gritty Salem Tech; roundup includes scores, highlights from Monday’s Salem County sports schedule
MONDAY FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick 2, Salem Tech 1
Woodstown 8, Deptford 0
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – This is a different kind of year for the Schalick field hockey. The Cougars have been the dominant team in Salem County and one of contenders in South Jersey Group 1 for the past couple years, but now they’re in a rebuild.
The core of the group that had won 56 games over last last four years has graduated, off to other pursuits, leaving coach Heather Cheesman with one of the youngest teams in her tenure, but one intent of starting the cycle all over again. Of course, all that comes with growing pains until the light bulb comes on.
The Cougars hadn’t been 0-2 to start a season in 13 years and had yet to score a goal. They finally broke through both barriers Monday when they scored their first goals of the season and secured their first win of the season, 2-1 at Salem Tech.
“It for sure is a different kind of year,” Cheesman said. “I have a lot of young players. We haven’t a team like this in probably the last four years with so many freshmen starting or playing the game at this level. Even when the kids who just graduated were freshmen they had been playing together for years throughout our feeder program so they were already jelled.
“I think once we connect it’s going to be good. It’s just getting them to jell and connect and play together. Individually they’re all good, we’ve just got to bring it together.”
One sure sign it’s a different kind of year is the length of the post-game huddle. The ones the last couple years were brief, if they had one at all. The one down in the far corner Monday lasted 10 minutes – and that wasn’t even the longest one of this season.
“Probably the one against Woodstown was probably more like 20 minutes,” Cheesman said. “The last couple years sometimes we wouldn’t even meet; we’d talk about it the next day. It was a three-minute, five-minute conversation. Now, it’s definitely a lot longer, like what can we do, what can we fix, this is what looked good, this is what we need to work on.”
Ranae Scurry scored the Cougars’ first goal of the season with 4:50 left in the first quarter. Addy Shimp, in her new role as inserter, got the ball to Lucy Virga at the top of the arc. Virga sent it towards the goal and Scurry ripped it into the cage.
“it wasn’t a relief,” Scurry said. “I think it was just a pick-me-up. More like, OK, we can get one, how many more can we get?”
That answer came in the first minute of the second quarter when Shimp made it 2-0. Scurry sent Shimp’s corner into the zone where Virga got it to Morgan DuBois who put a nice touch on it in traffic. Chargers goalie Caroline Tighe made the initial stop, but the ball dropped at her feet where Shimp was “there at the right time” to bang it home.
Both goal scorers are confident the Cougars will return to their old form soon.
“It’s definitely a rebuilding process, but as the season goes on we’re going to learn each other,” Scurry said. “It’s just meshing together. I think it’s kind of hard right now, but we’re learning this game, we’re trying different formations, lineups to deal with. We didn’t have to (before) because we were together for so long.”
“I think the only difference is we’re just not completely used to playing with each other yet,” Shimp said. “We all have the skill, we just have to connect. I think we’ll connect eventually. We definitely have a lot of potential and I think we’re going to connect, it’s just early in season. That was definitely an improvement today because we definitely did a lot better.”
The Chargers, meanwhile, were playing their first game ever against a Salem County opponent and held their own against one of the county’s traditional bests. As an independent in their inaugural season, they could schedule at their leisure for early success and foundational confidence and did just that. Now that they’re in the TCC Classic Division, however, half the schedule is made for them and that includes at least two games each with county rivals Pennsville and Salem.
They fell behind 2-0 in the first half, but didn’t wilt. Abby Beals got them on the board when she kept Hayden Crispin’s shot moving through the box and inside the left post with 9:45 left in the third quarter.
It looked like they got the tying goal five minutes later, but the whistle blew the play dead before the ball reached the crease. They had another good chance with 2:30 left, when Beals got it in to Crispin, but her shot just missed the right post.
“I think they did great,” Chargers coach Melissa Lewis said. “I felt like they played their game and they were very strong. They didn’t give up and they had a fire in them. They wanted this win and it’s unfortunate we didn’t get it.”
WOODSTOWN 8, DEPTFORD 0: Talia Guardascione had a pair of goals and six other Wolverines scored. Lexi Taylor and Brooke Dillion both had a goal and an assist. The eight goals were the most they’ve scored in a game since a 9-1 win over Cumberland in 2024. It was their third straight shutout.
BOYS SOCCER
Clayton 3, Salem Tech 2: Jonathan Rehm’s second goal, a penalty kick five minutes into overtime, was the game-winner. Logan Pace got the game-tying tying goal for the Chargers on a penalty kick four minutes before the end of regulation.
Penns Grove 6, Pitman 1: Juan Ortiz scores three goals.
Pennsville 2, Gloucester Catholic 0: Sam Hassler and Ugur Elmali scored goals as the Eagles got their first win of the year and extended their unbeaten streak over the Rams to six in a row.
Schalick 8, Overbrook 1: Luke Price and Tyler Vanlier each scored twice and Marco Spinnato had three assists.
Woodstown 1, Glassboro 0 (OT): Ayden Ellis collected his second game-winning goal of the season when he was credited with an own goal midway through OT1. He got the game-winner in the final five minutes against Pennsville in their season opener.
GIRLS SOCCER
Clayton 6, Salem Tech 0: Six players lit the lamp for the Clippers.
Gloucester Catholic 2, Pennsville 0: Alexa Battaglia and Olivia Pisano scored goals, Ruth Cutuli made eight saves in the shutout.
Schalick 6, Overbrook 0: Emily Miller scored three goals and Mackenzie Talarico had a goal and two assists.
Woodstown 7, Glassboro 0: Freshman Korynn Hernandez scored her third hat trick in five games.
Pitman 7, Salem 1: Erin Rudley had two goals and Emery Sharpnack had three assists for Pitman. Jaylynn Dickerson scored Salem’s goal in the fourth minute of the second half.
Woodbury 5, Penns Grove 0
GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville 3, Buena 2
Woodstown 5, Schalick 0
Salem at Bridgeton
Timber Creek at Penns Grove
WOODSTOWN 5, SCHALICK 0
Madison LaPalomento (WO) def. Olivia Lunemann, 6-1, 6-2
Emma West (WO) def. Sebrina Bradford, 6-4, 6-4
Angelina Lindenmuth (WO) def. Jasmine Hunt, 6-4, 4-6, 10-4
Emilee Kehr-Elliana Norman (WO) def. Brooke Brown-Jasmin Perez, 6-1, 6-2
Eleanore Lawson-Isabella Lindenmuth (WO) def. Riveras Wojcik-Janae White, 6-2, 6-3
Records: Woodstown 4-3, Schalick 4-2
PENNSVILLE 3, BUENA 2
Graillyn Weber (P) def. Caroline Futty, 6-1, 6-2
Naomi Hess (P) def. Kara Horton, 6-0, 6-1
Jaisley Weber (P) def. Makenna Feaster, 6-4, 6-1
SciOni Simmons Laboy-Julie Tomasso (B) def. Aubrey Hall-Mariangela Rangel, 4-6, 6-2, 10-7
Analeigh Nardone-Isabella (B) def. Marissa Dowell-Juliana Thomas, 6-2, 4-6, 10-6
Records: Pennsville 4-2, Buena 1-4.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Atlantic Cape 3, Salem CC 0
Cougars break through
