Schalick sweep

Cougars sweep boys and girls titles in Salem County XC Meet; Hadfield blows away girls field, Fuerneisen wins boys race for first time

AROUND THE COUNTY
WEDNESDAY’S SCORES
FIELD HOCKEY
Highland Regional 1, Pennsville 0
BOYS SOCCER
Overbrook 7, Salem 0
Penns Grove 5, Salem Tech 0
Pitman 1, Pennsville 0
Schalick 6, Clayton 0
Woodstown 5, Wildwood 1
GIRLS SOCCER
Overbrook 3, Salem 1
Penns Grove at Salem Tech
Pitman 1, Pennsville 0
Schalick 5, Clayton 0
GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville 5, Wildwood 0
Woodstown 5, West Deptford 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Missy Pine never ceases to be amazed at what she sees every time Jordan Hadfield steps on the cross country course.

A soccer player for most of high school career with some track experience in the spring, Hadfield decided to run cross country this fall and has really taken off. Like best girls runner in the state any classification taken off.

The Schalick junior was especially impressive Wednesday, blowing away the Salem County Meet record while winning the girls race in 18 minutes, 26 seconds on an absolutely perfect day to run on her home course. Amazingly, it came four days – four days – after she broke 19 for the first time at the South Jersey Open.

It was clean sweep for the Cougars. Charles Fuerneisen won the boys race for the first time in a personal best 16:58 and both Schalick teams ran away with team titles.

Hadfield was so dominant, she was more than three and a half minutes ahead of race runner-up Sarah Seiden of Salem Tech.

“She amazes every time that she goes out there,” Pine, the Schalick girls coach, said. “She just wants to better herself and better herself and better herself. I think she’s starting to realize what it takes to push herself and get a little bit better each time and she’s starting to be proud of the runs she puts forward even though I’m proud of her every week.

“It’s really difficult to come out and dominate the way that Jordan has this year. Cross country is a much more difficult sport than I think anybody anticipates or expects, and for her to dominate the way that she has it’s been amazing and inspiring to her teammates and the coaching staff as well.”

It isn’t always as easy as Hadfield sometimes make it – she does have “really bad races” – but there are times even she’s amazed with the immediate success she’s had. She admitted she was with Wednesday’s run.

“Today I was going for the school record,” she said. “I was really just trying to get into the 18s. I’m glad I finally did Saturday and today was just another step closer. It means more (to win) being at home, winning in front of everyone we go to school with. It means a lot.”

Fuerneisen has been chasing the county championship for three years, inching closer each year until finally grabbing the brass ring Wednesday. He was 10th as a sophomore and held on for a second-place finish last year.

“There was a lot of pressure to do it, even carrying over from last season, so to actually do it, I couldn’t be happier,” he said. “As long as the first two numbers were 16 I was going to be happy.”

It was a tight race early. Calling it “a perfect run” and saying it was the best he’s ever felt during a race, he got out to a fast first mile and as the pack came out of the woods he started to pull away. The last half of the race it was him against the clock and he won by a comfortable 44 seconds over Woodstown runner-up Karson Chew.

“Charles was hungry for it,” Cougars boys coach Justin Franzwa said. “I think this has been one he’s circled on his calendar for a while.”

In the team races, the Schalick boys had four of the seven medalists, going 1-3-5-7 – all under 19 minutes – and placed all five counters in the top 12. The Cougars finished second last year on their course.

“The whole team had a really good day; they’ve been working so hard,” Franzwa said. “As a team effort, we knew it all depended on how fast could Charles get out and how hard he could pull the rest of us. Credit to the other coaches. There were kids we could go against, that we could chase after, that really brought them along.”

The girls finished 1-3, had three in the top seven and placed all five counters in the top 10. Elizabeth Petrunis was third.

Salem County XC Championship

BOYS TEAM SCORES: Schalick 28, Salem Tech 68, Woodstown 73, Pennsville 83, Salem 108, Penns Grove 161.
GIRLS TEAM SCORES: Schalick 27, Woodstown 55, Salem Tech 56.

BOYS TOP 10		GIRLS TOP 10
Charles Fuerneisen, Sch	16:58	Jordan Hadfield, Sch	18:26
Karson Chew, Wood	17:42	Sarah Seiden, Tech	21:59
Matthew Tozer, Sch	17:54	Elizabeth Petrunis, Sch	22:19
Jacob Marino, Wood	18:21	Kayla Ayars, Wood	23:13
Sal Longo, Sch	18:26	Savannah Johnson, Tech	23:49
Gary Schwegen, Pv	18:37	Makayla Butz, Pv	24:12
Wyatt Juczak, Sch	18:51	Aubree McKishen, Sch	24:36
David Farrell, Wood	19:04	Sammy Sterner, Wood	24:43
Colton DiRenzo, Tech	19:13	Jordan Goode, Sch	24:50
Dominic Militti, Tech	19:14	Ava Melnick, Sch	25:21

Top 7 receive medals

Cover photo: Schalick’s Charles Fuerneisen (left) and Jordan Hadfield celebrate their respective wins in the Salem County Cross Country Championships.

This week’s schedule

Here is the high school sports schedule for Salem County teams for the week of Oct. 9-14; to submit corrections or alterations email al.muskewitz@gmail.com

Oct. 9
FIELD HOCKEY
Gloucester City at Salem, noon
Our Lady of Mercy at Schalick, 4 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Gateway at Woodstown, 10 a.m.
Paulsboro at Salem, 4 p.m.
Washington Twp. at Schalick, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick at Washington Twp., 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Audubon, 7 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Schalick at Haddon Heights, 4 p.m.

Oct. 10
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Salem, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Pennsville at Overbrook, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Gloucester Catholic at Salem, 4 p.m.

NJSIAA South Jersey Group I Tournament
Quarterfinals
Pennsville at Haddon Twp.
Pitman at Middle Twp.
Gateway at Woodstown
Audubon at Schalick

VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Washington Twp., 4 p.m.

Oct. 11
FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville at Highland Regional, 6 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Clayton at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Salem at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m.
Pennsville at Pitman, 7 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Overbrook at Salem, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Pitman, 5 p.m.
Schalick at Clayton, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at West Deptford, 4 p.m.

CROSS COUNTY
Salem County Championship at Schalick, 3:30 p.m.

Oct. 12
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick at Glassboro, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Paulsboro at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Gloucester Catholic at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Salem at Overbrook, 4 p.m.

VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Highland Regional, 4 p.m.

Oct. 13
FOOTBALL
Pennsville at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m.
Schalick at Cumberland, 7 p.m.
Woodstown at Haddonfield, 7 p.m.

FIELD HOCKEY
Salem at Gloucester Co. Tech, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Woodstown, 4 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Audubon at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Clayton at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Glassboro at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Salem at Wildwood, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Salem Tech at Clayton, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Glassboro, 4 p.m.

VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Camden Academy, 4 p.m.

Oct. 14
FOOTBALL
West Deptford at Salem, noon

FIELD HOCKEY
Gloucester City at Woodstown, 1 p.m.

Cover photo of Woodstown’s Anthony Ford Dale looking for running room against Woodbury by Ellen Sickler.

Instant impact

Thursday roundup: Louis Sepers scores a goal in his first game eligible with Schalick soccer team; Schalick’s Romano scores 200th coaching win, and more UPDATED

THURSDAY’S SCORES
BOYS SOCCER
Schalick 3, Pennsville 0
Salem Tech 1, Salem 1
GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick 6, Pennsville 0
Salem 9, Salem Tech 0
Woodstown 4, Penns Grove 0
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick 7, Cumberland 0
GIRLS TENNIS
South Jersey Group I Tournament
No. 2 Schalick 5, No. 15 Salem 0
No. 3 Woodstown 5, No. 14 Lindenwold 0
No. 4 Middle Twp. vs. No. 13 Penns Grove
No. 8 Pennsville 4, No. 9 Overbrook 1

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Louis Sepers has been chomping at the bit to get on the pitch for the Schalick boys soccer team and when he finally did, he made it count.

Sepers scored his first goal in his first game with the Cougars Thursday, a 3-0 Diamond Division road shutout of Pennsville.

The junior center midfielder transferred from Kingsway to play with his brother and cousin and had to sit out the last 31 days to restore his eligibility. He scored the last goal of the game with 5:15 to play.

“Definitely not,” Sepers said when asked if his debut could’ve gone any better. “It was a great game. We played really well. We knew coming in we need commitment, we need more leaders, so I came in here as a leader and started off.

“I’ve been going crazy. Just getting to go on the field and score a goal, just unbelievable. I never could have thought of it being any better.”

Sepers, who didn’t score in his two years with the Dragons, actually started the play that eventually led to his first Schalick goal. He sent a pass in to Luke Price, but Price got it caught on his foot in the box and fed it back to the trailing Sepers who fired point blank into the upper left corner.

“We had a feeling he would get one,” Cougars coach Joe Mannella said. “He’s been chomping at the bit to get out there. He’s a good player. He should have had one in the first half. He’s going to get his chances.”

Louis was one of three Sepers on the field for the Cougars Brother Anthony was in the game and cousin Evan posted the shutout.

Louis played his first two years at Kingsway. His brother and cousin were already at Schalick when he decided to join them, but enrolled after the Cougars had already started practicing, hence the delay.

He had been practicing with them since his arrival but was relegated to the sidelines while they went 7-3 in their first 10 games. The embargo ended just in time for him to get in a game before the Cougars’ showdown with rival Woodstown on the Wolverines’ football field Saturday night.

He brings them experience, composure and depth, all of which the Cougars will need Saturday already knowing they’ll go into the game without two starters. He spent 18 days this summer with the Spanish fourth tier club CD Numancia in Soria, and decided upon his return to The States he wanted to play with his sophomore siblings.

“They’ve been bugging me for years,” he said. “Since freshman year I was thinking about it, and I just ended up going to Kingsway, but they’ve been bugging me, especially my uncle.”

Steve Chomo scored the Cougars’ first two goals, both assisted by Oscar Hernandez. The first one was a partial breakaway with 22:01 left in the first half and the second came with 22:35 to play.

SALEM TECH 1, SALEM 1: Clinton Bobo’s goal in the second half earned the Crusaders (3-6-1) their tie. The Rams remain winless in 10 games (0-9-1)

GIRLS SOCCER
SCHALICK 6, PENNSVILLE 0: Emily Miller peppered her 25th and 26th goals of the season in between Quinn Berger’s hat trick — all in the first half — as the Cougars (8-2) overran the undermanned Eagles (3-7-2). Jael Winnberg scored the Cougars’ final goal in the the second half. All but one of the Cougars’ wins have been by shutout.

WOODSTOWN 4, PENNS GROVE 0: Talia Battavio scored two goals and Delaney Walker and Sophie Wells each had one for the Wolverines (5-6). Calista Hunt and Emma Perry each had two assists.

SALEM 9, SALEM TECH 0: Karima Davenport-White scored four goals as the Rams (3-6-1) won for the second time in their last three games. Ryann Foote had a goal and two assists, Xin Shen had two assists, and Carlysia Pierce, Lyric Hayes, Ameriyona Hunter and Jayla Turner each scored a goal.

FIELD HOCKEY
SCHALICK 7, CUMBERLAND 0: Ava Scurry scored three goals and dished two assists. Scurry now has six goals on the season. Phoebe Alward scored her 11th goal, while Lucianna Virga, Caylen Taylor and Casey Widdifield also scored. Lydia Gilligan stopped the only shot she faced for the shutout.

GIRLS TENNIS
Schalick and Woodstown postponed their regularly scheduled showdown Thursday in order to help the opening round of the South Jersey Group 1 Tournament avoid projected bad weather on Friday and both made easy work of their opponents.

Schalick, the No. 2 seed, swept No. 15 Salem 5-0, while Woodstown, the No. 3 seed, swept No. 14 Lindenwold, 5-0. No. 8 Pennsville was the third Salem County team advancing, beating No. 9 Overbrook, 4-1.

Schalick (14-2) won all five of its matches in straight sets, losing only two games in the second set of No. 1 singles, and gave coach John Romano his 200th coaching victory. Undefeated Woodstown (13-0) also won all five matches in straight sets.

“Girls, to say ‘thank you’ would be a disservice,” Romano wrote in appreciation of his milestone on the school’s athletics Facebook page. “I cannot begin to tell you how lucky I am to coach such an unbelievable group of young ladies. You’re the true reason why I come back year after year.

“Years from now when I’m old(er) and have (more) white hairs, I will reminisce on the wins and losses, but ultimately I will think about all of the lives I’ve been able to touch and the friendships and relationships I’ve formed with all of you. A true testament of a coach isn’t wins and losses on the court, it’s the success you young ladies have in life.”

Pennsville now travels to top-seeded Haddon Twp. Tuesday for its second-round match. Woodstown will host Gateway and Schalick will host Audubon. Wins by Woodstown and Schalick in Round 2 would set up a sectional semifinals battle between the two county rivals in Pittsgrove.

SCHALICK 5, SALEM 0
Singles: Rachael Irizarry (Sc) def. Mandarin Castellanos, 6-0, 6-2; Grace O’Neill (Sc) def. Cassidy Werkheiser, 6-0, 6-0; Allyson Green (Sc) def. Olivia Woolman, 6-0, 6-0.
Doubles: Emma Adams-Katelyn Little (Sc) def. Gianna Pelura-Tytiana Miller, 6-0, 6-0; Miya Watkins-Rachel Grandson (Sc) def. Angelina Fothergill-Tahirah Davenport-White, 6-0, 6-0.

WOODSTOWN 5, LINDENWOLD 0
Singles: Abby Melle def. Shanik Leiva, 6-1, 6-1; Gabby Kurds def. Chelsea Ortez, 6-0, 6-0; Cara Delia def. Leczy Estupinian, no match.
Doubles: Julianna Lindenmuth-Molly Curtis def. Fatima Arriaza-Giselle Ontiveros, 6-1, 6-0; Kathryn Milligan-Lauren Lippincott def. Tiffany Lopez-Selena Perla, 6-1, 6-0.

PENNSVILLE 4, OVERBROOK 1
Singles: Madison Newbold (O) def. Regan Witt, 7-5, 6-2; Megan Morris (P) def. Keira Riess, 6-2, 6-1; Lily Edwards (P) def. Mia Costantino, 6-1, 6-0.
Doubles: Emma Cornette-Fanta Kone (P) def. Hillary Cao-Jennifer Giovanni, 6-3, 6-0; Isabell Schrenker-Gabi Forino (P) def. Sophia Burgos-Denovia Cameron, 6-1, 6-0.

Cover photo: Schalick soccer newcomer Louis Sepers is marked by Pennsville’s Brody Wiggins (46) Thursday afternoon.

Woodstown’s wild week

Wolverines’ girls tennis team edges Pennsville as part of a big week of matches that could be impacted by weather

TUESDAY’S SALEM COUNTY SCORES
GIRLS TENNIS
Schalick 5, Salem 0
Woodstown 3, Pennsville 2
BOYS SOCCER
Overbrook 4, Pennsville 1
Pitman 5, Salem 0
GIRLS SOCCER
Glassboro 7, Penns Grove 1
Gloucester Catholic 10, Salem Tech 0
Pennsville 3, Overbrook 1Pitman 6, Salem 0
Schalick 4, Woodstown 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Between the county rivals already on the schedule and state tournament opener added just today, this was shaping up to be a big week for the Woodstown girls tennis team.

Then a phone call to Wolverines coach Jesse Stemberger towards the end of Tuesday’s match with Pennsville informing him of possible inclement weather late in the week threatens to put a (pun intended) damper on it all. But it also has the potential to make for an even bigger week later in the season.

First things first. As for the day’s activities, the Wolverines edged Pennsville 3-2 to remain undefeated. About two hours before the match, the Wolverines were installed as the No. 3 seed in the South Jersey Group I girls tennis tournament that starts Friday.

Because of the predicted bad weather Friday, host teams have been encouraged to move their opening-round tournament games to Thursday, a move towards which both Woodstown and Pennsville are leaning. Woodstown hosts Lindenwold and Pennsville, the No. 8 seed, hosts Overbrook.

Here’s where it gets interesting. The Wolverines have a showdown with Schalick for the Diamond Division lead Thursday and since state tournament games supercede all else, they’d have to move the regular-season match to later in the season, setting up the possibility of playing the Cougars three times in a span of about 10 days.

Why three? Schalick is the No. 2 seed in the SJ-I tournament, setting up the possibility the two county rivals could meet in the sectional semifinals. Schalick opens the tournament against Salem, a team it beat Tuesday 5-0.

“When you look at how the whole schedule’s played out,” Stemberger began, “there are certain weeks where things were a little bit lighter, but when you look at this week you think, wow, this is kind of a tough week.

“You have to live in a cave to not know what’s going on. This is a big match. John (Romano, Schalick’s coach) knows it, we both know what’s going on. And I don’t think either one of us is prolonging it; it’s a series of unfortunate events, but it does make it interesting because if things go according to plan we’ll play them three times in the last two weeks. We’re going to be intimately familiar with them.”

The only match Stemberger had on his mind Tuesday, though, was the one in front of him. The Wolverines (11-0) took control of it by sweeping the doubles points, keeping their doubles teams of Vivian Ward-Camille Osborn and Molly Curtis-Julianna Lindenmuth undefeated on the season.

They clinched their 14^th straight regular-season victory – or “secure the bag,” as No. 1 singles Abigail Melle says – when Melle outlasted Regan Witt through two competitive sets.

“She was a consistent player, so it was hard,” Melle said of her match. “She didn’t make any mistakes and I had to be the first not to make a mistake, so we had a lot of good rallies and I struggled to put one in on the court because she got to every ball,. I had to stay out of my head and get the point, stay focused.”

The Eagles (7-5) made it close with junior Megan Morris and sophomore Lily Edwards winning in straight sets at Nos. 2 and 3 singles. Morris’ consistent and calculated victory kept her undefeated (12-0) in her first year in the singles spotlight. She has not lost a set.

“I’m really surprised,” Morris said. “I never thought I’d be able to do it,. When I went against Kingsway and Pitman and Woodstown, they’re just all great schools and I never thought I could do it, but I was able to prove myself that I can do it.”

She didn’t realize she had an undefeated string going until her dad mentioned it at around 9-0. “I had no clue and I’ve been counting from there,” she said.

NOTES: In addition to Schalick, Woodstown, Pennsville and Salem, Penns Grove also made the tournament field – as the No. 13 seed. The Red Devils will travel to Middle Twp. for their tournament opener. “I told the guys in a group chat with coaches I thought the seeds were fair across the board,” Stemberger said.

WOODSTOWN 3, PENNSVILLE 2
Singles
Abigail Melle def. Regan Witt, 6-4, 6-2
Megan Morris (P) def. Gabby Kurpis, 6-1, 6-3
Lily Edwards (P) def. Cara Delia, 6-1, 6-4
Doubles
Vivian Ward-Camilla Osborn def. Fanta Kone-Emma Cornette, 6-3, 6-1
Molly Curtis-Julianna Lindenmuth def. Gabi Forino-Isabell Schrenker, 6-1, 6-1

SCHALICK 5, SALEM 0: The Cougars (12-2) dropped only three games in sweeping the Rams. The teams meet again in the first round of the state tournament later this week. The No. 1 doubles team of Katelyn Little and Emma Adams remained undefeated.

Girls soccer

PENNSVILLE 3, OVERBROOK 1: Karsen Cooksey scored a pair of goals and Anikka Macalino extended the Eagles’ lead to 3-0. Cooksey has a team-leading seven goals.

WOODSTOWN 4, SCHALICK 0: Each of the Wolverines’ last five victories have been by shutout. Keeper Carly Hayman may have been called to make only four saves in the game, but coach Will Kemp said, she’s “still a general on the field to help the squad.” Emily Miller scored two goals, giving her 24 for the season.

GLASSBORO 7, PENNS GROVE 1: Alana Figueroa and Marianna Dempster scored two goals apiece for Glassboro. A’Mani Taylor scored Penns Grove’s goal.

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 10, SALEM TECH 0: Ten players scored goals for the Rams (5-3).

PITMAN 6, SALEM 0: Audrey Duffield scored the first of her two goals less than two minutes into the game to open a four-goal first half. Pitman extended its 3-0 halftime lead with a pair of goals three minutes part in the second half.

Boys soccer

OVERBROOK 4, PENNSVILLE 1: Angel Mejia-Castro had two goals and an assist and David Ayala-Rivas scored his team-leading 13th goal to lead Overbrook to its third straight win. The Rams (7-4) won only four games last year. Stone Mumink scored Pennsville’s goal, his fifth in the last four games.

PITMAN 5, SALEM 0: Logan Williams scored the first two goals of the game two minutes apart in the first 15 minutes.

This week’s schedule

Here is the schedule for Salem County high school sports for the week of Oct. 2-7

Oct. 2
FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Salem at Clayton, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Schalick, 4 p.m.

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

GIRLS TENNIS
Kingsway at Woodstown, 4 p.m.

Oct. 3
BOYS SOCCER
Glassboro at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Salem, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Overbrook at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
Salem at Pitman, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Schalick, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Penns Grove at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Salem, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Pennsville, 4 p.m.

Oct. 4
FIELD HOCKEY
Deptford Twp. at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Salem at Pennsville, 4 p.m.

Oct. 5
FIELD HOCKEY
Cumberland Reg. at Schalick, 4 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Salem Tech at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Salem at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.

Oct. 6
FOOTBALL
Overbrook at Pennsville, 7 p.m.
Penns Grove at Glassboro, 7 p.m.
Schalick at Bishop Eustace, 7 p.m.
Woodbury at Woodstown, 7 p.m.

FIELD HOCKEY
Salem at Audubon, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Williamstown, 4 p.m.
Woodstown vs. Delsea at Total Turf, Pitman, 5:45 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown at Delsea, 4 p.m.

Oct. 7
FOOTBALL
Paulsboro at Salem, noon

BOYS SOCCER
Schalick at Woodstown, 7 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick at Our Lady of Mercy, 4 p.m.

Lighting it up

Wednesday roundup: Pennsville, Woodstown boys soccer score big in their first halves, also includes girls soccer and girls tennis

By Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – When the train comes in, everybody rides.

Pennsville scored seven goals on 10 shots in the first half Wednesday in a 7-2 boys soccer rout of Salem.

Six different players found the back of the net for the Eagles, and one of the goal was particularly special.

Senior Stathis Efelis has been playing with the varsity for the past three years and scored his first goal since his sophomore year in the first-half onslaught. Actually, he had a goal and an assist in the game.

“To get a goal today felt incredible,” he said. “The assist and the build up was very intense and I was so glad to be able to celebrate it with my teammates.”

Stathis assisted on Maddox Efelis’ goal shortly after scoring his own. Shane Puckett got the first two followed by Stone Mumink, then John Thomas and Jake Isaac scored after the two Efelises’ goals.

It was the Eagles’ most prolific half of goalscoring in Derek Foglein’s tenure as head coach.

“To be completely honest, if you asked the team they’d say we started slow,” the coach said. “Once we got those (first) two, they settled down and moved the ball.

“The thing I’m really pleased about today is the fact the team did a great job moving the ball as the first half developed and as the score line showed we got everyone involved.”

Jose Vilalplando scored both Salem goals in the second half.

WOODSTOWN 9, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 0: Bryce Ayars banged home a header 30 seconds into the game and the Wolverines (6-1) went on to pump in nine goals on 16 shots in the first half to win their sixth straight.

Adrian Ibarra scored the first of his two goals 40 seconds after Ayars’ header and the rout was on. They had another flurry later in the half in which they scored four goals in four minutes. Ibarra also recorded three assists.

“We’re not a team that scores a lot of goals traditionally,” Woodstown coach Darren Huck said, “but today things were clicking and we got on them early.”

Freshman Ayden Ellis, sophomore assist machine Blake Bialecki and senior Dalton Berry all scored their first varsity goals, while Ben Lippincott (on the first goal), Dante Mistichelli, Nick DiTeodoro and senior Eddie Whelan all recorded their first varsity assists.

The Wolverines’ final goal of the half was the play that brought Berry and Whelan their first varsity marks and the crowd to its feet.

“That was kind of a nice moment,” Huck said. “They’d been together for four years and been total team players; it’s always been the team first. They were with the JVs last year, but decided to come back and be part of everything and they were able to reap the rewards today, which I was happy about.

“The whole team was cheering for (Berry), the whole place got excited. He does work hard and always gives 100 percent and he was able to put one in today.”

PITMAN 2, PENNS GROVE 1: The Red Devils (1-6) have to be the hardest-luck team in South Jersey. All six of their losses this season have been of the one-loss variety. They fell behind 2-0 nine minutes into the second half, got a goal from Ashton Harris four minutes later and just couldn’t get the equalizer.

“We’re doing the best we can,” Penns Grove coach Mano Massari said. “The guys fought hard today; you can’t ask anymore than that. We’re fighting and taking punches with some really good teams. We just need to be more consistent.”

SCHALICK 3, WILDWOOD 0: Nolan O’Toole, Bradford Foster and Elijah Cummings scored goals and Evan Sepers was a rock in goal as the Cougars (7-2) won their third in a row.

**Pennsville’s Riley Bowman (5) and Reagan Wariwanchik celebrate another Eagles goal in their match with Salem Wednesday. (Photos by Lorraine Jenkins)**

Girls soccer

PENNSVILLE 8, SALEM 1: The Eagles found the scoring touch for the second straight game, this time scoring four goals in each half. They have scored 15 goals in their two games this week.

Riley Bowman scored her first hat trick, which included a penalty kick late in the first half. Karsen Cooksey had the first goal of the second half and assisted on the other three goals. Gabby Marandola scored her first career goal 90 seconds into the game, while Molly Gratz, Kallie Morrison and Marley Wood had the other goals. The Eagles had 27 shots and eight corner kicks in the game.

“The girls are distributing the ball well and looking for opportunities for each other to score,” Eagles coach Sam Trapp said. “They are gaining more confidence as a unit each game.”

Ryann Foote scored Salem’s goal on a free kick in the first half.

GLASSBORO 7, SALEM TECH 0: Marianna Dempster and Emma Mattox both scored twice for the Bulldogs (4-2-1).

PITMAN 5, PENNS GROVE 0: Emery Sharpnack had two goals and an assist and Riley Sharpnack had a goal and two assists for Pitman.

Girls tennis

PITTMAN 4, PENNSVILLE 1: Megan Morris won 6-4, 6-1 at No. 2 singles to pick up Pennsville’s only point. Morris is 9-0 this season and has not lost a set.

WOODSTOWN 5, PENNS GROVE 0: The Wolverines went to 5-0, losing only two games the entire match. Noelle Neron and Aubrie Rennie at No. 2 doubles scored their first career win.

This week’s schedule

Here is the high school sports schedule for Salem County schools for the week of Sept. 25-30

Sept. 25
FIELD HOCKEY
Timber Creek at Schalick, 4 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Salem at Clayton, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Overbrook, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Overbrook at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Pennsville, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Glassboro at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Salem, 4 p.m.

Sept. 26
FIELD HOCKEY
Overbrook at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Clayton, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Glassboro, 4 p.m.

CROSS COUNTRY
Tri-County Batch Meet, Kingsway

GIRLS TENNIS
Pitman at Salem, 4 p.m.
Vineland at Schalick, 4 p.m.

Sept. 27
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Salem at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Schalick, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Pitman, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Pitman, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Salem, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.

Sept. 28
FIELD HOCKEY
Deptford Twp. at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Salem, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Highland Regional at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Penns Grove at Clayton 4 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Our Lady of Mercy at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.

Sept. 29
FOOTBALL
Pennsville at Cumberland Regional, 6 p.m.
Lindenwold at Schalick, forfeit
Salem at Woodstown, 7 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Haddon Twp., 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Paulsboro, 4 p.m.
Salem at Haddon Heights, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Palmyra, 4 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER
Salem at Pennsauken Tech, 3:45 p.m.

GIRLS TENNIS
Penns Grove at Overbook, 4 p.m.
Salem at Pennsville, 4 p.m.

Sept. 30
FOOTBALL
Paulsboro at Penns Grove, noon

CROSS COUNTRY
Shore Coaches Invitational, Holmdel Park

Cover photo by Heather Papiano

From the doorstep

Fisher’s fast foot from in front of the net delivers first-half goal to send Schalick past hard-luck Penns Grove

THURSDAY’S BOYS SOCCER
Glassboro 3, Pennsville 0
Schalick 1, Penns Grove 0
Wildwood 4, Salem Tech 0
Gloucester Catholic 4, Salem 0
Woodstown 5, Overbrook 2

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE – Seth Fisher couldn’t believe the good fortune that fell at his feet in the first half Thursday afternoon.

The Schalick sophomore just happened to be in the right place at the right time when a ball off a free kick landed at his feet an empty section of goal staring him right in the face. All he had to do was not mess it up.

Fisher couldn’t have finished it off any more solid and drilled the ball into the back of the net for the only goal in the Cougars’ 1-0 victory over Penns Grove. It was the center midfielder’s second goal of his career – he scored the second goal against Gateway Sept. 9 – and his first game-winner.

“It was like this natural instinct,” he said. “I just saw the ball pass on my right side, it bounced off the keeper and it was right there on my right foot right in front of the goal. I couldn’t believe it was there. It fell right to me.”

The Cougars (5-2) were carrying the play, spending most of the game in the attacking end, but Fisher’s goal with 15:22 left in the first half was the only ball they could get past Penns Grove keeper Dwayne Guzman. They had several chances, but couldn’t cash in, thwarted either by Guzman or the Red Devils’ defense, led by first-year starting stopper Erlin Mondragon and sweeper Jason Cisneros.

Their best chance for a second goal came with 21 minutes to play when Bradford Foster hit the crossbar and Cooper Willoughby headed the rebound into the chest of Guzman. But all you have to do is score one more than the other team to win and the Cougars, thanks to Fisher’s fast foot, got that one.

“Tuesday (a 1-0 loss to Glassboro) was a physical beating so I really wasn’t sure how much we had left and we had some guys have to come off the bench and give minutes,” Cougars coach Joe Mannella said. “They have to get comfortable playing in close games, there are going to be a lot of them, and this is a good step forward to do that.”

Both teams were coming off a spate of one-goal losses. The Cougars had lost two in a row. All four of the Red Devils’ losses (1-4) have been by one goal. It might be the kind of thing that could get a team down, but first-year Penns Grove coach Mano Massari remains positive.

“I have a very young team, a very green team,” Massari said. “We’re keeping up with these top-tier teams in our division and conference, so, yeah, it stings now, but the optimism in me is looking towards the future and thinking, man, we’re going to be a force to deal with for the next couple years.”

WOODSTOWN 5, OVERBROOK 2: Adrian Ibarra scored a hat trick for the Wolverines (5-1).

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 4, SALEM 0: Trey Battle and Zack Payne scored two goals apiece for the winning Rams. Both of Battle’s goals came in the first 17 minutes of the game.

GLASSBORO 3, PENNSVILLE 0: Emirhan Kir scored a goal in the first half and Christopher Martinez and Atakan Ozdemir found the back of the net in the second as the Bulldogs remained unbeaten (7-0). It was their third straight shutout.

**Schalick’s Luke Price (3) controls the ball deep in Penns Grove’s end. Top photo: Cougars’ goal-scorer Seth Fisher (16) tries to move around Penns Grove’s Jayden Murga Santos.**

Eagles trio ‘on’

Tuesday roundup: Pennsville boys erupt for three rapid-fire goals to get first W of the season, Penns Grove coach gets first win, Schalick goes to 4-0; Salem, Penns Grove, Salem girls play to draws

WEDNESDAY’S SCOREBOARD
BOYS SOCCER
Pennsville 5, Clayton 0
Penns Grove 6, Salem 2
Schalick 3, Gloucester Catholic 0
Woodstown 7, Salem Tech 0

GIRLS SOCCER
Pennsville 2, Clayton 2
Salem 3, Penns Grove 3
Schalick 4, Gloucester Catholic 1
Woodstown 6, Salem Tech 0

GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville 5, Salem 0
Schalick 5, Glassboro 0

By Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – One minute the game is scoreless and the next time Pennsville boys soccer coach Derek Foglein looked his team had a three-goal lead. Things can happen that quickly when you have the kind of strikers the Eagles have.

After a slow opening 10 minutes, the Eagles erupted for three goals in the 10 minutes before the first half water break and went on to beat rebuilding Clayton 5-0 for their first win of the season.

Shane Puckett and Jake Isaac both scored twice in the first half and Dylan Waller scored in the second.

“I felt like I blinked and we were up 3-0; it was like three in a matter of five minutes,” Foglein said. “It’s definitely not typical, but when you look at Stone (Mumink), Shane and Jake, they have the quality, they have the talent and they have the offensive vision from working together for a few years, and they’ve got speed, too. If they’re on, they’re on and just like that a game can really turn positively for us.

“I know we have quality offensive pieces. With those front three, that’s really where our offense is going to be from and they were quality today. They worked hard on the ball. They worked hard off the ball. They connected passes and (when you do that) you find yourself in spaces and they found their spaces and they finished. So that was really awesome.”

Puckett scored his two goals around Isaac’s first counter in that rapid-fire stretch. Isaac notched his second goal shortly after the water break. Puckett, Isaac and Mumink each had two assists.

The Eagles (1-2) already had control of the game, but turned up the defense in the second half and the back line helped keeper Coen Rinnier nail down the shutout.

PENNS GROVE 6, SALEM 2: After two gut-wrenching overtime losses to open the season, the Red Devils got goals from five different players to give new coach Mano Massari his first victory.

Junior Sebastian Hernandez scored twice to lead the charge. Captains Ashton Harris and Joey Schultz, Edward Swank and Jayden Merga had the other goals.

“It was really good to get the win; not for me, but for the guys, they deserve it,” Massari said. “We still have a lot of work to do, but a win is a win and we’ll take it.”

As with any new coach and a new team, it took a little time to adjust the pieces. Massari moved junior Frankie Juarez Reynosa to center midfield and the offense blossomed. The six goals were the most the Red Devils have scored in a game since beating Gloucester 7-1 in their final regular-season game last year. Juarez Reynosa had two assists.

“After the first two losses I needed to move some guys around and it really helped open the offense up; Frankie being a huge reason for that,” Massari said. “He started the first two games as a striker but wasn’t getting the ball enough, so I dropped him to a center midfielder and he really controlled the game. He really excelled in that position.”

Chargers on 3

Salem Tech flexes its sports footprint with the first varsity boys soccer game in school history, a 2-0 win over Salem

MONDAY’S COUNTY SOCCER SCORES
Boys Games
Salem Tech 2, Salem 0
Woodstown 3, Penns Grove 2
Schalick 5, Pennsville 0
Girls Games
Salem 5, Salem Tech 0
Schalick 6, Pennsville 0
Woodstown at Penns Grove, ppd.,

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – Salem Tech may have only had a soccer team for two years, but in truth Monday’s match was five years in the making.

When school administrators green-lighted an athletics program five years ago, the plan was to play two major sports in each of the academic year’s three sports seasons.

They steadily put teams on the field and Monday was the first varsity boys game in school history. And it was a strong debut, a 2-0 shutout of Salem.

“I was happy with the way the guys played; they played hard for each other,” Chargers coach Rob Polk said. “I think they had a sense coming in of what this meant for the school. The effort they showed kind of put that all on display that they understood the meaning of today’s game.

“This is definitely a good start. I couldn’t have asked for a better start. Maybe a couple more goals.”

As satisfying as the outcome was for the Chargers, the day ended on a somber note. The game was halted with three minutes to play due to weather issues and was called altogether a few minutes later when a Salem player collapsed coming off the field.

Trainers raced to the aid of midfielder Christian Hymer in the Rams’ bench area. After working on him on the field, they lifted him onto the back of a golf cart and rode off to the school to await an ambulance. He was reported to be alert in a locker room off the gym as Mannington Fire Rescue prepared to transport him from the scene.

Boys and girls soccer are the newest varsity sports at Salem Tech. When they first rolled out the ball, the Chargers offered just cross country and basketball. Today, the school sponsors varsity teams in cross country, volleyball and basketball for boys and girls, bowling and golf. Officials are now exploring the possibility of adding baseball and softball in Spring 2025.

“It wasn’t even rooted in competition, it was rooted more in student involvement,” principal Jason Helder said of the introduction of athletics. “We wanted there to be structured activities that kids could be involved in after school, where they could work with mentors and coaches and teachers and see them in a different capacity.

“I think it’s remarkable this is our first varsity soccer game. It’s significant because it was literally something that even five years ago didn’t exist and the fact now we’re here playing soccer against a county rival on a home field is significant.

“The establishment of sports gave us an identity we didn’t have. There was no Chargers. Sports gave us a reason to solidify our identity.”

The soccer teams debuted on the junior varsity level last year, then jumped right into varsity play. Polk’s boys team was supposed to make its varsity debut last week at Gloucester Catholic, but the game was postponed due to vandalism to the Rams’ field.

The Chargers only had one 11-on-11 varsity game together before Monday, but they dominated on both ends in their regular-season debut. Most of the match was played in the Salem end until the Rams picked up their attack in the second half.

Sophomore Graham Fields scored both goals for the Chargers. He scored the first varsity goal in school history seven minutes into the match when he took a through ball from Travis Hagan and beat Rams keeper Eithan Longo to the upper right corner. He put home an insurance goal right before the game was called.

He scored the first goal for the JV Chargers last year, too.

“I’ve been playing soccer since I was like 2 or 3 and I’m 15 now so it really does mean a lot to me,” Fields said. “The second I got that goal I was so happy. I was really happy.”

Just as Fields was a force up front peppering the Salem goal at regular intervals, Clinton Bobo was just as impressive for the Chargers on the back line. The Rams didn’t mount many attacks, but when they did, Bobo usually was there to break it up and clear it away. He also won a lot of challenge balls.

“He’s the rock on our defense back there; he’s a safety net for us,” Polk said. “You got to see that a lot with his speed and his physicality. He’s really good at reading plays and timing balls. He settled a lot of things down, especially in the second half. When that ball gets played in behind and it’s a footrace with Bobo, I’m pretty confident he’s coming out on top.”

Graham Fields reacts after missing a scoring chance for Salem Tech in the second half of Monday’s first varsity game against Salem. Fields had numerous chances and scored both of the Chargers’ goals.

BOYS GAMES
WOODSTOWN 3, PENNS GROVE 2: Bryce Ayars scored the game-tying goal with five minutes left in regulation and then scored five minutes into overtime to lift Woodstown its first victory of the season and hand Penns Grove its second straight overtime loss.

Ashton Harris and Jayden Murga Santos staked the Red Devils (0-2) to a 2-0 lead early in the second half. Adrian Ibarra got the Wolverines (1-1) on the board 10 minutes into the second half.

SCHALICK 5, PENNSVILLE 0: Bradford Foster scored two goals and Evan Sepers made nine saves as the Cougars won their third straight game. Foster has four goals and shares the team lead with Luke Price, who scored his fourth goal to give the Cougars a 2-0 halftime lead. Steve Chomo and Jaxon Weber had second-half goals for the Cougars.

GIRLS GAMES
SALEM 5, SALEM TECH 0: Ryann Foote scored two goals, Ameriyona Hunter had a goal and two assists and Marcela Villapando made three saves in posting the shutout. Karima Davenport-White and Carlysia Pierce had the Rams’ other goals. It was the season opener for both teams and Salem Tech’s first ever girls varsity game.

SCHALICK 6, PENNSVILLE 0: Cali Fisler and Emily Miller each scored a pair of goals as the Cougars opened their season with a six-goal first-half explosion. Olivia Devoe and Kyleigh Cutler scored their other two goals.