Emotional openers

Penns Grove heartbroken after Pitman scores game-winner in final minute; top seeds Schalick, Woodstown win handily; Pennsville shut out

SJ GROUP I BOYS SOCCER
Tuesday’s First-Round Games
Schalick 7, Cape May Tech 0
Pitman 2, Penns Grove 1
Audubon 5, Gateway 1
Haddon Twp. 6, Pennsville 0
Palmyra 7, Woodbury 1
Riverside 4, Glassboro 2
Wildwood 5, Maple Shade 0
Woodstown 7, Clayton 1
Friday’s Quarterfinals
(8) Pitman at (1) Schalick
(5) Audubon at (4) Haddon Twp.
(6) Riverside at (3) Palmyra
(7) Wildwood at (2) Woodstown

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITMAN – The nature of playoff sports is such that one minute you’re planning for an extended stay and the next your whole world comes tumbling down.

The way Tuesday’s South Jersey Group 1 playoff game was playing out, Penns Grove boys soccer coach Mano Massari was prepared for overtime and even had his penalty kicks shootout strategy lined up should it come to that.

It all looked like it was going that way. Then Pitman punched in a goal off a corner kick in the final minute of regulation and all those plans came crashing to the ground.

Jaiden Ammons nudged a corner kick from Jake Bowen-Aswin through a crowd in the box and past Penns Grove keeper Dwayne Guzman to give the Panthers a 2-1 win. Inside the final minute was the best estimate on the time of the game-winner since Alcyon Park has no working scoreboard clock.

“79th minute” is the way it read in the scorebook.

Whether it was one minute, one second or one hour, it was as crushing a defeat as Massari has endured in his soccer career as a player or a coach.

“It was 100 percent the toughest loss of our season,” he said. “It’s crushing. It’s crushing to watch my guys drop to the ground and cry. It’s tough. A lot of these guys, this is all they’ve got.

“This team, they’re family. My guys go through a lot outside of school and they deal with a lot. When I tell you this team really is a family, I mean it, man. It’s heartbreaking to watch them go through that.”

Massari described the game as an “absolute all-out war.” The ninth-seeded Red Devils (8-10) grabbed a 1-0 lead on freshman Juan Ortiz’ fifth goal of the season in the 49th minute. Bowen-Ashwin tied it for the Panthers (10-8-1) nine minutes later.

It stayed that with until the final minute of regulation.

The decisive kick came from Penns Grove’s left defensive corner. Bowen-Ashwin sent the ball into the box. Guzman came off the line and took a swipe at it with his left arm, but Ammons was crashing the goal and deflected it back into the net. It was similar to an overtime goal he scored at Pennsville in September.

“I really wasn’t expecting it to land on my head,” Ammons told Brian Tortella of SJGloryDays. “I just closed my eyes and prayed for the best. Somehow, it landed on my head and it went in.”

“I have a little team, they’re not the biggest guys in the world,” Massari said. “I have two guys above 5-8, 5-9 and they (Pitman) made a play in the box and they buried it. … It just wasn’t in our cards today I guess.”

With the win, Pitman moves on to play at top-seeded Schalick in the quarterfinals Friday.

SCHALICK 7, CAPE MAY TECH 0: The Cougars wasted no time getting on the scoreboard and it touched off a six-goal barrage in the first half that carried the bracket’s top seed to an easy first-round victory over the 16.

Luke Price stole the ball just outside of his 18, took it the length of the field and beat the keeper only 25 seconds into the match. He scored twice more in the final 10 minutes of the half to complete his second hat trick of the season.

“Coming off a tough win versus Cumberland we needed to walk the next team off the field no matter the rank,” Price said. “As coach said in our pre-game, ‘Energy from the start, everyone,’ so I knew we needed to get off to a great start.

“(The first goal) brings me back to my freshman year scoring a 31-second goal. It’s great to score that first goal quick.”

But the Cougars didn’t stop there. Mike Nelson made it 2-0 on a header off an Anthony Sepers cross, followed by goals from Oscar Hernandez and Reyli Reyes. J.T. Fleming scored in the second half.

“We tried to focus on being sharp and executing today and really from the first minutes of the game they were fairly locked in,” Cougars coach Joe Mannella said. “As good of an effort as you can expect first round.

“I was worried about guys doing some things they couldn’t get away with in a different game. But everybody played well, executed and stuck to what we do and we did it well. It was really all we could have hoped for today.”

The Cougars (18-2) now host eighth-seeded Pitman in Friday’s quarterfinals.

WOODSTOWN 7, CLAYTON 1: Adrian Ibarra and Bryce Ayars gave Woodstown a comfortable 2-0 halftime lead, but the Wolverines erupted for five goals in the second half to completely take control of the game.

Ibarra, Ayden Ellis, Ben Lippincott, Sid Leevy and freshman Josh Olbrich notched the goals in the second half. For Ibarra, his two goals left him with 48 for his career.

“Obviously we became more efficient with our shooting, with our percentages, but we were moving better without the ball,” Wolverines coach Darren Huck explained of the second-half uprising. “We were crashing the net more and really getting lots of movement and bodies inside the 18.

“In the first half we were getting some quality looks, but we were getting a little bit wide here and there and we weren’t creating enough confusion in the final third. We definitely did that in the second half.”

And the better movement created some luck. Ellis’ goal came after he beat the goalie, hit the back post and the rebound richocheted off the keeper’s back and into the goal.

Leevy’s goal was a brilliant 19-yard free kick around the defensive wall just inside the post to answer the Clippers’ goal. Olbrich’s goal came on a penalty kick and made him the 291st player in school history to score a varsity goal.

It was a legacy goal of sorts. Olbrich’s father, brother and sister are all enshrined on the recently unveiled Woodstown Soccer Wall of Fame.

“We had good balance today,” Huck said.

The second-seeded Wolverines (15-4) now host Wildwood in Friday’s quarterfinals.

SJ GROUP 2 BOYS SOCCER
Haddon Heights 7, Salem Tech 0

VOLLEYBALL
SJ GROUP 2 VOLLEYBALL
Seneca 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-2, 25-11)

This week’s schedule

The South Jersey Group I & II playoffs in boys soccer, girls soccer, field hockey and volleyball get underway this week. Here is the weekly sports schedule for teams in Salem County for the week of Nov. 4-9

NOV. 4
GIRLS SOCCER
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT
(9) Clayton at (8) Gateway, 2 p.m.
(12) Pennsville at (5) Riverside, 3 p.m.
(13) Buena at (4) Haddon Twp., 4 p.m.
(14) Wildwood at (3) Woodstown, 2 p.m.
(11) Maple Shade at (6) Palmyra, 2 p.m.
(10) Pitman at (7) Glassboro, 2 p.m.
(15) Cape May Tech at (2) Schalick, 3 p.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT
(16) Audubon at (1) Shore
(9) Florence at (8) Salem, 2 p.m.
(12) Lower Cape May at (5) Gloucester
(13) Haddon Twp. at (4) Haddon Heights
(14) Maple Shade at (3) West Deptford
(11) Bordentown at (6) Gateway, 4 p.m.
(10) Collingswood at (7) Woodstown
(15) South Hunterdon at (2) Schalick, 2 p.m.

NOV. 5
BOYS SOCCER
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT
(16) Cape May Tech at (1) Schalick, 2 p.m.
(9) Penns Grove at (8) Pitman, 2 p.m.
(12) Gateway at (5) Audubon, 2 p.m.
(13) Pennsville at (4) Haddon Twp., 4 p.m.
(14) Woodbury at (3) Palmyra, 4 p.m.
(11) Glassboro at (6) Riverside, 4 p.m.
(10) Maple Shade at (7) Wildwood, 2 p.m.
(15) Clayton at (2) Woodstown, 4 p.m.
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP II TOURNAMENT
(15) Salem Tech at (2) Haddon Heights
VOLLEYBALL
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP II TOURNAMENT
(14) Salem Tech at (3) Seneca

NOV. 6
FIELD HOCKEY
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT
Salem at Shore, 4 p.m.
Gloucester at Haddon Heights, 2 p.m.
Bordentown at West Deptford, 2 p.m.
Collingswood at Schalick, 2 p.m.
WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Salem CC at Bryn Mawr, 7 p.m.

NOV. 7
GIRLS SOCCER
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT
Gateway at Audubon
Riverside at Haddon Twp.
Palmyra at Woodstown
Glassboro at Schalick

NOV. 8
FOOTBALL
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I PLAYOFFS
Riverside at Glassboro, 6 p.m.
Paulsboro at Schalick, 6 p.m.
CENTRAL JERSEY GROUP I PLAYOFFS
Pennsville at Woodstown, 7 p.m.
Woodbury at Shore, 7 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I TOURNAMENT
Pitman at Schalick
Audubon at Haddon Twp.
Riverside Palmyra
Wildwood at Woodstown

NOV. 9
CROSS COUNTRY
NJSIAA Group Championships, Holmdel Park
MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Delaware County CC at Salem CC, noon

Playoff pairings

Here are the South Jersey Group I and II playoff pairings for the boys soccer, girls soccer, field hockey, volleyball tournaments; action gets underway Monday

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
BOYS SOCCER TOURNAMENT
First-Round Pairings (Nov. 5)
(16) Cape May Tech at (1) Schalick
(9) Penns Grove at (8) Pitman
(12) Gateway at (5) Audubon
(13) Pennsville at (4) Haddon Twp.
(14) Woodbury at (3) Palmyra
(11) Glassboro at (6) Riverside
(10) Maple Shade at (7) Wildwood
(15) Clayton at (2) Woodstown

Second-Round Games (Nov. 8)
Cape May Tech-Schalick vs. Penns Grove-Pitman
Gateway-Audubon vs. Pennsville-Haddon Twp.
Woodbury-Palmyra vs. Glassboro-Riverside
Maple Shade-Wildwood vs. Clayton-Woodstown

Semifinals
Nov. 12

Championship
Nov. 15

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP II
BOYS SOCCER TOURNAMENT
First-Round Games (Nov. 5)
(15) Salem Tech at (2) Haddon Heights

Quarterfinals (Nov. 8)
Salem Tech-Haddon Heights winner vs. Pleasantville-Haddonfield winner

Semifinals
Nov. 12

Championship
Nov 15

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
GIRLS SOCCER TOURNAMENT
First-Round Pairings (Nov. 4)
(1) Audubon bye
(9) Clayton at (8) Gateway
(12) Pennsville at (5) Riverside
(13) Buena at (4) Haddon Twp.
(14) Wildwood at (3) Woodstown
(11) Maple Shade at (6) Palmyra
(10) Pitman at (7) Glassboro
(15) Cape May Tech at (2) Schalick

Second-Round Games (Nov. 7)
Audubon vs. Clayton-Gateway
Pennsville-Riverside vs. Buena-Haddon Twp.
Wildwood-Woodstown vs. Maple Shade-Palmyra
Pitman-Glassboro vs. Cape May Tech-Schalick

Semifinals
Nov. 11

Championship
Nov. 14

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
FIELD HOCKEY TOURNAMENT
First-Round Pairings (Nov. 4)
(16) Audubon at (1) Shore
(9) Florence at (8) Salem
(12) Lower Cape May at (5) Gloucester
(13) Haddon Twp. at (4) Haddon Heights
(14) Maple Shade at (3) West Deptford
(11) Bordentown at (6) Gateway
(10) Collingswood at (7) Woodstown
(15) South Hunterdon at (2) Schalick

Second-Round Games (Nov. 6)
Audubon-Shore vs. Florence-Salem
Lower Cape May-Gloucester vs. Haddon Twp.-Haddon Heights
Maple Shade-West Deptford vs. Bordentown-Gateway
Collingswood-Woodstown vs. South Hunterdon-Schalick

Semifinals
Nov. 11

Championship
Nov. 13

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP II
VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
First-Round Games (Nov. 5)
(14) Salem Tech at (3) Seneca

Quarterfinals (Nov. 7)
Salem Tech-Seneca winner vs. Pleasantville-Barnegat winner

Semifinals
Nov. 9

Championship
Nov. 12

Keeper turned scorer

Sepers comes out of the goal and snags one of two Schalick hat tricks in final regular-season home game

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Evan Sepers has been Schalick’s regular goalkeeper for the past two seasons. It’s been his job to keep the other team from scoring – and he’s done a pretty good job of it. But in all that time he hasn’t forgotten how to score himself.

Cougars coach Joe Mannella gave his junior keeper a chance to play in the field again in the team’s final regular-season home game Monday and Sepers responded with three goals in a 7-0 rout of Salem Tech.

“It was fun,” Sepers said. “I haven’t been a field player since my freshman year and scoring three in a game today was reminiscent of my freshman year.”

Indeed. Sepers came to the Cougars as a forward and scored four goals as a freshman; twice they were the Cougars’ only goal of the match. But the next year Mannella need a keeper for a young team and Sepers athleticism and willingness to meet the challenge made him the choice.

He proved to be a strong last line of of a strong defense, posting nine shutouts – six in a row at one point late in the season – for a team that overcame its inexperience to play for the South Jersey Group I title. This year he has seven shutouts and the team is expected to be installed as the No. 1 seed in the upcoming South Jersey Group I tournament.

“He is a field player, (he) just played in goal last year because it was our best option,” Mannella said. “It was nice to see him get on the field and score some goals.”

Sepers, whose cousins Anthony and Louis Sepers have combined for 17 goals this season, scored twice in the first half and once in the second.

Wearing an extra jersey he grabbed from the bin to take the field (No. 17), he wasted no time getting on the board, volleying a pass from Braydon Matkowsky into the top corner three minutes into the match. He tapped in a bouncing ball later to give the Cougars a 3-0 halftime lead and completed the hat trick with the final goal of the match.

The goalie wasn’t the only player with three goals in the match. Freshman Connor Jackson notched his first career hat trick. Reyli Reyes scored the Cougars’ first goal in the opening 90 seconds.

When Sepers moved back to goalie last season, “I just figured I’d be in goal for the rest of my high school soccer career,” he said.

He asked Mannella about moving up on Senior Night to give backup goalie Lucas D’Agostino, a senior, a chance to shine on his night. The two split the game in goal.

He played striker the whole game Monday, but with the playoffs looming he’ll probably be back in his usual position stopping opponents’ shots for the foreseeable future. And he’s “great with that.”

But for one day at least he was pretty good at putting the ball in the net, too.

Cover photo: Here’s a screen shot from a submitted video of Evan Sepers completing his hat trick against Salem Tech. The full video can be found on the Riverview Sports News Facebook page.

This week’s schedule

The first round of the NJSIAA football playoffs highlights the schedule for Salem County teams for the week of Oct. 28-Nov. 2

MONDAY
BOYS SOCCER
Salem at Penns Grove
Salem Tech at Schalick
GIRLS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Salem
Pennsville at Wildwood
Schalick at Salem Tech
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Highland

TUESDAY
FIELD HOCKEY
Clayton at Pennsville
Glassboro at Woodstown
Millville at Schalick
GIRLS SOCCER
Paulsboro at Salem Tech

WEDNESDAY
FIELD HOCKEY
Oakcrest at Pennsville
BOYS SOCCER
Salem at Gloucester Catholic
GIRLS SOCCER
Vineland at Woodstown
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Penn State Brandywine at Salem CC, 5:45 p.m.

FRIDAY
FOOTBALL
South Jersey Group I playoffs
Point Pleasant Beach at Glassboro
Audubon at Schalick
Central Jersey Group I playoffs
KIPP Cooper Norcross at Woodstown
Pennsville at Burlington City
Woodbury at Middlesex
New Egypt at Shore

BOYS SOCCER
Schalick at Cumberland

SATURDAY
FOOTBALL
South Jersey Group I playoffs
Riverside at Haddon Twp.
Manville at Paulsboro
CROSS COUNTRY
Sectionals at Dream Park

Finish with flourish

Woodstown tennis seniors produce memorable finish to their careers with dramatic win over Pennsville; includes all of Friday’s Salem County sports action

GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown 3, Pennsville 2

By Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – The seniors on the Woodstown girls tennis team knew they had reached the end of the line and they wanted to do something memorable before riding off into the sunset. They sure went out with a flourish.

Three of the Wolverines’ seniors won matches that involved some sort of tiebreaker and their fortitude fueled a 3-2 win over Pennsville that handed the Eagles only their second loss of the season and clinched a share of the Tri-County Diamond Division title.

“I was very proud with how the girls performed today,” Wolverines coach Jesse Stemberger said. “The seniors were a little emotional beforehand knowing this was their last match, but they wanted to have a memorable ending to their careers and season and they were able to achieve that.”

The Wolverines (16-5) clinched the match at No. 1 doubles when senior Julianna Lindenmuth and junior Alyssa Berry took down Emma Cornette and Izzy Schrenker 7-6 (7-3), 7-5.

Before that, senior Camille Osborn won the final match of her high school career over Regan Witt 6-4, 7-6 (12-10) at No. 2 singles and senior Leah Waterman teamed with junior Nathalie Neron to win a 10-4 super tiebreaker after dropping the first set to Naomi Hess and Morgan Holt, 3-6.

Osborn had lost two of her three previous super tiebreakers this season, with one of the losses coming to Witt on Oct. 1. Lindenmuth (with Berry) had been 1-1 in set tiebreakers this season. It was Waterman’s first super tiebreaker of the season.

The Wolverines finished the season with a five-match winning streak and were 7-1 after being eliminated by Haddon Twp. in the South Jersey Group I quarterfinals.

Pennsville (20-2) got its points from first singles Megan Morris and third singles Lily Edwards. Edwards finished the season undefeated (21-0) and has won 32 consecutive matches going back to last season.

WOODSTOWN 3, PENNSVILLE 2
Megan Morris (P) def. Gabby Kurpis 6-1, 6-2
Camille Osborn (Wo) def. Regan Witt, 6-4, 7-6 (12-10)
Lily Edwards (P) def. Aubrie Rennie, 6-1, 6-0
Julianna Lindenmuth-Alyssa Berry (Wo) def. Emma Cornette-Izzy Schrenker, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5
Nathalie Neron-Leah Waterman (Wo) def. Naomi Hess-Morgan Holt, 3-6, 6-3, 10-4
Records: Woodstown 16-5, Pennsville 20-2.

BOYS SOCCER
HADDON TWP. 1, SCHALICK 0: Andres Santiago scored a first-half goal and keeper Collin Feeley made it stand with 15 saves in the net as the Hawks snapped the Cougars’ 10-match winning streak in the opening round of the South Jersey Coaches Cup. It was only the Cougars’ second loss of the season and they remain No. 1 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings.

Haddon Twp. was the No. 4 team in the SJ Group I power points standings, meaning it would be on Schalick’s side of the bracket if the pairings were finalized today. Woodstown is the solid No. 2, Penns Grove is No. 9 and Pennsville No. 13. The cutoff day for the standings is Saturday.

OVERBROOK 4, PENNSVILLE 0: The Eagles moved up the match with the hopes of enhancing their playoff position before the cutoff, but Overbrook kept them off the board. Four separate players lit the lamp for the Rams.

WILDWOOD CATHOLIC 7, SALEM TECH 1: Teddy Woolery and Charlie Flickinger both scored a hat trick as the Crusaders snapped the Chargers’ school-record three-game winning streak. Graham Fields scored the Chargers’ goal in the second half.

FIELD HOCKEY
SALEM 3, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 0: Audrey Boggs broke a scoreless tie with a third-quarter goal and assisted on the Rams’ other two second-half goals by Kashira Patterson and Julliana Love. Ava Rogers made five saves in posting the shutout.

Heading into Saturday’s cutoff, Salem is No. 10 in the South Jersey Group I standings. Unbeaten Schalick is 2, Woodstown 6 and Pennsville 17.

VOLLEYBALL
SALEM TECH 2, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 1: The Chargers rallied from dropping the first set to score their third win of the season. The set scores were 16-25, 25-13, 25-12. Tori Farnkoph had eight kills and 10 aces to lead the way. Tiara Bazemore had six kills and eight assists, Shelby Liber had seven aces and Alan’s James had six assists.

Battavio notches nifty 60

Woodstown senior becomes fifth player in girls soccer program to hit that milestone, and gets it on Senior Day; also, Thursday’s Salem County results

GIRLS SOCCER
Woodstown 3, Pennsville 1
Schalick 5, Penns Grove 0
Salem at Salem Tech

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – Talia Battavio took up soccer as a way to stay in shape and provide a fun release away from the demands of her first sport, basketball. And, as it turns out, she wound up being pretty good at it.

Four years into it, Battavio scored her 60th career goal and became the fifth player in Woodstown’s girls soccer history to reach that milestone Thursday when got her 13th goal of the season to seal the Wolverines 3-1 Senior Day victory over Pennsville.

The goal came late in the second half and gave the Wolverines (12-4-1) a two-goal cushion, and came in a fashion similar to the way she scores a lot of her points on the basketball court.

Battavio’s initial shot, with her left foot, banged off a defender, but she collected the rebound on her right foot at the 18 and let it fly.

“I didn’t know that was my 60th,” she said. “It was cool to get it on Senior Night and I’m glad we got the win.”

Gina Murray scored Woodstown’s first two goals after the teams played a scoreless first half. Battavio assisted on one of the goals, giving her 25 for her career (ninth on the all-time list). Her 125 scoring points are fifth on that all-time list.

“I actually thought today was her best game,” Wolverines coach Kieran Keyser said. “Talia is a gifted athlete and always finds ways to score, as displayed the last four seasons. But I think her most underrated skill is her ability to see the field and connect with her teammates. She consistently looks to make the final pass and set her teammates up to score.”

Woodstown’s other 60-goal scorers are Tatum Devault (75), Tori Malpezzi (70), Amy Gray (69) and Chelsea Norbuts (65). They’re also the only players ahead of Battavio on the program’s all-time points list.

By the time Battavio graduates this spring she will rank among the top five scorers in two sports at Woodstown. She currently is fifth on the school’s all-time scoring list in basketball (1,194).

“I think I’m very blessed and I’m glad that I got the opportunity to go to the trainers and have parents who will drive me to practices like every day,” she said.

Woodstown leading scorers

GIRLS SOCCER	G	A	PTS
Tatum Devault (2022)	75	42	192
Tori Malpezzi (2008)	70	33	173
Amy Gray (1993)	65	34	164
Chelsea Norbuts (2009)	69	22	160
Talia Battavio (2024)	60	25	145

SCHALICK 5, PENNS GROVE 0: The Cougars (12-4) completed a sweep of their Diamond Division schedule behind Abby Willoughby’s hat trick and single goals by freshman Kassady Sickler and Quinn Berger. Sickler’s goal was the first of her career.

Cover photo: Woodstown’s Talia Battavio takes a shot against Clayton in a match earlier this month.

BOYS SOCCER
SCHALICK 6, PENNS GROVE 0: Luke Price scored two goals and Anthony Sepers recorded three assists as the Cougars (15-1) won their tenth straight game. Brad Foster, Oscar Hernandez, Louis Sepers and Marco Spinnato scored their other goals.
WOODSTOWN 2, PITMAN 1: The Wolverines gave coach Darren Huck his 300th career victory. (See related story)
PENNSVILLE 6, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 1: Michael Veasy scored two goals and Shane Puckett had a goal and three assists for the Eagles (10-7). It was their fifth win in the last six games.
SALEM TECH 4, SALEM 2: Clinton Bobo scored two goals in the second half as the Chargers won their NJSIAA school-record third in a row. Jack McCauley and Christian VanTonder gave the Chargers (6-10) a 2-0 halftime lead.

GIRLS TENNIS
PENNSVILLE 3, SCHALICK 2
(conclusion of susp. match)
Emma Adams (S) def. Megan Morris, 6-2, 6-3
Ally Green (S) def. Regan Whitt, 6-0, 6-0
Lily Edwards (P) def. Miya Watkins, 6-0, 6-0
Emma Cornette-Gabi Forino (P) def. Julia Langley-Helana Tyers, 6-2, 6-2
Izzy Schrenker-Naomi Hess (P) def. Kayleigh Veach-Annie Podehl, 6-3, 6-3
Records: Pennsville 20-1, Schalick 9-8.

FIELD HOCKEY
HAMMONTON 6, WOODSTOWN 1: Sienna Land scored the Wolverines’ goal in the third quarter.

VOLLEYBALL
Timber Creek at Salem Tech

Hadfield wins TCC race

Schalick senior getting back on track after stretch of illness slowed her down, now turns her attention to sectionals, state

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

SEABROOK – Jordan Hadfield is starting to feel like her old self again – just in time for the biggest races of the year.

The Schalick senior had been fighting through an illness she knows not what that combined with a heavy race schedule impacted her from being in top form.

She was still feeling some of it Wednesday at the Tri-County Conference Showcase, but felt a lot closer to being back, winning the girls race for the second year in a row. She covered the Cumberland Regional course in 18:57.51.

“I’m definitely a little bit more happy about where we’re heading toward sectionals,” she said. “Just from getting over being sick it’s hard to get back into it, so running high 18s just for getting back is not bad.

“With the sectionals coming up (at Dream Park) I have a week and a half to get myself together. I’ll definitely have to focus in training. Now that I feel better we’ll definitely do better.”

Race followers sensed something was wrong at the Salem County Championship when Hadfield ran a 19:15.79 to win the race and was physically upset about it. It was part of a grueling stretch of three races in eight days.

It was such a grind she sat out last week’s TCC Batch Meet in which the Cougars clinched their division championship in order to be ready for Wednesday and the rest of the season.

“I typically am not like the person to be sick all the time, I kind of get lucky with that stuff, and this part of the season is not a good time to get sick,” she said. “I’m so thankful it was not during sectionals and things.

“Today’s race was just about seeing where we are after you’re being sick and just getting back into it, and running somewhat close to what you used to be able to so that this week and a half will be just refining that.”

Hadfield went out in Wednesday’s race “a little slower than I would’ve preferred,” but still at a pace she felt comfortable. The contenders ran together for about the first two miles, then she picked up the pace because she didn’t want it to come down to a big push at the end and led the rest of the race.

She beat runner-up Sophia Aldridge of Williamston to the wire by nine seconds. Wildwood’s Macie McCracken was third, another 16 seconds back.

The next fastest Salem County finisher after Hadfield was Woodstown’s Abby Marino, who finished 11th (20:31.07). Salem Tech’s Sarah Seiden was 21st (21:21.04).

Schalick finished sixth as a team. Delsea won the girls team title, squeezing all its counters in a tight 78-second pack between sixth and 15th.

Glassboro’s Ty Blackman won the boys race in 15:49.74. Highland Regional won the team title, placing four of its five counters among the top 13.

Woodstown’s Cole Lucas and county champion Karson Chew finished 11th and 17th, respectively, to help the Wolverines to a fifth-place team finish. Schalick was 11th, Salem Tech 14th and Salem 16th.

Hadfield is still trying to decide her college future, but her choice appears to be coming down between St. Joe’s and the University of Rhode Island.

Tri-County Showcase

BOYS TEAM SCORES: Highland 63, Williamstown 89, Kingsway 96, Glassboro 119, Woodstown 159, Delsea 167, Clearview 172, Washington Twp. 176, Timber Creek 186, GCIT 205, Schalick 306, Pitman 350, Deptford 360, Salem Tech 406, Cumberland 412, Salem 438, Clayton 505.
GIRLS TEAM SCORES: Delsea 57, Williamstown 71, Washington Twp. 74, Kingsway 78, Clearview 79, Schalick 156, Pitman 197, GCIT 204, Cumberland 256.

BOYS TOP 15	TIME	GIRLS TOP 15	TIME
Ty Blackman, Glassboro	15:49.74	Jordan Hadfield, Schalick	18:57.71
Matthew Littlehales, Delsea	16:00.24	Sophia Aldridge, Williamstown	19:06.74
Ryan Duffy, Kingsway	16:17.03	Macie McCracken, Wildwood	19:22.13
Mason Wassell, Highland	16:26.16	Kaylee Russen, Wash Twp.	19:34.49
Dominic Burgio, Williamstown	16:29.94	Rachael Wilson, Wash Twp.	19:50.63
Ethan Worst, Clearview	16:33.71	Aubrey Bishop, Kingsway	19::59.63
Hunter Bostwick, Wash Twp	16:36.96	Lyana Gutierrez, Highland	20:03.21
Dylan Saber, Williamstown	16:40.63	Juliana Sieminski, Delsea	20:11.15
Andrew Dopkin, Highland	16:49.61	Delaney Harbison, Williamstown	20:14.38
Logan Pavelik, Williamstown	16:52.78	Alaina Zabielski, Kingsway	20:20.04
Cole Lucas, Woodstown	16:54.94	Abby Marino, Woodstown	20:31.07
Andrew Kellem, Highland	17:10.19	Laney Vecchio, Delsea	20:34.33
Colin Roznowski, Highland	17:10.57	Lilla Porter, Clearview	20:46.91
Ryne Handley, Clearview	17:15.45	Julia Burgio, Williamstown	20:52.87
Jaeden Wesley, Glassboro	17:18.16	Emily Luther, Triton	20:57.50

Girls tennis

WOODSTOWN 5, GLASSBORO 0
Gabby Kurpis (Wo) def. Ella Killelea, 6-0, 6-1
Camille Osborn (Wo) def. Kaylee Johnson, 6-1, 6-1
Aubrie Rennie (Wo) def. Halle Lazarus, 6-0, 6-0
Leah Waterman-Julianna Lindenmuth (Wo) def. Alana Killelea-Taylor Adcock, 6-1, 6-0
Melissa Hassler-EvaLouisa Thomsen (Wo) def. Virginia Tarasevich-Alice Dinzeo, 6-0, 6-1
Records: Woodstown 15-5, Glassboro 5-10

Closing on a milestone

Woodstown gives coach Darren Huck his 299th career coaching victory in 4-0 shutout of Glassboro; also includes Tuesday’s Salem County sports results

BOYS SOCCER
Overbrook 2, Penns Grove 1 (OT)
Pennsville 5, Clayton 1
Salem Tech 4, Gloucester Catholic 3
Schalick 2, Pitman 0
Wildwood 9, Salem 0
Woodstown 4, Glassboro 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – The milestone has been on the horizon since the start of the season, but now it’s right there on the doorstep.

Adrian Ibarra scored twice and Ben Stengel came up with another shutout as Woodstown blanked Glassboro Tuesday 4-0 to give coach Darren Huck his 299th career coaching victory.

Huck, in his 26th season at the Wolverines’ helm, can become the second Salem County soccer coach to reach 300 wins as early as Thursday in the regular-season finale against Pitman at Alcyon Park.

Schalick’s boys coach Joe Mannella, Huck’s good friend and neighbor, became the first Salem County soccer coach to reach the milestone on Oct. 2.

“People would bring it up and I kept saying I’ve got a ways to go, I’ve got a ways to go, and here we are at 13-4,” Huck said. “It’s definitely a weird feeling because I’m a numbers guy, I love numbers in sports, I’m always looking at different statistics and stuff like that.

“You know how I am about the history of our soccer program, but when it came to me I never really thought about ever being in this situation. Whether I played it off as I don’t know if I’ll be coaching that long or maybe I won’t win as much as I did. As a coach I always downplayed that a little bit, but in all honesty for a while it was like that will be a while before I get to that.”

Ibarra gave the Wolverines (13-4) a 1-0 halftime lead, then scored the first goal of the second half and 46th of his career. Bryce Ayars made it 3-0 and Dante Holmes scored the final goal of the game. Stengel was credited with five saves in the shutout.

“My defense definitely stepped up; they’ve been stepping up all season,” Huck said. “We had a little talk at halftime – we were up 1-0 and were pretty much controlling the game – I looked right at Dante Holmes, my center back, and my two other backs and Ben and I said over the next 40 minutes you guys need to win this game for us. You keep them off the board we win the game.

“Allow the offense to keep working at it and working at it, but you know what you’ve got ahead of yourselves. It’s a 1-0 game and if you can lock ‘em down for 40 minutes than we’ve got ourselves win No. 13. And they did that.”

And it gave their coach win No. 299.

The victory also elevated the Wolverines to No. 2 in the current South Jersey Group I power points standings.

When Mannella joined the 300 Club at Wildwood, the feat was met with a commemorative game ball, balloons spelling out “300” and a healthy dousing from the water bucket. Not that Huck is expecting any of that when his entry into the 300 Club becomes official, but he has never had the water bucket treatment before.

“I always said I’d love to be able to share that (milestone) within the same year of him,” Huck told Riverview Sports News last month. “It also means we’ve been around a long time, too. We’ve had some very good players and, if anything, 300 is just a true testament to staying consistent and doing the right things.”

SALEM TECH 4, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 3: Clinton Bobo scored the tying and winning goals in the Chargers’ three-goal second-half rally that erased a 3-1 deficit. Aiden Bobo scored in the first half and Bobby Jones got the Chargers’ first goal in the second half.

“We were dragging in the first half,” Chargers coach Rob Polk said. “They were beating us to every ball over the field.

“We talked mainly at halftime about effort and coming out fast in the second half. We’ve been playing pretty well the last couple weeks and I was pretty confident if we came out and found a way to pop a goal in early the momentum would shift and more would follow. We were fortunate enough to finish an early chance and the game kind of opened up for us after that.”

The Chargers (5-10) have their eye on a school-record third straight win Thursday at Salem.

PENNSVILLE 5, CLAYTON 1: Shane Puckett scored the Eagles’ first three goals — his first career hat trick — and Ugur Elmali and J.P. Laughrey extended the lead with goals in the final three minutes.

SCHALICK 2, PITMAN 0: Oscar Hernandez and Luke Price scored first-half goals in the Cougars’ ninth straight victory. The Cougars (14-1) remain the No. 1 team in the South Jersey Group I power points standings.

WILDWOOD 9, SALEM 0: NuNu Bedderi and Gavin Burns both scored hat tricks for the Warriors. For Bedderi it was his second straight three-goal game. He now has 30 goals in his first season playing high school soccer in the United States.

OVERBROOK 2, PENNS GROVE 1 (OT)

GIRLS SOCCER
Wildwood at Salem

SCHALICK 4, PENNSVILLE 0: The Cougars outshot their hosts 24-6, scored two goals in each half and had four players light the lamp. Quinn Berger and Abby Willoughby scored in the first half, while Cali Fisler and Jael Winnberg scored in the second. (Related story posting soon)

WOODSTOWN 1, GLASSBORO 0: Sophie Wells scored the game’s only goal in the first half and goalie Ellie Wygand kept the Bulldogs out of the net to make it stand.

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 6, SALEM TECH 0: Six players scored goals for the Rams.

OVERBROOK 7, PENNS GROVE 0: Gianna Simon scored four goals and Victoria Bupp had three.

GIRLS TENNIS
OVERBROOK 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Keira Riess (O) def. Alease Stewart, 6-0, 6-0
Nesrine Fosso (O) def. Andrea Restrepo, 6-0, 6-1
Sophia Burgos (O) def. Zeven Akkaya, 6-0, 6-1
Hillary Cho-Jennifer Giovanni (O) def. Janiyah Cummings-Makala Washington, 6-1, 6-2
Madison Rikard-Gianna Hardy (O) def. Elif Sagir-Gabriela Roman, 6-0, 6-0.
Records: Overbrook 6-14, Penns Grove 0-12

WOODSTOWN 4, WILDWOOD 1
Gabby Kurpis (Wo) def. Charlie Cunningham-Hackney, 6-0, 6-0
Camille Osborn (Wo) def. Cydnee Kilian, 6-1, 6-0
Angela Wilber (Wi) def. Aubrie Rennie, 6-2, 6-2
Alyssa Berry-Julianna Lindenmuth (Wo) def. Kiana D’Antuano-Estella Robinson, 6-1, 6-0
Leah Waterman-Nathalie Neron (Wo) def. Selin Ogden-Emma Contreras, 6-0, 6-1
Records: Woodstown 14-5, Wildwood 7-8

FIELD HOCKEY
Woodstown at St. Joe (Hamm.)

PENNSVILLE 1, OVERBROOK 1: Izzy Saulin scored in the fourth quarter to earn the Eagles (5-8-2) a tie.

VOLLEYBALL
Washington Twp. 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-11, 25-18)

Repeat performance

Rich, VanHorn repeat as NJTAC cross country champions; Passaic Tech boys, Morris County girls win team titles; also, Monday’s Salem County results

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN — Julian Rich of Camden County Tech and Morris Tech’s Maya VanHorn repeated as individual champions at the NJTAC Cross Country Championships Monday and did it in the same fashion they won here at Salem Tech a year ago.

Rich won the boys race with a sprint to the finish, hitting the tape in a PR of 16:40.79 – six-tenths of a second ahead of Victor Mielnik of Passaic Tech. Rich won last year’s race by an even closer margin – 0.32.

VanHorn won her third straight tech school state title, going wire-to-wire and finishing in 18:46.20, 11 seconds faster than last year’s winning time and more than 90 second better than runner-up Micah Dilello of Sussex Tech. She beat Dilello by more than two minutes last year.

Rich, Mielnik and GCIT’s Connor Auge broke out of the pack early and stayed out front the whole race. Rich had given some thought to ripping it off the start and hoping the other contenders wouldn’t follow, but when they stayed together through the first half mile he decided to hang back and let the race play out.

It came down to Rich and Mielnik down the stretch. Mielnik pulled slightly ahead just as they got to the final rise and Rich picked it up to stay with him. Well aware of Mielnik’s strong finishing kick, Rich sprinted down in the finishing chute to pull it out at the end, putting him in a good place for Thursday’s Olympic Conference meet at Dream Park

“I was coming into this race for a confidence booster,” Rich said. “I’ve been a little down on the last races, but after today I feel so much better. My confidence in high again.

“I’ve had quite a few races like that, more in track than cross country because I’m a better 3200 runner than a 5K runner. I’ve done that quite a lot of times. I’ve been doing that since like fourth grade. It’s definitely fun doing that. It puts on a show for everyone. I love doing what I do. I’ve figured out how to run these finishes.”

There was no such drama in the girls race. VanHorn quickly moved to the front of the pack at the start and steadily stretched the lead. It was her seventh win in eight races this year.

The high heat and low humidity made the run a little more difficult but she tried to build momentum in the shady portion of the Salem Tech course. With the Morris County Championships the next day, she was trying her best to run hard and smart.

**Morris County Tech’s Maya VanHorn shows off her medal after winning a third straight NJTAC cross country title.**

“It feels awesome to win it for a third time,” she said. “I wanted a three-peat. I wanted my three trophies. I already have two in my room. Three is my lucky number.”

She was especially happy about the win because it got her team off to a good start. The Devils won the girls teams title, placing three runners in the top five and four in the top 10. Passaic Tech won the boys title, putting three runners in the top 10.

Salem Tech’s Sarah Seiden was the top finisher among local runners. The senior maneuvered around a pack early in her race and finished fifth (22:27.53), three spots better than her finish here last year. She runs again Wednesday in the Tri-County Conference Showcase at Cumberland.

“I won’t ever take it easy; you should go all out no matter what,” she said. “Tomorrow is for rest and then I’ve got to bring it again Wednesday. Today’s time was definitely not my best – I like to be in the teens – but, again, I race on Wednesday and that one is very important to me.”

Salem Tech finished seventh in the boys standings; Dominic Militti was their top finisher (19:17.41, 29th). The Chargers girls didn’t have enough runners to post a team score.

Cover photo: Camden Tech’s Julian Rich (L) sprints past Passaic’s Victor Mielnik down the stretch to win the NJTAC boys race.

NJTAC Championship

BOYS TEAM SCORES: Passaic Tech 47, GCIT 56, Morris Tech 70, Camden Tech 114, Sussex Tech 124, Medford Tech 148, Salem Tech 185, West Tech 234, Cape May Tech 266, West Caldwell 268, Warren Tech 288, ACIT 296, Newark Tech 357, East Brunswick Magnet 389.
GIRLS TEAM SCORES: Morris Tech 37, GCIT 58, Passaic Tech 109, ACIT 123, Camden Tech 131, Sussex Tech 142, Warren Tech 147, Cape May Tech 168.

BOYS TOP 10	TIME	GIRLS TOP 10	TIME
Julian Rich, Camden	16:40.79	Maya VanHorn, Morris	18:46.20
Victor Mielnik, Passaic	16:41.39	Micah Dilello, Sussex	20:25.86
Connor Auge, GCIT	16:53:27	Aditi Mukundhan, Morris	21:05.19
David Cunha, Sussex	17:32.96	Jordan Moczydlowski, GCIT	21:43.41
Tejas Panwar, Morris	17:35.08	Sarah Seiden, Salem	22:27.53
Michael DeCarlo, Passaic	17:37.28	Grace Corcoran, Morris	22:30.23
Owen DeLuca, GCIT	17:39.15	Grace Napoli, Passaic	22:45.66
Vansh Patel, Morris	17:40.96	Natalie Pandolfo, GCIT	22:52.75
John Swaney, Passaic	17:44.76	Janelle Sanabria, West	22:56.63
Kevin Feaster, W. Caldwell	17:55.87	Olivia Davis, Warren	23:08.14

Monday’s sports report

Here are the scores and highlights from Monday’s high school action involving Salem County teams

FIELD HOCKEY
Woodstown 6, Overbrook 0: Brae DiGregorio scored two goals and assisted on three others as the Cougars’ offense came back to life, snapping a four-game winless and goal-less slump.

Schalick 10, Deptford 0: Ava Scurry and Phoebe Alward both scored hat tricks as the Cougars (15-0-1) hit double digits for the second time this season and clinched the Tri-County Diamond Division title. Scurry’s hat trick gave her a single-season school record 34 goals. Addi Shimp, Carlen Taylor, Luci Virga and Alexa Shimp also scored goals.

Salem 3, Gloucester Catholic 0: Kashira Patterson scored two goals and freshman Samiyah Moore scored the first goal of her career to lead the Rams (7-4-1). Ava Rogers faced just one shot in posting her sixth shutout.

GIRLS TENNIS
WOODSTOWN 4, SCHALICK 1
Ally Green (S) def. Gabby Kurds, 6-0, 6-4
Camille Osborn (Wo) def. Miya Watkins, 6-3, 7-5
Aubrie Rennie (Wo) def. Macy Clow, 6-1, 6-0
Julianna Lindenmuth-Alyssa Berry (Wo) def. Julia Langley-Helana Tyers, 7-5, 6-1
Noelle Neron-Nathalie Neron (Wo) def. Kayleigh Veach-Annie Podehl, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Woodstown 13-5, Schalick 9-7

PENNSVILLE 5, OVERBROOK 0
Megan Morris (P) def. Keira Riess, 6-2, 6-3
Regan Witt (P) def. Nesrine Fosso, 6-2, 6-2
Lily Edwards (P) def. Sophia Burgos, 6-2, 6-0
Emma Cornette-Morgan Holt (P) def. Jennifer Giovanni-Gianna Hardy, 6-2, 6-0
Naomi Hess-Izzy Schrenker (P) def. Madison Rikard-Gianna Hardy, 6-1, 6-0
Records: Pennsville 19-1, Overbrook 5-14

PITMAN 5, SALEM 0
Anna Fisicaro (P) def. Cassidy Werkheiser, 6-0, 6-0
Colette Rollins (P) def. Tytiana Miller, 6-0, 6-0
Ava Mollehhauer (P) def. Angelina Fothergill, 6-0, 6-1
Kendall Bennett-Amanda Bradley (P) def. Tahirah Davenport White-Heaven Jones McCullough, 6-1, 6-0
Megan Mazzola-Ella Ralph (P) def. Destiny Carr-Bianca Gibson, 6-2, 6-2
Records: Pitman 20-4, Salem 2-10

BOYS SOCCER
Penns Grove 2, Bridgeton 0: The Red Devils scored a goal in each half and junior keeper Dwayne Guzman made 12 saves to preserve the shutout in what coach Mano Massari called “our biggest win of the season.” The Red Devils (7-7) moved into ninth place in the South Jersey Group I power points standings with the victory over the Group 4 Bulldogs. (See related story)

VOLLEYBALL
Cape May Tech 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-21, 25-20)