Schalick field hockey edges Middle Twp., heads to a familiar McDonald’s to celebrate and chase a bad taste away
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
Quarterfinals
No. 1 West Deptford 3, No. 9 Haddon Twp. 1
No. 5 Woodstown at No. 4 Collingswood (Wed.)
No. 6 Schalick 1, No. 3 Middle Twp. 0
No. 2 Florence 5, No. 7 Gloucester 4 (OT)
Semifinals
Woodstown-Collingswood winner at West Deptford
Schalick vs. Gloucester-Florence winner
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE – The horn had just blown to signal the Schalick field hockey team‘s victory in the South Jersey Group I quarterfinals Tuesday and coach Heather Cheesman knew exactly where the team was going next.
The Cougars dispatched Middle Twp. 1-0 and then headed off to McDonald’s on the way out of town to celebrate and exorcise some unfriendly ghosts on Halloween that have been hanging around since 2016.
The story goes that when the Cougars lost to Middle in the sectional finals that year, they went to the local Golden Arches for a post-game meal. The Panthers, meanwhile, hopped on their township fire trucks and paraded around town with the sirens blaring.
The motorcade passed right by the McDonald’s where the Cougars where eating their lunch. It was not a happy meal.
Cheesman was in her first year as the Cougars head coach that season, but she remembered and told her current team that story right before the game. She told them if they won Tuesday that’s where they were going to celebrate.
“It was just like a stab in the heart after losing the game,” Cheesman said of the parade scene. “It was a different vibe this time.”
The Cougars (13-5-1) came out aggressive and senior Sophia Longo scored the game’s only goal two minutes into the match. They scored their first goal in the opening round 62 seconds into the match.
“You’ve got to get going early, keep the pressure on and be aggressive,” Cheesman said. “We’ve been telling them play your game, be aggressive and they’ve been doing that.”
Longo is a midfielder, but found herself in the right place at the right time crashing on a corner and knocked a pass from Lucy Virga back into the cage. It was her third goal of the season.
“Honestly, I wasn’t really expecting the ball to come at me so quickly, so I just kind of just passed it in and it just rolled into the goal,” Longo said. “I was pretty excited because I don’t score a lot and it was a pretty big game.”
It was the Cougars’ fourth straight win and ninth shutout. They now play at second-seeded Florence (15-2-1), a 5-4 overtime winner over Gloucester. The game must be played by Saturday.
The team started back to Salem County shortly after the game then the bus pulled into the parking lot and the players were loving it. When it came her turn at the counter, Longo ordered four chicken nuggets and fries.
“I thought that was really fun,” Longo said. “It’s something we don’t normally do and all the team went to celebrate. It was a really great experience. It was a great way to tie up the rivalry that team had with them, us winning and then going back to that place.”
Sounds like something the Cougars might be inclined to do after every big win now.
“I think that’d be a pretty cool tradition to start, to be honest,” Longo said.
Category: FIELD HOCKEY
Intensity is the word
Woodstown field hockey ramps it up in second half, puts away Maple Shade in sectional
tournament; Salem falls in its opener
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
First-round games
Haddon Twp. 3, Salem 1
Woodstown 2, Maple Shade 1
Collingswood 8, Gateway 1
Middle Twp. 6, Audubon 0
Schalick 3, Bordentown 0
Gloucester 5, Lower Cape May 0
Florence 6, New Egypt 0
Quarterfinals
Haddon Twp. at West Deptford
Woodstown at Collingswood
Schalick at Middle Twp.
Gloucester at Florence
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN — Most teams when they break it down to take their game to the field usually shout out something like their school’s name or mascot.
The Woodstown field hockey team chooses its word with purpose.
The word of the day to start the second half Friday was “intensity,” and the Wolverines brought a lot more of what they already had.
They scored both of their goals in the first 10 minutes of the third quarter to fuel a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Maple Shade in the South Jersey Group I playoffs. The Wolverines now will play at No. 4 Collingswood in the quarterfinals. Collingswood beat Gateway 8-1.
“There’s a lot behind the word intensity,” Wolverines coach Bryanna Roberts said. “The second half is when you really have to come out. Obviously you want it in the first half, but it’s now or never at this point.
“As far as the word intensity, all the girls show it and that’s the word that we use because going into that second half it’s now or never and you’ve got to work hard for it.”
It’s not like they weren’t intense in the first half. They actually dominated the play with more corners (11-1) and shots on goal (5-1), but they trailed the Wildcats 1-0.
Lexi Andrada scored on a shot from the top of the circle with 4:26 left in the first quarter to give the Wildcats the lead. Woodstown’s Megan Donelson had the tying goal disallowed by a foot foul in the goalmouth with two minutes left in the half and that seemed to inspire using the key word even more.
“It just gets us all fired up,” Donelson said.
“It really does motivate us to keep moving forward,” goal-scorer Brea DiGregorio said. “If we put that in the air, then it shows on the field.”
Shyann Higinbotham tied the game with a shot from the right side of the circle with only 1:53 gone in the third quarter. The Wolverines continued to press the attack and DiGregorio scored the game-winner with 5:33 left in the quarter.
“I saw the ball coming towards me and I knew I had to be ready and get my stick down in order to hit it back because that was my responsibility,” DiGregorio said. “(Coming from behind) shows our grit and our toughness that we ‘re able to bring it back after they score. We responded.”
HADDON TWP. 3, SALEM 1: The Hawks took control with two goals in the first quarter, added a third before halftime and kept the Rams at arm’s length in the second half. Anna Buzby scored Salem’s goal in the third quarter.
Haddon Twp. now travels to rested West Deptford for the quarterfinals. The top-seeded Eagles drew a first-round bye.
Cover photo: Woodstown’s Taylor Predergast (6) tries to steer clear of the pressure being applied by Maple Shade’s Rachel Loomis during Friday’s South Jersey Group I field hockey tournament game.
Quick strike Cougars
Schalick’s attacking style rewarded with quick goals at the start of each half in sectional field hockey opener
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
First-round games
Haddon Twp. at Salem, Fri., 2 p.m.
Maple Shade at Woodstown, Fri., 2 p.m.
Gateway at Collingswood, Fri., 2 p.m.
Middle Twp. at Audubon, Fri., 2 p.m.
Schalick 3, Bordentown 0
Gloucester 5, Lower Cape May 0
Florence 6, New Egypt 0
Second-round games
Haddon Twp.-Salem winner at West Deptford
Woodstown-Maple Shade vs. Gateway-Collingswood
Middle Twp.-Audubon vs. Schalick
Gloucester at Florence
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE — If you were late getting to your seat at the start of Schalick’s South Jersey Group I playoff opener or getting back to it at the start of the second half, you missed a lot of the home team’s scoring Thursday.
The Cougars came out fast at the start of each half and rode that momentum to a 3-0 victory over Bordentown.
Proving they mean business in this year’s playoffs, the Cougars scored just over a minute into the match and extended their lead with a goal 30 seconds into the third quarter.
“The girls are pumped up,” Cougars coach Heather Cheesman said. “We always try to go out with intensity and be the aggressors and have pressure on goal constantly.
“We’ve always been a second half team, but this team’s different. This team is not like that. I’ve been coaching 10 years now and Schalick has always been a second half team, but this team is different.”
Leading scorer Phoebe Alward announced the Cougars’ presence in the playoffs. The fans sitting across the way hardly settled into their seats when the sophomore banged home a cross from Ava Scurry 62 seconds into the match. It was her 16th goal of the season, a surprising number to her that matches her jersey number.
Cheesman couldn’t ever remember scoring that quickly to open a game, regular season or playoffs.
“I was excited,” she said. “I like getting the first goal because it gets them pumped up. They were excited.”
Scurry gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead when she scored with 2:46 left in the first half. It was her 12th goal, to go with 16 assists.
“I knew this could have been our last game because the playoffs are single elimination,” Scurry said. “So I put it all out there and tried to do what was best for the team.”
Lucy Virga didn’t waste any time when the teams came out the break. She got the Cougars’ third goal being “in the right place at the right time” to bang home a rebound 30 seconds into the second half.
“Our plan is to come out really strong and just not let up after any restart,” Scurry said.
The Cougars, the sixth seed, now play the winner of today’s Middle Twp.-Audubon game at a site and date to be determined. Middle is the third seed.
On a roll
Monday roundup: Woodstown boys soccer heading into sectional tournament on five-game winning streak; roundup includes girls soccer, field hockey
MONDAY’S SCORES
BOYS SOCCER
Woodstown 2, Glassboro 1
Pennsville 4, Salem Tech 1
GIRLS SOCCER
Woodstown 2, Glassboro 2
Pitman 5, Salem 0
Pennsville 7, Salem Tech 0
FIELD HOCKEY
Clearview 2, Woodstown 0
Gloucester City 7, Pennsville 0
GIRLS TENNIS
Schalick 5, Woodstown 0
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
GLASSBORO – The Woodstown soccer team goes into the South Jersey Group I tournament feeling good about the turnaround it has put together during the season and on a roll after beating Glassboro 2-1 in its final regular-season game Monday.
Adrian Ibarra and Kaleb Gerace each scored a goal in the second half for the Wolverines in the battle of top four sectional seeds.
Ibarra opened the scoring seven minutes into the second half. Gerace made it 2-0 13 minutes later. Emirhan Kir’s penalty kick off an “unfortunate foul” in the box with 11 minutes left was the only thing that kept the Wolverines from posting a fifth straight shutout.
It was, however, their fifth win in a row, their second over Glassboro in the last four days and their sixth in the eight games (with one tie) since a 6-2 Alumni Night loss to Schalick in the football stadium.
“We had a lot of games over the last two weeks, so it’s been a grind, but we came in and kind of came out on top,” Woodstown coach Darren Huck said. “We didn’t play well against Audubon (the only loss in the home stretch), but when you play Schalick and two Colonial Conference teams, it wasn’t so much about wins and losses in that one, it was to see how we were going to battle and compete.
“We circle the wagons and bring them all back and remind them what the big picture is and remind them how one game doesn’t identify you in a good way or a bad way; let’s stay focused on what we need to do and they responded. I’m happy with my goalkeeper, how he responded from that tough night against Schalick, and defensively I’m happy with where we’re at right now.”
That would be 13-3-1 and the No. 3 seed in the SJ-I tournament;. A year ago they were 5-10-3 with seven one-goal losses and were something like 3-27 in the offseason going all over South Jersey playing larger schools. But they were playing and learning and growing.
Huck never lost faith and he was grateful the players didn’t either.
“I told them it’s not about the now, it’s preparing guys for the future,” he said. “I need all of you to believe and I will take you there, but do not lose confidence in what we’re doing.
“I had a parent today say I remember what you said in August in that last tournament; you said we’ll be just fine. I’m glad it worked this way. It made them believe they believed in me. I said this was going to happen.”
Ibarra’s goal was his 23rd of the season and 30th of his career. The nephew of Woodstown’s all-time leading goal scorer, Oscar Hernandez, Ibarra now has the second-most goals in a season by a junior in school history and has moved into the top 15 on the Wolverines’ all-time goals list.
“He’s really put it together,” Huck said. “He takes a lot of pride in being a complete soccer player, not just a scorer. He’s on the other end of assists, gets back defensively to help out. A lot of times he’ll ask me if I want him to drop back to help out the defense. He’s willing to take himself out of a scoring opportunity so we can get a win.
“He puts a tremendous amount of time into it. Many, many times I can go up to the park and he’ll be out there all by himself with a bag of soccer balls and some cones and he’s just working on his game. It’s good to see it all pay off for him.”
While Woodstown is going into the playoffs on a roll, Glassboro is looking to get back on track. The Bulldogs (12-5) have lost five of their last eight against some of their toughest opposition of the year after starting the season 9-0.
“We had a good regular season,” Huck said. “We can look back and say we had a nice season. We know the second season starts (Wednesday) and we’re going to try to go as far as we can.”
Pennsville 4, Salem Tech 1: Jake Isaac scored two first-half goals and assisted on the Eagles’ other two goals. It was his third multi-goal game of the season and fifth of his career. Stone Mumink gave the Eagles (6-12) a 3-0 lead and Kameron Brown got the Chargers (3-13-1) on the board before the end of the half. Shane Puckett scored Pennsville’s final goal in the second half.
GIRLS SOCCER
Woodstown 2, Glassboro 2: Emma Perry and Talia Battavio scored goals for the Wolverines (9-7-1), but Glassboro scored a goal in the second half to tie the match.
Pitman 5, Salem 0: Emery Sharpnack scored her 15th goal of the season to open the scoring and assisted on Alaina Williams’ goal in the second half. The Classic Division champion Panthers (13-4-1) are one of two teams to go through their Tri-County Conference schedule undefeated (10-0).
Pennsville 7, Salem Tech 0: Reagan Wariwanchik, Molly Gratz and Karsen Cooksey scored first-half goals and Cooksey completed the hat trick in the second half.
FIELD HOCKEY
Clearview 2, Woodstown 0: Marley Dutch scored a goal and assisted on Destiny Joseph’s score. The Group III Pioneers (12-5) peppered Woodstown goalie Shelby Foote with 29 shots.
Gloucester City 7, Pennsville 0: Lauren Perry scored four goals to lead the Lions (12-4).
Sectional tournaments
Here are the first-round pairings in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group I tournaments; boys soccer becomes official at noon Tuesday
BOYS SOCCER
Oct. 25
No. 16 Pennsville (6-12) at No. 1 Schalick (14-4), 4 p.m.
No. 9 Pitman (12-5-1) at No. 8 Maple Shade (10-7), 3 p.m.
No. 12 Penns Grove (6-9-1) at No. 5 Audubon (11-5-2), 2 p.m.
No. 13 Haddon Twp. (5-10-2) at No. 4 Glassboro (12-5), 2 p.m.
No. 14 Burlington City (6-10) at No. 3 Woodstown (13-3-1), 2 p.m.
No. 11 Wildwood (11-5-1) at No. 6 Buena (12-4), 2 p.m.
No. 10 Gateway (9-8-1) at No. 7 Riverside (13-3-2)
No. 15 Woodbury (8-8) at No. 2 Palmyra (15-2-1), 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Oct. 26
No. 16 Penns Grove (1-11-1) at No. 1 Audubon (15-1-2)
No. 9 Clayton (10-5-1) at No. 8 Glassboro (9-6-2)
No. 12 Gateway (7-9) at No. 5 Pitman (13-4-1)
No. 13 Buena (6-9) at No. 4 Maple Shade (11-4)
No. 14 Salem (4-13-1) at No. 3 Schalick (13-4)
No. 11 Pennsville (6-9-3) at No. 6 Haddon Twp. (7-9-2)
No. 10 Woodstown (9-7-1) at No. 7 Gloucester (12-5)
No. 15 Woodbury (1-14-1) at No 2 Palmyra (14-3)
FIELD HOCKEY
Oct. 26
No. 11 Bordentown (4-11-1) at No. 6 Schalick (11-5-1)
Oct. 27
No. 12 Maple Shade (8-4) at No. 5 Woodstown (12-3-1)
Oct. 28
No. 1 West Deptford (10-3-3) bye
No. 9 Haddon Twp. (7-8) at No. 8 Salem (11-4)
No. 13 Gateway (5-10) at No. 4 Collingswood (9-5-2)
No. 14 Audubon (8-6) at No. 3 Middle Twp. (13-2-1)
No. 10 Lower Cape May (6-6-4) at No. 7 Gloucester (12-4)
No. 15 New Egypt (7-5) at No. 2 Florence (13-2-1)
This week’s schedule
The opening round of the NJSIAA fall sports playoffs highlight the high school sports schedule for Salem County teams for the week of Oct. 23-28
FOOTBALL
Oct. 26
South Jersey Group I Consolation Tournament
New Egypt at Pennsville, 5 p.m.
Keansburg at Manville
Oct. 27
South Jersey Group I playoffs
Dunellen at Woodstown, 7 p.m.
Penns Grove at Florence, 7 p.m.
Burlington City at Middlesex, 7 p.m.
Central Jersey Group I playoffs
Audubon at Schalick, 7 p.m.
Clayton at Shore, 7 p.m.
Keyport at Glassboro, 7 p.m.
Salem at South Hunterdon, TBA
Oct. 28
South Jersey Group I playoffs
Riverside at Woodbury, 10:30 a.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
Oct. 23
Woodstown at Clearview, 3:45 p.m.
Gloucester City at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Oct. 26
South Jersey Group I Tournament
No. 11 Bordentown at No. 6 Schalick, 2 p.m.
Oct. 27
South Jersey Group I Tournament
No. 12 Maple Shade at No. 5 Woodstown, 2 p.m.
Oct. 28
South Jersey Group I Tournament
No. 1 West Deptford bye
No. 9 Haddon Twp. at No. 8 Salem
No. 13 Gateway at No. 4 Collingswood
No. 14 Audubon at No. 3 Middle Twp.
No. 10 Lower Cape May at No. 7 Gloucester
No. 15 New Egypt at No. 2 Florence
GIRLS TENNIS
Oct. 23
Schalick at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Oct. 24
Woodstown at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Oct. 26
Overbrook at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Oct. 27
Schalick at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Oct. 23
Glassboro at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Pennsville, 7 p.m.
Oct. 24
Paulsboro at Salem, 4 p.m.
Oct. 25
South Jersey Group I Tournament
No. 16 Pennsville at No. 1 Schalick, 4 p.m.
No. 9 Pitman at No. 8 Maple Shade, 3 p.m.
No. 12 Penns Grove at No. 5 Audubon, 2 p.m.
No. 13 Haddon Twp. at No. 4 Glassboro, 2 p.m.
No. 14 Burlington City at No. 3 Woodstown, 2 p.m.
No. 11 Wildwood at No. 6 Buena, 2 p.m.
No. 10 Gateway at No. 7 Riverside
No. 15 Woodbury at No. 2 Palmyra, 4 p.m.
Oct. 28
South Jersey Group I Tournament
Second round games
GIRLS SOCCER
Oct. 23
Woodstown at Glassboro, 3:30 p.m.
Pitman at Salem, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Pennsville, 5 p.m.
Oct. 26
South Jersey Group I Tournament
No. 16 Penns Grove at No. 1 Audubon
No. 9 Clayton at No. 8 Glassboro
No. 12 Gateway at No. 5 Pitman
No. 13 Buena at No. 4 Maple Shade
No. 14 Salem at No. 3 Schalick
No. 11 Pennsville at No. 6 Haddon Twp.
No. 10 Woodstown at No. 7 Gloucester
No. 15 Woodbury at No 2 Palmyra
CROSS COUNTRY
Oct. 28
Sectionals, DREAM Park
Playoff pairings
Four of five Salem County teams qualify for Group I football playoffs; non-football playoff projections based on power points also listed
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
Four of the five football-playing schools in Salem County are in the NJSIAA Group I playoffs this year and two have pulled down No. 1 seeds.
In the final regular-season UPR ratings produced by the gridironnj website and released this evening, Woodstown and undefeated Schalick pulled down the Nos. 1 and 2 spots in the South Jersey Group I top 16 and will be the No. 1 seeds in the South Jersey and Central Jersey brackets, respectively, when the NJSIAA makes it official.
Only two-tenths of a UPR point separated the two teams. Schalick had the winningest team in South Jersey Group I (9-0), but Woodstown (6-2) had the highest OSI.
Horizon Division champion Schalick, with its first undefeated regular season since 2006, had been in line for the overall No. 1, but Woodstown overtook it after Saturday’s 21-6 win over Penns Grove for the Diamond Division title.
We’re guaranteed home field advantage through the sectional final,” Schalick coach Mike Wilson said. “Strength of schedule is a very important indicator. From where we went from last year – we were the 15th seed last year now we’re the No. 2 seed – that’s a huge improvement in one year.”
Penns Grove (4-5) came in at No. 9 and sets up a potential second-round rematch with Woodstown. Salem (2-7) came in at No. 14. Both will open the playoffs on the road.
“We would’ve liked to been home but obviously too many times we came up a little short,” Penns Grove coach John Emel said.
Pennsville wound up being the county’s odd-man out. The Eagles came in at No. 17, 1.8 UPR points behind the final qualifying spot, which went to Dunellen. They went into the week as the No. 16 team, then lost Friday night at Pitman.
It would have been the first time since 2017 all five county teams made the field. Four teams have made it four of the six years since.
“We didn’t take care of business last night so it’s on us,” Pennsville coach Mike Healy said. “We didn’t get the job done. We still improved a ton this year but obviously would have loved a shot in the playoffs.”
The Eagles will now play in the four-team sectional consolation tournament.
The playoff bracket did undergo some changes after the original 1-16 standings were posted due to various tiebreakers. South Hunterdon and Middlesex switched places due to South Hunterdon’s head-to-head win; Woodbury, Glassboro and Shore tied for fifth and shuffled by the OSI tiebreaker; as did Clayton and Keyport, who were tied for 10th.
Here are the projected first-round matchups (lower seeds at home). All games Friday unless indicated otherwise:
No. 1 Woodstown (1) vs. No. 8 Dunellen (16)
No. 4 Florence (8) vs. No. 5 Penns Grove (9)
No. 2 Middlesex (4) vs. No. 7 Burlington City (13)
No. 3 Woodbury (5) vs. No. 6 Riverside (12), Saturday
No. 1 Schalick (2) vs. No. 8 Audubon (15)
No. 4 Shore (7) vs. No. 5 Clayton (10)
No. 2 South Hunterdon (3) vs. No. 7 Salem (14)
No. 3 Glassboro (6) vs. No. 6 Keyport (11)
NOTE: Number in parenthesis is South Jersey Group I UPR rank
Soccer, field hockey projections
Based on the power points in each sport posted Saturday, here are the projected first-round pairings in the South Jersey Group I tournament for boys soccer, girls soccer and field hockey. The NJSIAA will determine the official brackets later.
BOYS SOCCER
No. 1 Schalick (14-4) vs. No. 16 Pennsville (5-12)
No. 8 Maple Shade (10-6) vs. No. 9 Pitman (12-4-1)
No. 5 Audubon (11-5-2) vs. No. 12 (Burlington City (7-10)
No. 4 Glassboro (12-4) vs. No. 13 Penns Grove (6-9-1)
No. 3 Woodstown (12-3-1) vs. No. 14 (Haddon Twp. (5-10-2)
No. 6 Buena (12-4) vs. No. 11 Wildwood (10-5-1)
No. 7 Riverside (12-3-2) vs. No. 10 Gateway (9-8-1)
No. 2 Palmyra (14-2-1) vs. No. 15 Woodbury (8-8)
GIRLS SOCCER
No. 1 Audubon (15-1-2) vs. No. 16 Penns Grove (1-11-1)
No. 8 Glassboro (9-6-1) vs. No. 9 Clayton (10-5-1)
No. 5 Pitman (12-4-1) vs. No. 12 Gateway (7-9)
No. 4 Maple Shade (11-4) vs. No. 13 Buena (6-9)
No. 3 Schalick (13-4) vs. No. 14 Salem (4-12-1)
No. 6 Haddon Twp. (6-9-2) vs. No. 11 Pennsville (5-9-3)
No. 7 Gloucester (12-5) vs. No. 10 Woodstown (9-7)
No. 2 Palmyra (13-3) vs. No. 15 Woodbury (1-14-1)
FIELD HOCKEY
No. 1 West Deptford (9-3-3) vs. No. 16 New Egypt (7-5)
No. 8 Salem (11-4) vs. No. 9 Haddon Twp. (7-7)
No. 5 Woodstown (12-2-1) vs. No. 12 Bordentown (4-10-1)
No. 4 Collingswood (8-5-2) vs. No. 13 Gateway (5-9)
No. 3 Middle Twp. (12-2-1) vs. No. 14 Pennsville (5-10)
No. 6 Schalick (11-5-1) vs. No. 11 Maple Shade (8-4)
No. 7 Gloucester (11-4) vs. No. 10 Lower Cape May (6-6-4)
No. 2 Florence (13-2-1) vs. No. 15 Audubon (7-6)
Cover photo: Riley Papiano (16) and Reggie Allen celebrate a touchdown in Schalick’s win over Gloucester Catholic Friday night. (Photo by Heather Papiano)
Around the county
Here are scores and highlights of Monday’s high school sports action involving Salem County teams; check the full week’s schedule at the Riverview Sports News website
MONDAY’S SCORES
FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville 2, Oakcrest 1: Kylie Harris, Cara Holt score goals and the Eagles snap four-game losing streak.
Schalick 7, Deptford 0: Seniors Ella Shimp (two goals, two assists), Kaleigh Coombs (two goals, one assist) and Sophia Longo (one goal) all scored on Senior Night. Lydia Gilligan recorded her seventh shutout.
Salem 4, Gloucester Catholic 0: Marissa Bower and Autumn Foote both had a goal and an assist as the Rams snapped a three-game losing streak and complete an undefeated Classic Division slate.
Woodstown 6, Overbook 0: Tulana Mingin scores twice.
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester 7, Salem 2: Kevin Wall had a second-half hat trick as the Lions rallied from a 2-1 halftime deficit. Jeremy Jimenez and Jose Vilalpiando gave Salem a 2-0 lead.
Woodstown 2, Penns Grove 0: Ayden Ellis and Grant Prater scored second half goals.
GIRLS SOCCER
Gloucester City 6, Salem 0: Meghan Gorman scored twice as the Lions scored six in the first half.
Overbrook at Penns Grove
GIRLS TENNIS
Salem 3, Bridgeton 2: Salem’s No. 1 doubles team of Gianna Pelura and Tytiana Miller won a third-set pro set 7-3 to key the victory. Yanderin Castellanos and Cassidy Werkheiser at 1 and 2 singles also won for the Rams.
Pennsville 5, Gloucester Catholic 0
Woodstown 5, Glassboro 0
VOLLEYBALL
Clearview at Salem Tech
This week’s schedule
Here is the high school sports schedule for Salem County teams for the week of Oct. 16-21
Oct. 16
FIELD HOCKEY
Gloucester Catholic at Salem, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Oakcrest, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Overbook, 4 p.m.
Deptford Twp. at Schalick, 6 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Salem at Gloucester City, 6 p.m.
Woodstown at Sterling, 7 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Gloucester City at Salem, 4 p.m.
Overbrook at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Bridgeton at Salem, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
CROSS COUNTY
State Tech School Championship, Salem Tech
VOLLEYBALL
Clearview at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Oct. 17
BOYS SOCCER
Overbook at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Glassboro at Pennsville, 5 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Salem, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Schalick, 6 p.m.
Glassboro at Pennsville, 7 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Haddon Heights, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Salem, 4 p.m.
NJSIAA Group I Sectionals
Championship matches
North 1: Kinnelon at Glen Rock, 1 p.m.
North 2: Whippany Park at Glen Ridge, 3 p.m.
South: Schalick at Haddon Twp., 3 p.m.
Central: New Providence at Highland Park, 4 p.m.
CROSS COUNTRY
Tri-County Conference Showcase, Cumberland, 3:30 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Gloucester Catholic at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Oct. 18
FIELD HOCKEY
Moorestown Friends at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Oakcrest at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Salem at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
Overbrook at Pennsville, 4:30 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Overbrook at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Salem, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Oct. 19
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Overbrook at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Pitman, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Salem, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Salem at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Glassboro at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Triton, 4 p.m.
Salem at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Schalick, 4 p.m.
NJSIAA State Tournament
Championship Matches
Mercer County Park, T
VOLLEYBALL
KIPP Cooper at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Oct. 20
FOOTBALL
Gloucester Catholic at Schalick, 7 p.m.
Pennsville at Pitman, 7 p.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
Clayton at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Glassboro at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Clayton at Salem, 4 p.m.
Overbrook at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Pitman, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Glassboro at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Salem at Clayton, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at LEAP Academy, 4 p.m.
Oct. 21
FOOTBALL
Salem at Woodbury, 10:30 a.m.
Woodstown at Penns Grove, 11 a.m.
Cover photo by Heather Papiano
‘It was our day’
Schalick girls finally solve Gateway, reach South Jersey Group I sectional tennis finals; also includes Thursday’s scores around the county
THURSDAY’S SCORES
FIELD HOCKEY
Glassboro 3, Schalick 2
GIRLS SOCCER
Paulsboro at Penns Grove
GIRLS TENNIS
Pitman at Penns Grove
Salem at Overbrook
Woodstown 5, Gloucester Catholic 0
South Jersey Group I Tournament
Semifinals
Schalick 3, Gateway 2
Haddon Twp. 5, Pitman 0
VOLLEYBALL
Highland Regional 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-16, 25-15)
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – After two years of frustrating finishes, the Schalick girls tennis team was ready to get the gator, er, monkey, off their back named Gateway.
The Cougars showed the grit and guile that has epitomized their season and knocked off the nemesis that beat them in the South Jersey Group I Tournament each of the last two years 3-2 to reach this year’s SJ-I finals.
The Cougars (17-2) will play at top-seeded Haddon Twp. (15-3) Tuesday for the sectional title and a spot in the Group I Final Four Oct. 19 at Mercer County Park.
“It was our day,” Schalick coach John Romano said. “Our girls came out there, they were prepared. They were ready to get the monkey off their back so to speak. They were just ready to take that step forward, and they did.
“The last three years it could have gone either way. We were fortunate to get the best of them this time.”
The Cougars swept the doubles points and ultimately clinched the match on junior Ally Green’s 6-1, 6-3 win over Allison Eckstein at third singles. Green trailed in the second set 3-2, then, showing the drive that took her from first doubles to No. 3 singles this season, won the next four games convincingly to win her match with one still on the court.
She knew the match was close, but she didn’t want to ask if it might come down to her court.
“I didn’t want to put it in my head and stress myself out, but I had a feeling when I saw our first single walk off and I saw the stress going on at second,” Green said. “There was definitely more pressure on that second set.
“I felt tired for some reason today and there was a point she had me 3-2. We had switched sides and I could hear her coach give her a lot of confidence and when other coaches are hyping someone against me it makes me a little more nervous.”
But she overcame that with a smooth, consistent approach to every shot and started clicking off points.
“Any time you play you want to have a solid third singles player,” Romano said. “We’ve been very fortunate over the past few years to have very, very good third singles players and she epitomizes that. She’s gritty, she gets everything back. That’s what their coach said: She gets everything back. She’s tough.”
The Cougars have been to the sectional semifinals or finals eight of the last 14 years. They’ve played Gateway in one of them four times.
The Gators ended their tournament dreams each of the previous two years, both in 3-2 nailbiters. It was in the sectional finals in 2021 and the semifinals last year.
“I really wanted that for (the seniors), this being their senior year and this being their last shot at it, so it made me really happy we were able to take them further,” Green said. “But not only them, I really wanted it for Romano because I knew how bad he wanted that win and I know he wanted the season to keep going, so to see him get happy on the side and he was all pumped up, it made us all really happy.”
The other sectional finals are Highland Park-New Providence (Central), Kinnelon-Glen Rock/Lenape Valley (North 1) and Whippany Park-Glen Ridge (North 2).
SCHALICK 3, GATEWAY 2
Singles
Morgan McNally (G) def. Rachel Irizarry, 6-0, 6-1.
Tabitha Bay (G) def. Grace O’Neill, 6-1, 0-6, 10-8.
Ally Green (S) def. Allison Eckstein, 6-1, 6-3.
Doubles
Emma Adams-Katelyn Little (S) def. Viena Chen-Sarah Martin, 6-2, 6-0.
Miya Watkins-Rachel Goranson (S) def. Addison Packer-Ashley Jackson, 6-1, 6-0.
Records: Schalick 17-2, Gateway 11-9
Riverview Sports News 