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)

This week’s schedule

Here is this week’s Salem County sports schedule for the week of Oct. 21-26

OCT. 21
FIELD HOCKEY
Salem at Gloucester Catholic
Schalick at Deptford
Woodstown at Overbrook
GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Overbrook, 3:45 p.m.
Pitman at Salem
Woodstown at Schalick
BOYS SOCCER
Bridgeton at Penns Grove
Salem at Camden County Tech
CROSS COUNTRY
State Tech Championship at Salem Tech
VOLLEYBALL
Cape May County Tech at Salem Tech

OCT. 22
BOYS SOCCER
Glassboro at Woodstown
Gloucester Catholic at Salem Tech
Overbrook at Penns Grove
Pennsville at Clayton
Pitman at Schalick, 6 p.m.
Salem at Wildwood
GIRLS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Overbrook
Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic
Schalick at Pennsville
Wildwood at Salem
Woodstown at Glassboro
GIRLS TENNIS
Overbrook at Penns Grove
Woodstown at Wildwood
FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville at Overbrook
Woodstown at St. Joe (Hamm.)
VOLLEYBALL
Washington Twp. at Salem Tech
WOMENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Cecil College at Salem CC, 6 p.m.

OCT. 23
FIELD HOCKEY
Salem at Schalick
GIRLS TENNIS
Glassboro at Woodstown
Salem at Overbrook
Wildwood at Penns Grove
CROSS COUNTRY
Tri-County Showcase at Cumberland

OCT. 24
FIELD HOCKEY
Woodstown at Hammonton
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville
Woodstown at Pitman
Salem Tech at Salem
Schalick at Penns Grove
GIRLS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Schalick
Salem at Salem Tech
Pennsville at Woodstown
GIRLS TENNIS
Schalick at Pennsville (conclusion of susp. match), 3:45 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Timber Creek at Salem Tech

OCT. 25
FOOTBALL
Woodstown at Glassboro, 6 p.m.
Audubon at Camden Catholic
Paulsboro at Clayton, TBA
Collingswood at Pennsville
Overbrook at West Deptford
Woodbury at Schalick, 6 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Pennsville at Overbrook
Salem Tech at Wildwood Catholic
GIRLS SOCCER
Salem at Paulsboro
GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown at Pennsville
FIELD HOCKEY
Gloucester Catholic at Salem
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic

OCT. 26
FOOTBALL
Salem at Penns Grove, noon
GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick at Williamstown, 10 a.m.
MENS COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Baltimore JUCO Jamboree
Salem CC vs. Anne Arundel, noon
Salem CC vs. Southern Maryland, 6 p.m.

Friday sports report

Here are the scores from Friday’s high school sports action involving teams from Salem County

FRIDAY, OCT. 18
FIELD HOCKEY
Egg Harbor Twp. 0, Woodstown 0

BOYS SOCCER
Salem Tech 2, Clayton 1
Salem at Gloucester Catholic
Schalick 4, Glassboro 1
Woodstown 3, Overbrook 1

GIRLS SOCCER
Clayton 5, Salem Tech 0
Gloucester Catholic at Salem
Pennsville 3, Penns Grove 0
Woodstown 3, Overbrook 1

GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville 5, Salem 0
Pitman 5, Penns Grove 0
Schalick at Glassboro

VOLLEYBALL
Triton 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-4, 25-5)

Quick strike

Penns Grove scores in first 20 seconds of the match, goes on to beat Pennsville in boys soccer, includes Wednesday’s Salem County results

WEDNESDAY BOYS SOCCER
Penns Grove 2, Pennsville 0
Pitman 6, Salem 0
Woodstown 4, Salem Tech 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – If you missed the start of Wednesday’s Penns Grove-Pennsville soccer game, even by a minute, you missed half of the goals in the game.

Junior midfielder Joey Schultz packed a pass from Sebastian Hernandez into the upper right corner 21 seconds into the match to send Penns Grove on its way to a 2-0 victory that garnered the Red Devils some valuable power points.

“I can’t remember one happening that fast, to be honest with you,” Penns Grove coach Mano Massari said. “I’ve been here about nine years coaching, started four years here as a player, I’ve never seen one that fast.”

The goal wasn’t a case of the Red Devils simply kicking the ball into the Pennsville end, chasing it down and putting it away before anyone knew what hit them.

Pennsville went long with the opening kick as it’s been known to do when it gets the first ball. The Red Devils gained possession and Hernandez made a long run up the right wing with Schultz trailing right behind.

Hernandez drew in a couple defenders, saw an open space and pushed a Bangu ball to Schultz who had peeled off towards the six in the box and beat Eagles keeper Coen Rinnier.

“We’ve been working on that a lot, transitioning from defense to offense,” Massari said. “We feel like we’ve lacked doing that early in the season. We’ve been practicing transitioning up together as one and what we’ve been practicing’s been working, and it showed there in the first 20 seconds of the game. That’s why we practice these things.”

Schultz remembers getting an assist that early in a game with his club team before, but he’s never scored that quickly before. He was looking forward to seeing the replay on the game film.

“That spark came through,” he said. “It really made me feel good. It brought a lot out of me. It makes me want to take this a little more serious, I guess.”

It certainly got the Eagles’ attention. No one ever expects to be in catch-up mode that quickly into a match.

“I had barely turned around and the ball was in the back of our net,” Pennsville coach Derek Foglein said. “We talked about the fact that this season when we’ve been on the front foot and we’ve jumped on teams it made the difference and when good teams come out and jump on us it makes a difference. Ultimately, that was a huge difference there.

“That first goal, when you blink and now you’re chasing the game … We knew they were a really strong defensive team so trying to find one goal was going to be hard enough and now we need to find at least one to send it to overtime.”

The early goal gave the Red Devils confidence and calmed them. They made it 2-0 with 17:42 left in the half on an own goal credited to Edward Swank. The Eagles settled into the second half, but had a two-goal deficit to overcome.

Schultz wasn’t in at the finish. He hurt his right ankle playing a 50-50 ball early in the game and eventually was lifted for precautionary reasons. The Red Devils have another big game Thursday night at Pitman, a match that could keep their dream of landing a first-round home playoff game alive.

The Red Devils started the season 1-3 and lost their leading scorer to a broken leg, but they’ve won three of their last five and are now tenth in the South Jersey Group I power points standings. They’re about a half-point out of the final first-round home game in the bracket.

“We want to make it to the dance, we want to make it to the playoffs,” Massari said. “Ideally I’d like a home playoff game. I want these guys to experience that; they deserve it. We put ourselves in a hole in the beginning of the year, starting to get hot at the right time.

“I don’t want to look too far ahead. I’d like us to just focus on tomorrow. I feel good about where we’re at, I feel good about the way we’re playing, but I’m trying to get them to understand we’re not looking past our next opponent.”

WOODSTOWN 4, SALEM TECH 0: Adrian Ibarra scored twice, Bryce Ayars scored for the second game in a row and Blake Bialecki netted a goal. The win takes Wolverines coach Darren Huck to within three of 300 career coaching wins.

PITMAN 6, SALEM 0: Brayden Carr scored two goals and assisted on both of Lucas Razze’s goals to lead the Panthers (7-5-1).

Cover photo: Penns Grove’s Sebastian Hernandez pushes the ball upfield against Pennsville Wednesday.

GIRLS SOCCER
Gloucester at Schalick
Penns Grove at Paulsboro
Pennsville 6, Salem 0
Woodstown 7, Salem Tech 0: The Wolverines (9-4-1) got goals from seven players, including Talia Battavio’s 57th career goal. Their last six wins have all been by shutout.

GIRLS TENNIS
Schalick 4, Haddon Heights 1
Pennsville 5, Millville 0: Eagles coach Dan LaMont gets his 300th career win with the Pennsville girls program. (Related story posting soon)

Tuesday sports report

Here are the results of Tuesday’s high school action involving Salem County teams

GIRLS TENNIS
Group I Sectional Finals
Pitman 4, Pennsville 1 (see related story)
Regular Season
Schalick 3, Wildwood 2
SALEM 5, PENNS GROVE 1
Cassidy Werkheiser (S) def. Amaris Butler, 6-3, 6-3
Tytiana Miller (S) won by forfeit
Tahirah Davenport-White (S) def. Janiyah Cummings, 6-3, 6-4
Destiny Carr-Heaven Jones-McCullough (S) def. Emma Griffin-Makala Washington, 6-1, 6-0
JaNye Hubbard-Bianca Gibson (S) def. Elif Sagir-Gabriela Roman, 6-0, 6-1
Records: Salem 1-8, Penns Grove 0-10.

FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville 2, Deptford 0: Kylie Harris and Makenzie Widener scored first-half goals for the Eagles (5-7-1)
Glassboro 2, Salem 1: Jocelyn O’Brien scored her second goal of the game with 6:03 left in the third quarter to snap a 1-1 tie. Kashira Patterson gave Salem (5-4-1) a 1-0 lead with a first-quarter goal.
Schalick 2, St. Joe (Hamm.) 2: Ava Scurry (28th) and Phoebe Alward (15th) scored goals as the Cougars remained unbeaten (13-0-1).

CROSS COUNTRY
Calhoun County boys champion Karson Chew of Woodstown finished second in the boys race at the TCC Batch Meet at Kingsway. He ran 18:16.07. Teammate Jacob Marino was sixth (18:31.61).

Woodstown’s Abby Marino, the county runner-up, was the fastest Salem County finisher in the girls race, coming in fourth at 21:04.09. Salem Tech’s Sarah Seiden was eighth (22:45.31).

This week’s schedule

Here is the high school sports schedule for Salem County teams for the week of Oct. 14-19

MONDAY, OCT. 14
BOYS SOCCER
Palmyra at Schalick
Woodstown at Clayton, 11 a.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Woodstown at Clayton, 1 p.m.

TUESDAY, OCT. 15
GIRLS TENNIS
Salem at Penns Grove
Wildwood at Schalick, 4:15 p.m.

Group I Sectional Finals
Pennsville at Pitman, Shertel Park, 3 p.m.
Glen Ridge at Hanover Park
New Providence at Highland Park
Pascack Hills at Glen Rock
CROSS COUNTRY
TCC Batch Meet at Kingsway, 3:30 p.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
Deptford at Pennsville
Glassboro at Salem
St. Joe’s at Schalick
BOYS SOCCER
Salem at Highland
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Cape May Tech

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 16
BOYS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Pennsville, 3:30 p.m.
Pitman at Salem
Woodstown at Salem Tech
GIRLS SOCCER
Gloucester at Schalick
Penns Grove at Paulsboro
Salem at Pennsville, 6 p.m.
Salem Tech at Woodstown
GIRLS TENNIS
Haddon Heights at Schalick
Pennsville at Millville, 3:45 p.m.

THURSDAY, OCT. 17
FIELD HOCKEY
Overbrook at Schalick
Pennsville at Bridgeton
Salem at Clayton
Woodstown at Clearview
GIRLS TENNIS
Overbrook at Woodstown
Penns Grove at Schalick
Salem at Glassboro

Group I Final Four
Mercer County Park
Semifinals, 11 a.m.
Championship Match, 1 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Pitman, 6:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, OCT. 18
FOOTBALL
Pennsville at Lawrence, 6:30 p.m.
Collingswood at Camden Catholic
Glassboro at Schalick
Paulsboro at West Deptford
FIELD HOCKEY
Egg Harbor Twp. at Woodstown
BOYS SOCCER
Clayton at Salem Tech
Salem at Gloucester Catholic
Schalick at Glassboro
Woodstown at Overbrook
GIRLS SOCCER
Clayton at Salem Tech
Gloucester Catholic at Salem
Pennsville at Penns Grove
Overbrook at Woodstown
GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Salem, 3:45 p.m.
Penns Grove at Pitman
Schalick at Glassboro
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Triton

SATURDAY, OCT. 19
FOOTBALL
Penns Grove at Woodbury, 10:30 a.m.
Audubon at Overbrook, 11 a.m.
Woodstown at Salem, noon
GIRLS SOCCER
Cherry Hill West at Schalick

Thursday sports report

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

BOYS SOCCER
Schalick 2, Woodstown 0: Louis Sepers and Brad Foster scored the goals and keeper Ben Stengel made seven saves for the Cougars’ first shutout in the series since 2021. “This was the first time this group has shut them out, which is something we wanted to do,” Schalick coach Joe Mannella said.

Pennsville 3, Salem 0: Griffin Hern and Shane Puckett scored goals three minutes apart in the first half for the Eagles (8-6) and Evan Pessoa extended the lead seven minutes into the second. The victory matches the Eagles’ single-season high in coach Derek Foglein’s tenure; they were 8-10 in 2022.

Penns Grove 2, Glassboro 1: Edward Swank scored with nine minutes left in the second half to break a 1-1 tie. It was his second game-winner of the season. The Red Devils lost a 2-1 game to the Bulldogs earlier this year and lost a pair of 1-0 games to them last season. Goalie Dwayne Guzman made three big saves in the final 15 minutes to keep the game tied or preserve the lead.

Wildwood 6, Salem Tech 1: NuNu Bedderi scored three goals for the Warriors, playing their first game since losing to Schalick 3-2 in Cougars coach Joe Mannella’s 300th career win Oct. 2. Sophomore Christian VanTonder scored his first career goal for the Chargers in the first half.

SJ GROUP I POWER POINTS STANDINGS (Top 16 thru Oct. 10): Schalick (10-1), Audubon (9-2), Palmyra (9-3), Haddon Twp. (7-2-2), Woodstown (9-4), Riverside (7-4-1), Pitman (6-5-1), Wildwood (8-3), Maple Shade (7-4-1), Glassboro (5-5-1), Penns Grove (5-6), Gateway (5-7), Pennsville (8-6), Clayton (6-6), Woodbury (3-7), Buena (0-9-1).

GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick 3, Woodstown 1: Quinn Berger scored twice and Olivia Vanacker scored once as the Cougars (9-2) won their fourth in a row and completed a season sweep of the Wolverines.

Pennsville 3, Overbrook 2: Riley Bowman had a goal and two assists as the Eagles opened a 3-0 lead and held on to avenge a loss to the Rams earlier in the season. Bowman assisted on goals by Kallie Morrison and Taylor Bass in the first half.

Pitman 6, Salem 0: Teagan Canna scored the first two goals of the match and the Panthers pulled away. Emery Sharpnack had a goal and two assists.

Glassboro 3, Penns Grove 0: Alana Figueroa, Marianna Dempster and Tamia Smith scored for the Bulldogs in the first half.

Wildwood 3, Salem Tech 2: The Warriors scored two goals in the second half to win. Goals by Ava Robinson and Julia Hewitt Friebel staked the Chargers to a 2-1 halftime lead.

SJ GROUP I POWER POINTS STANDINGS (Top 16 thru Oct. 10): Audubon (11-1), Schalick (9-2), Haddon Twp. (7-4-1), Riverside (9-4), Palmyra (10-2), Gateway (9-2), Woodstown (7-4-1), Clayton (7-3-1), Glassboro (6-3-2), Pitman (8-5), Maple Shade (3-7), Buena (6-6), Pennsville (4-9), Penns Grove (1-9-1), Wildwood (3-9), Cape May Tech (1-11).

FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick 4, Mainland 3: The Cougars jumped out to a 3-0 halftime lead and held on to remain undefeated (13-0). Luci Virga, Ava Marynowicz and Ava Scurry all scored in the first half. Caylen Taylor scored with 1:58 left in the third quarter after Mainland cut it to 3-2. It was the Cougars’ third one-goal win of the streak and sixth decided by two goals or less.

Gateway 5, Pennsville 0: Bella Fini scored a hat trick for the Gators (10-2).

Maple Shade 4, Salem 0: Sophia Weisler and Rachel Loomis each scored twice for the Wildcats. The Rams are winless in their last four with only one goal after starting the season 4-0.

SJ GROUP I POWER POINTS STANDINGS (Top 16 thru Oct. 10): Shore (14-1), Schalick (13-0), West Deptford (9-3), Haddon Heights (6-5-1), Gateway (10-2), Gloucester (8-5), Woodstown (8-3), Collingswood (5-5), Bordentown (5-6), Florence (5-7-1), Haddon Twp. (4-8), Salem (4-3-1), South Hunterdon (8-5), Lower Cape May (5-6-2), Audubon (6-4), Pennsville (4-7-1).

VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech 2, Gloucester Catholic 1: The Chargers won a tight third set to follow their first win of the season with their second in a row, 25-16, 23-25, 25-23. It’s the first time since 2021 they have won back-to-back matches.

Cori Farnkoph had 13 kills and eight aces. Tiara Bazemore had four kills, 13 assists and eight aces. Alan’s James had five kills and eight assists.