Ortiz scores two second-half goals, Penns Grove overcomes adversity, beats Woodstown for first time in Massari’s coaching tenure
TUESDAY BOYS SOCCER
Audubon 3, Pennsville 1
Clayton 7, Salem 0
Gloucester Catholic 3, Salem Tech 1
Penns Grove 2, Woodstown 1
Schalick 6, Pitman 0
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Penns Grove has won some pretty big soccer games in coach Mano Massari’s tenure, but none may have been more satisfying than what the Red Devils pulled off Tuesday.
The Red Devils overcame the absence of a key defender and captain that caused a massive overhaul in the lineup and a one-goal halftime deficit to get a bit of payback from an earlier loss, taking down Woodstown 2-1.
The Red Devils hadn’t beaten the Wolverines since 2022, winless in seven games in the series under Massari. They tied both games last year, but the second one more like a loss after holding a 2-0 lead into the final three minutes of the match. They hadn’t won at Woodstown since 2016.
“It is a big win,” Massari said. “Playoff games, obviously, will trump that. This year I’ll you it’s the biggest win of the year for us. The guys really wanted it today. Before we got on the bus today we had a meeting and talked about how they outworked us the first time we played them and that couldn’t be the case. I told them I’m good if we go down today, but go we’ve got to go down swinging. It was a complete team effort today. Everyone did their jobs.
“They gave it to us early in the year. We returned it. The boys did a nice job of stepping up. It was just a complete win. We just have to find a way to look to do what we did on the field today every game.”
Juan Ortiz scored both Penns Grove goals in the second half, giving him 21 for the season. The first was a penalty kick in the first 15 minutes of the half. He scored the go-ahead goal on a free kick from about 25 yards out with about 20 minutes left. The 21 goals are the most by a Penns Grove player since Sebastian Reyes scored 26 in 2017.
“This kid is unbelievable,” Massari said. “He’s done this like four times this year. It’s insane to watch what he does, it really is. He’s a special player. Teams know it and they double him, they triple him, they’ll man mark him all year and he’s averaging two goals a game right now. He’s an all-round player. He distributes really well, he knows his positioning, he’s an extremely gifted finisher. He does it all. He really does it all.
Ruben Torres Saenz made them stand in the goal, with a huge assist from Cameron Vile, a deep reserve who cleared a ball away from an open goal late in a 2-1 game after coming in for Mikey Schultz just moments before. The Red Devils also were playing without Dom Tino, their last defender, who hurt his ankle playing volleyball in the gym earlier this week. His absence forced Massari to bring back senior captain Ricardo Vichi from center mid to center back and dropped Prince Ledbetter from striker to center mid.
Ledbetter did such a good job at his new spot Massari is considering making it a permanent move.
Nick DiTeodoro scored Woodstown’s goal on a penalty kick and it was 1-0 into the break. The Wolverines (9-6-1) have scored two goals or fewer in 11 games this season, one or less eight times.
The win moved Penns Grove a half-game ahead of Woodstown in the TCC Diamond Division standings with one to play and elevated it to seventh in the South Jersey Group 1 power points standings. The Red Devils (9-4-1) play two more games this week on their march to a first-round home playoff game – Thursday against division rival Glassboro and Friday against Paulsboro.
“That’s what we’re pushing for,” Massari said. “Obviously a win’s a win, but we’re pushing to get a home playoff game for the guys. We’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow. Back to the drawing board and hopefully put the same product on the field Thursday as we did today.”
Woodstown’s last game before the cutoff is Thursday against Schalick, a team that beat them 3-1 earlier this year.
AUDUBON 3, PENNSVILLE 1: Anthony Michaca scored Pennsville’s goal in the second half. The Eagles (5-8) are looking to hold onto a South Jersey Group 1 playoff spot. They currently hold the 16th spot and have two games left before Saturday’s cutoff – Thursday at Salem Tech, a team they beat on Senior Night, and Friday at Overbrook, a team that’s won the last four in the series.
“We were shooting to go at least 2-1 this week to ensure we’re in,” Eagles coach Derek Foglein said. “After today’s results, Thursday is a must win for us. It’ll be a huge game. I feel like we match up well against them, so it’s just a matter of execution on our end.”
SCHALICK 6, PITMAN 0: Senior Nolan O’Toole opened the scoring and five of his underclassmen teammates followed to bring the Cougars a win on Senior Night. Tim Koering scored for the fifth time in six games, Tyler Vanlier, Marco Spinnato, Connor McQuade and Ryan Loper scored the other goals. Nick Latona made four saves in recording his sixth shutout of the season.
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 3, SALEM TECH 1: The Rams scored three goals in the first half. Avery Reed scored the Chargers’ goal in the second half.
CLAYTON 7, SALEM 0: Jon Rehm scored four goals, running his career total to 81. He has scored 45 goals against Salem County opponents, 23 against Salem. He has scored in all eight games he has played against the Rams.
Top photo: Penns Grove’s Juan Ortiz (10), shown in an earlier match against Pennsville, scored two second-half goals to lead the Red Devils over Woodstown.
