Penns Grove’s girls soccer gets its first goals of the season and first win; includes scores and highlights from Friday’s Salem County sports action
GIRLS SOCCER
Penns Grove 2, Woodbury 0: Berra Akkaya and Yareliz Pantoja scored Penns Grove’s first two goals of the season to bring the Red Devils (1-10) their first win of the season. Pantoja broke a 1-1 tie in the second half.
Salem Tech 2, Paulsboro 0: Ava Robinson and Peyton Pratt scored second-half goals for the Chargers.
BOYS SOCCER
Penns Grove 1, Woodbury 0: Prince Ledbetter scored the game’s only goal in the second half off an assist from goalie Dwayne Guzman Silva.
FIELD HOCKEY
Overbrook at Salem Tech
GIRLS TENNIS
Pitman 5, Woodstown 0
Salem 4, Penns Grove 1
PITMAN 5, WOODSTOWN 0
Anna Fisicaro (P) def. Nathalie Neron, 6-0, 6-1
Colette Rollins (P) def. Alyssa Berry, 6-2, 6-0
Ava Mullenhauer (P) def. Noelle Neron, 6-0, 6-0
Kendall Bennett-Amanda Bradley (P) def. Madison LaPalomento-Emilee Kehr, 6-0, 6-0
Abigail Heil-Ella Ralph (P) def. Emma West-Angelina Lindenmuth, 6-1, 6-2
Records: Pitman 18-3, Woodstown 12-5.
SALEM 4, PENNS GROVE 1
Angelina Fothergill (S) def. Andrea Restrepo, 6-1, 6-1
Tahirah Davenport-White (S) def. Ada Lopez, 6-1, 6-2
JaNye Hubbard (S) def. Kanta Pulchard, 6-2, 6-3
Heaven Jones-McCullough-Erica Brewer (S) def. Andrea Capone-Natanalie Dominguez, 6-0, 6-1
Gianco Tirado-Cadence Jachos (PG) def. Evangeline Jiminez-Barreto-Aleena Allen, 6-1, 6-3
Records: Salem 3-8, Penns Grove 0-9.
VOLLEYBALL
Highland 2, Salem Tech 1: Brooke Tyler had 14 kills, 11 digs and nine assists to lead Highland. Yoselin Basantes had eight kills and 14 assists. The set scores were 25-22, 20-25, 25-11.
Category: SCHALICK
Emotional night
Schalick starts strong, then longest-standing rival Gloucester keeps Cougars at bay to spoil their Homecoming, Senior Walk
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – Kevin Leamy crouched at the 30-yard line with his face buried in his hands. You know there were tears behind those hands. The Schalick head coach is an emotional coach as it is, but this was a particularly emotional night.
Moments earlier, he watched 13 senior who played through his first year as head coach, a mix of able-bodied like Homecoming King Dylan Sheehan and injured like Exavier Allen, who courageous made the walk both ways on crutches, take the first Senior Walk since 2019 on the field they were playing on barring a home playoff game for the final time.
With Kenny Chesney’s solemn “The Boys of Fall” playing softly through the speakers, the seniors walked the length of the field with their underclassmen teammates lining the hashmarks all the way to their parents in the south end zone. Once they got there, there was enough tears to fill the water bucket.
“It’s a cool tradition,” Leamy said. “These kids put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears. I feel terrible that we just couldn’t get it done, but I’m proud of them. They’re a good football team and I don’t think that scoreboard tells the whole story.”
The Cougars lost to Gloucester, the longest played rivalry in the program’s history, 34-6.
The night couldn’t have started better for them. They scored on their opening drive, a 13-play, 73-yard march that took up a little more than seven minutes and had some on the sidelines calling it the best drive they’ve seen in years.
They had a little help with a fourth-down pass interference penalty that moved the ball into the red zone – one of two fourth-down conversions in the drive – and fell on two of their own fumbles, but culminated in David Stewart’s 4-yard run to open the scoring.
Stewart rushed for 30 yards in the game. Evan Elliott was their workhorse, rushing for 92 bruising yards on 14 carries. He had 20 yards in the opening drive.
“I think we’re starting to get better and it’s finally showing,” Leamy said. “The kids are putting in a lot of work and it’s finally clicking.
“Unfortunately for the seniors it takes time to do things that are new and for it to click. And it’s finally starting to click, but we’re still not there yet. There are still things they’re not executing on and missing here and there. We had a lot of chances that we missed on tonight.”
But they couldn’t maintain it. They did have success moving the ball, but never found the end zone again.
“We could have maintained it,” Leamy continued. “We missed opportunities. We didn’t execute here and there at certain times. It’s hard to be consistent. That’s why good teams are good teams, because they’re consistent more than they are good. We’re not there with the consistency aspect of it, but you can see what it could be if you were consistent.”
The Lions, meanwhile, scored 34 unanswered points. Ibrahim Hudwell rushed for 136 yards over three quarters and scored three touchdowns. He also had a touchdown on the opening kickoff called back for a holding penalty.
Hudwell’s first touchdown and Ashton Wall’s PAT put the Lions ahead for good. It was a 7-6 game until the last two minutes of the first half when Rylan Coffigny got behind the Cougars’ defense and hauled in a 60-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Boulden. Hudwell’s second touchdown late in the third quarter made it 21-6.
Gloucester added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter without running an offensive play. Neeko Howard returned a batted pass 71 yards for a score and Hudwell had a 64-yard scoop-and-score with 8:04 to play. The Lions ran their first offensive play of the quarter with 4:04 left in the game.
Hudwell celebrated the victory with a pair of back flips before joining his teammates in the post-game huddle.
“If my teammates want me to do it, I’ll do it,” he said. “I’ll do anything for my teammates.”
Top photo: Schalick football seniors embrace their parents after completing the revival of the Senior Walk in the final home game of their careers.
Gloucester 34, Schalick 6
| GLOU (34) | SCH (6) | |
| 12 | 1st Downs | 15 |
| 33-304 | Rushing | 38-144 |
| 3-4-0 | Passing | 8-17-1 |
| 74 | Passing yds | 77 |
| 0-0 | Fumbles-lost | 5-3 |
| 2-42.0 | Punts-avg | 3-37.3 |
| 11-105 | Penalties | 3-35 |
| Gloucester (4-2) | 0 | 14 | 7 | 13- | 34 |
| Schalick (2-5) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0- | 6 |
SCORING SUMMARY
S-David Stewart 4 run (kick failed), 1:06 1Q
G-Ibrahim Hudwell 15 run (Ashton Wall kick), 9:37 2Q
G-Rylan Coffigny 60 pass from Kevin Boulden (Ashton Wall kick), 1:11 2Q
G-Ibrahim Hudwell 13 run (Ashton Wall kick), 1:45 3Q
G-Neeko Howard 71 interception return (Ashton Wall kick), 11:47 4Q
G-Ibrahim Hudwell 64 fumble return (kick failed), 8:07 4Q
WJFL Standings
| DIAMOND | ALL | DIV |
| Glassboro | 7-0 | 3-0 |
| Salem | 3-3 | 2-1 |
| Schalick | 2-5 | 2-1 |
| Woodbury | 2-4 | 1-2 |
| Woodstown | 2-5 | 1-2 |
| Penns Grove | 0-7 | 0-3 |
| PATRIOT | ALL | DIV |
| Paulsboro | 7-0 | 5-0 |
| West Deptford | 5-1 | 4-0 |
| Overbrook | 5-2 | 2-2 |
| Pennsville | 3-4 | 2-3 |
| Collingswood | 4-3 | 1-3 |
| Audubon | 2-4 | 1-3 |
| Camden Catholic | 0-7 | 0-4 |
FRIDAY’S GAMES
Audubon 31, Collingswood 12
Delran 49, Penns Grove 0
Gloucester City 34, Schalick 6
Overbrook 34, Camden Catholic 20
Glassboro 42, Cinnaminson 0
SATURDAY’S GAME
West Deptford at Salem
MONDAY’S GAME
Woodbury at Willingboro
WJFL scoreboard
Here is the schedule for Friday night’s West Jersey Football League action, includes Saturday schedule; Salem County games in bold
FRIDAY’S GAMES
Atlantic City 26, Eastern 7
Audubon 31, Collingswood 12
Bishop Eustace 28, Holy Cross 12
Bordentown 47, Riverside 8
Bridgeton 35, Absegami 21
Cumberland 27, Deptford 6
Delran 49, Penns Grove 0
Glassboro 42, Cinnaminson 0
Gloucester 34, Schalick 6
Hightstown 35, WW-Plainsboro South 7
Kingsway 63, Clearview 0
Lindenwold 38, Palmyra 18
Mainland 54, Egg Harbor Twp. 6
Ocean City 48, Middle Twp. 0
Overbrook 34, Camden Catholic 20
Robbinsville 33, Moorestown 25
Seneca 31, Hammonton 15
Shawnee 36, Pennsauken 14
St. Augustine 27, Lenape 0
Sterling 21, Clayton 6
Trenton 28, Northern Burlington 22
Triton 21, Highland 7
Washington Twp.38, Rancocas Valley 17
Williamstown 21, Cherokee 14
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Burlington Twp. at Hopewell Valley, 10:30 a.m.
Gateway at Gloucester Catholic, 11
Nottingham at Princeton, 11
Burlington City at Lawrence, noon
Burlington Twp. at Hopewell Valley, noon
KIPP Cooper Norcross at Wildwood, noon
West Deptford at Salem, noon
Eastside at Winslow, 1 p.m.
St. Joseph at Atlantic Tech, 1 p.m.
Allentown at Ewing, 2 p.m.
MONDAY’S GAME
Woodbury at Willingboro, 5 p.m.
Thursday roundup
Schalick field hockey clinches share of division title, Woodstown falls in girls tennis sectional semis, and more
SJ GROUP I TENNIS TOURNAMENT
Semifinals
Pitman 4, Audubon 1
Haddon Twp. 5, Woodstown 0
HADDON TWP. 5, WOODSTOWN 0
Ellie Smith (HT) def. Nathalie Neron, 6-0, 6-0
Kiersten Callahan (HT) def. Alyssa Berry, 6-2, 3-6, 10-5
Leighton Thoder (HT) def. Noelle Neron, 6-2, 6-2
Sydney Troncone-Tessa Dybus (HT) def. Madison LaPalomento-Emilee Kehr, 6-0, 6-0
Lily Steele-Carly DeCinque (HT) def. Emma West-Angelina Lindenmuth, 6-2, 6-2
Records: Haddon Twp. 14-4, Woodstown 12-4.
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick 3, Woodstown 0: The Cougars scored goals in each of the first three quarters and goalie Lydia Gilligan made 12 saves for the shutout that got them a series sweep of their rivals and at least a share of the TCC Diamond Division title. Gilligan’s final save was her 200th of the season. Caylen Taylor, Addi Shimp and Ava Scurry scored the Cougars’ goals.
BOYS SOCCER
Camden Academy Charter at Salem Tech
GIRLS SOCCER
Gloucester City 6, Salem 0: Bailey Schoenfeldt scored three goals to lead the Lions (6-6). She has scored multiple goals in all six of their wins.
Wednesday roundup
BOYS SOCCER
Woodstown 8, Salem 0: Three more players joined the ranks as the Wolverines moved closer to 300 all-time goal scorers and a trio of keepers keep the Rams off the board.
Josef Hummel, Don Milhomme and Aiden Milici all scored their first career goals, running the list of players who have scored a goal in Woodstown soccer history to 298. Josh Olbrich and Blake Bialecki scored their first goals of the season
Bryce Ayars had a goal and an assist, continuing his run of scoring a goal in every Woodstown win this season. Landon Gugliemo and Ayden Ellis scored the Wolverines’ other two goals.
Pennsville 0, Pitman 0: The teams played to a scoreless draw that Pennsville coach Derek Foglein described as “a dog fight on a football field.” It was the Eagles’ first point against the Panthers since 2017, the year before Foglein took over the program, and snapped a 10-game losing streak in the series.
It was the Eagles’ eighth shutout of the season, their first tie since 2021 (86 games) and their first scoreless tie since before 2010, the last year records are publicly available.
Schalick 3, Palmyra 2: Tyler Vanlier, Luke Price and Jaxon Weber all scored goals in the Cougars’ sixth straight win.
Penns Grove 1, Cumberland 1: Poyraz Erdonmez gave the Red Devils a 1-0 lead and Ruben Lopez got Cumberland’s equalizer in the second half.
GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick 4, Gloucester Catholic 0: Cali Fisler scored a goal and added two more assists to her all-time school record. Olivia Vanacker, Kassady Sickler and Brooke Valentine had the other goals and Evan Berger was credited with two saves in the shutout.
Woodstown 7, Salem 0: Lia Covely had two goals and three assists and Gabby Maldonado scored twice. Bailey Arnold Peters, Genevieve Flynn and Aubree Covely scored the other goals. Ellie Wygand and Mazie Mazzoni shared the shutout.
Cumberland 5, Penns Grove 0: Ellie Bodine scored three goals for the Colts, giving her 23 for the season.
Pennsville at Pitman
GIRLS TENNIS
WOODSTOWN 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Nathalie Neron (WO) def. Kavita Pulchard, 6-0, 6-0
Alyssa Berry (WO) def. Yanet Cruz, 6-0, 6-0
Noelle Neron (WO) def. Andrea Chapone, 6-0, 6-0
Emma West-Elliana Norman (WO) def. Gianco Tirado-Nathalie Dominquez, 6-0, 6-0
Bailee Coles-Madison LaPalomento (WO) def. Valaria Pedroza-Cadence Jachoa, 6-1, 6-1
Records: Woodstown 12-3, Penns Grove 0-8.
OLMA 5, SALEM 0
Evangeline Catanese (O) def. Angelina Fothergill, 6-0, 6-2
Sara Wojtokowiak (O) def. Erica Brewer, 6-0, 6-1
Erin Malixi (O) def. Evangeline Jimenez Barreto, 6-0, 6-0
Leah Calderon-Sophia Terry (O) def. Phoenix Holland-Aleena Allen, 6-0, 6-1
Halle Dolce-Lily Mayo (O) won by forfeit
Records: OLMA 8-8, Salem 2-8.
Sibling sweep
Jacob and Abby Marino give Woodstown unique brother-sister sweep in Salem County Cross Country Championships; Woodstown boys, Schalick girls win team crowns
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE — Jacob and Abby Marino were sitting in the living room Tuesday night talking with their mom about how special it would be for brother and sister to win their respective races in the Salem County Cross Country Championships the next day. The conversation was light and hopeful.
It would be their last chance to pull it off and their best chance of happening — one, because Jacob is a senior and was making his last stand and, two, because there’s a changing of the guard on the girls side of the race.
They talked about it Tuesday. Less than 24 hours later the siblings were high-fiving after pulling it off.
Jacob won the boys race with a PR 16:37 after some trouble in Turn One. Sophomore sister Abby completed the gold-medal family portrait, winning with in 19:59 with plenty of room to spare.
“It’s awesome that we’re able to do this together, (in) my last county race, senior year,” said Jacob, who followed his sister to the finish from along the boundary. “It’s great that we’re able to win Salem Counties together my last year. It’s not something that gets to happen all the time, you know. It’s a big opportunity to finish together with your sibling in first place at a meet as big as the county meet.”
“It really means a lot to me,” Abby said. “It makes me really happy to see us both do it together. He always supports me every single race and I support him every single race.”
Jacob couldn’t recall the siblings ever winning race together although they have matched places “a lot.” They’re also believed to be the first brother-sister combo to win the county.
“Coming into this year we knew there was that chance and we wanted to build on that and win together,” Jacob said after his race. “That would be really cool as a family to both win counties.
“That was our goal for today. Obviously, we have a very strong bond as siblings, so we wanted to build on that.”
Abby led her race wire-to-wire and hit the tape more than a minute and a half ahead of second-place teammate Anabel Schaal. Jacob’s race had a bit more drama.
He and teammate Karson Chew were well in front of the pack running shoulder-to-shoulder through the first 1,000 yards, but when they turned behind the football stadium Chew came in too tight and hit the chain-link fence’s corner support post with his right arm and it knocked him off the pace.
Marino heard the impact of the collision, and as much as he felt for his friend, he had a race to run and focused on pulling away to avoid being caught by one of the defending race champion’s renowned closing kicks. Chew closed the gap a little, but Marino won the race by 21 seconds.
“That’s the most idiotic way for me to go out in the race,” Chew said. “I keep thinking to myself that’s something that would only happen to me. I would be the only person who would do that.
“I knew we were going to slingshot out of that turn, so I was trying to stick the inside as much as I could and I didn’t have peripheral vision. I turned in and the pole was there. I never thought I’d be going fast enough to not see something.”
Woodstown won the boys team title. Schalick edged Woodstown for the girls crown.
The Woodstown boys flooded the top 15, going 1-2-3 and 7 through 12. Schalick filled in the three spots in between and finished second.
Schalick won the girls title by four points. The Cougars placed all five of their counters in the top 10, with Helen Lillia and Emma Cain’s PR coming in behind Marino and Schaal. They led by a point after the first five counters were scored, then slammed the door with 6, 7 and 8.
Woodstown closed the gap with its fourth runner, but two more Schalick runners were among the traffic that helped keep the final Wolverines counter from making up enough of the difference.
Schalick coach Missy Pine couldn’t tell her runners they had won the meet as they were calculating the scores, but she didn’t have to. They knew it when they saw their coach crying on the side.
“We weren’t expecting it; this one surprised me,” Pine said. “I set goals for the girls and we went over them right before the race and they just went out and achieved above and beyond. They pushed the hardest that we could and were just amazing. So many personal bests today. They’ve been working really hard and I’m glad it was able to see pay off for them.”
| BOYS TEAM: Woodstown 21, Schalick 50, Salem Tech 84, Salem 136 |
| GIRLS TEAM: Schalick 28, Woodstown 32, Salem Tech 77 |
| BOYS TOP 15 | GIRLS TOP 15 | ||
| Jacob Marino, Woodstown | 16:37 | Abby Marino, Woodstown | 19:59 |
| Karson Chew, Woodstown | 16:58 | Anabel Schaal, Woodstown | 21:33 |
| David Ferrell, Woodstown | 17:19 | Helen Lillia, Schalick | 22:20 |
| Colin Bittle, Schalick | 17:31 | Sawyer Slad, Pennsville | 22:20 |
| Sal Longo, Schalick | 17:33 | Emma Cain, Schalick | 23:17 |
| Chase Riley, Schalick | 17:44 | Arianna Mott, Woodstown | 23:54 |
| Pacey Hutton, Woodstown | 18:08 | Paetyn Wallace, Schalick | 24:52 |
| Torsten Duva, Woodstown | 18:22 | Sarah Torpey, Schalick | 24:55 |
| Jackson Perry, Woodstown | 18:23 | Emma Wilbur, Schalick | 25:02 |
| John Hearst, Woodstown | 18:31 | Kiera Porch, Woodstown | 25:30 |
| Mike Turner, Woodstown | 18:45 | Paityn Harrington, Salem Tech | 25:38 |
| Brady Williams, Woodstown | 18:50 | Abigail Vanaman, Salem Tech | 25:39 |
| Gavin Cronrath, Salem | 18:50 | Savannah Guglielmo, Pennsville | 25:49 |
| J.P. Pozo, Salem Tech | 18:59 | Ava Melnick, Schalick | 25:51 |
| Josh Weiner, Schalick | 19:04 | Brooke Lutek, Schalick | 26:55 |
Never let up
Woodstown advances to girls tennis sectional semifinals working overtime against Schalick; also includes Tuesday’s county field hockey action
SJ GROUP I QIARTERFINALS
Pitman 5, Lower Cape May 0
Audubon 3, Pennsville 2 (Mon.)
Woodstown 4, Schalick 1
Haddon Twp. 5, Wildwood 0
THURSDAY’S SEMIFINALS
Audubon at Pitman
Woodstown at Haddon Twp.
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – Jesse Stemberger gathered his Woodstown tennis team on the grassy knoll behind the tennis courts and laid down to make a point in a way befitting his unique coaching style.
The Wolverines had just dispatched county rival Schalick 4-1 to reach the South Jersey Group I girls tennis semifinals for the first time since 2022, but there were elements of their performance he needed to address.
Once he laid on the grass he asked for four volunteers to do all they could to keep him pinned down. Alyssa Berry, Madison LaPalomento and twins Nathalie and Noelle Neron each grabbed an arm or a leg and did all they could to keep their squirming coach pinned to the turf.
After a few moments Stemberger stopped struggling. His players instinctively relaxed, and that release was all the coach needed to sit straight up and thereby prove the point he was trying to convey about the effects of letting up.
The Wolverines won the first set in four of their five matches, but three of their four wins and four matches overall went to third-set 10-point tiebreakers. It didn’t have to be so stressful if they kept the pedal down.
“I don’t want to win matches in four tiebreakers, I want the straight sets; I’m not a tiebreaker guy,” Stemberger said. “Everybody on the team has played a 10-point tiebreaker this year, so they all experienced it, they all know it, so I think that helped coming into today.
“It’s a great neutralizer (tiebreakers), but mental toughness came through. That’s the beauty of coaching tennis here. They’re all high performers and I don’t question their mental toughness.”
He just has to reinforce it from time to time. He learned the demonstration he used Tuesday when he worked in the mental health industry and has kept the technique “in my back pocket” all these years for just such coachable moments. He said he’s used it maybe twice in his coaching career.
“I use that as an example to say as soon as we relaxed, we let them back in,” he said. “We’ve got to keep (the pressure) up.”
The players at first were confused by their coach’s demonstration, but they wound up getting the point.
“I was thinking what is going on,” said sophomore Emilee Kehr, LoPalomento’s doubles partner. “Another crazy demonstration. It turns out to be a message underneath that we realize after a match. (This message was) don’t give up, keep pushing.”
The No. 1 doubles team of LaPalomento and Kehr earned the Wolverines a huge first point when rallied from dropping the first set to even the match and then convincingly won a 10-5 tiebreaker. Nathalie Neron clinched the victory with a 6-2, 4-6, 10-5 win at No. 1 singles.
The No. 2 doubles team of Emma West and Angelina Lindenmuth bounced back after dropping the second set to win an intense 11-9 tiebreaker for the final margin. Berry scored the Wolverines’ second point with the only straight-set match of the day at No. 2 singles.
The tiebreaker wins by Nathalie Neron and LaPalomento-Kehr came over Schalick players who played in last weekend’s NJSIAA singles and double draw.
LaPalomento and Kehr never led in their first set, but fought back to get it tied before Olivia Lunemann and Sebrina Bradford close it out 7-5. They trailed 4-3 in the second set, then won the next three games to even the match. They took command of the tiebreaker with seven straight points to open a 9-2 lead.
Lunemann and Bradford played in the second round of the NJSIAA doubles draw Sunday.
“The tiebreaker is always a lot more pressure than a regular set,” Kehr said, “but because there is more pressure you want to do better, you want to just finish it out, and that’s exactly what we did. After the (second) set were like we lost the first one, we came back in the second one, we’ve just got to finish it. It’s like the moment this all led up to. We had to finish it out.”
The seven players in Woodstown’s lineup Tuesday were a combined 5-4 10-point tiebreakers coming into the match, 10-6 if you include the 7-point set tiebreakers.
Nathalie Neron was playing in the first singles tiebreaker of her career against Miya Watkins and never lost the lead. It was 4-2 at one point and then she locked in to roll off four straight points to take control. Watkins lost in the first round of the NJSIAA singles draw Saturday.
“At first it was nerve-wracking, but I needed to reset my mindset and think of it like a clean slate,” she said. “It can go either way. You’ve just got to get up and get up fast.”
The Wolverines (11-3) will now travel to second-seeded Haddon Twp. (12-4) Thursday for the semifinals. Audubon (13-1) plays at top-seeded Pitman (15-3) for the other spot in the Oct. 14 sectional finals.
WOODSTOWN 4, SCHALICK 1
Nathalie Neron (WO) def. Miya Watkins, 6-2, 4-6, 10-5
Alyssa Berry (WO) def. Annmarie Podehl, 6-2, 6-4
Macy Clow (S) def. Noelle Neron, 5-7, 6-2, 10-8
Madison LaPalomento-Emilee Kehr (WO) def. Olivia Lunemann-Sebrina Bradford, 5-7, 6-4, 10-5
Emma West-Angelina Lindenmuth (WO) def. Sam Twigg-Jasmine Hunt, 6-4, 5-7, 11-9
Records: Woodstown 11-3, Schalick 6-5.
Field hockey
Woodstown 6, Deptford 0
PENNSVILLE 6, SALEM 1: Kylie Harris scored a career-high three goals, Gracie Mease had two and Kendall Hoyt had three assists as the Eagles presented coach Lisa Duran with a victory on the eve of her induction into the PMHS Athletic Hall of Fame. Duran is being enshrined for her standout playing career, which included 11 varsity letters and several high honors in three sports before starring collegiately at Old Dominion. The win snapped a five-game losing streak.
SCHALICK 10, GLASSBORO 2: Luci Virga scored three goals, Ava Scurry had two goals and five assists and five others scored goals for the Cougars (9-6). Scurry had five assists in last year’s 11-0 South Jersey tournament opener against South Hunterdon.
Within reach
Pennsville closing in on first division title in 32 years, Price scores twice in Schalick return, Ayars scores first hat trick
BOYS SOCCER
Pennsville 1, Wildwood 0
Schalick 4, Pitman 0
Woodstown 3, Overbrook 0
Penns Grove 1, Glassboro 0
Salem at Salem Tech
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Derek Foglein can’t quite wrap his hands around the trophy yet, but the 29-year-old Pennsville soccer coach can feel it and he says “it feels really good.”
The Eagles took a big step towards securing their first Tri-County Classic Division title in 32 years Monday when they edged Wildwood with a second-half own goal, 1-0.
The Eagles (8-4, 7-0) still have three division games remaining, but are the only undefeated team in the group and everyone else has at least two losses. They have won 13 straight Classic Division games over the last two seasons.
Interestingly, all eight of Pennsville’s wins this season have come via shutout.
“At this point we would need to lose to Clayton (8-4) and then lose to either Gloucester Catholic (4-6) or Salem (0-9) and Wildwood would have to clean out the rest of the way to go 8-2,” Foglein said. “I don’t see it happening, but I can’t call it official.
“I think getting a result on Tuesday night at Clayton on their turf on their Senior Night is going to be another huge battle for us, but I think if we win that one then we can pretty definitively say that it’s ours.”
How long has it been? Foglein wasn’t even on the planet when the Eagles last won a division in 1993. Assistant coach Joe Mecholsky was two years removed from graduating as a member of their 1991 division champions and could be part of the school’s first father-son soccer division champs if son Jackson and Friends pull it off.
“I could cry right now, I’m so happy,” stopper Steve Fatcher said. “When we go in the gym and we look in the soccer bleachers, (the banner says) it hasn’t been done since 1993. This is something that’s been waiting for generations now. Finally.
“It was the goal last year, but Wildwood came out shooting. It feels like a big weight is lifted off my shoulders and this team’s shoulders.”
The Eagles dominated the tempo in the second half and had several good chances to score that just missed the target. They finally got one in the net on an own goal credit to Sam Hassler with 21:28 left.
It came off another monster thrown in by Fatcher from the far sideline and was going to come right to Hassler when a Wildwood defender headed it into the top corner of the goal.
“We came into this game knowing my throw-ins are a big weapon,” Fatcher said. “A lot of the corners and throw-ins to Wildwood work because they don’t mark up straight out; they wait for you to come in.
“It seems like when they tried that they lost a lot of people in the box. The best chances we had were the throw-in or the corner kicks. We honestly should’ve had three or four more, but I don’t care how many chance we miss as long as the end result is a win.”
Funny how those crazy bounces have a way of evening out. The Eagles lost a 1-0 game earlier this year on an own goal and now they get their biggest goal of the year to date because of one.
“I said after the Glassboro game that was one I felt didn’t bounce in our favor,” Foglein said. “We got one to bounce in our favor today and probably the more important of the two we got to bounce in our favor today. I’m never going to complain about that.”
Especially not when it gets them so close to a title.
SCHALICK 4, PITMAN 0: Luke Price returned to the Schalick lineup after missing five games in concussion protocol and scored two goals in the Cougars’ fifth straight win.
“It was amazing,” the junior forward said of his return. “It’s great to be back. It’s a great group of boys to play with. I was happy to be with the team and contribute.”
Price sustained his concussion in the first half of the Cougars’ Sept. 20 loss to Bordentown and watched his mates go 4-1 in his absence. He got cleared for athletics Saturday and participated in practice that day.
He came off the bench Monday and scored his first goal since Sept. 18 off a cross from Josh Stecher after being in the game about five minutes. He scored his second goal in the second half to make it 3-0.
“I was really hoping for a goal just to get back into the groove,” he said. ”It was great scoring those.”
Tyler Vanlier, the freshman who took Price spot up front while he was out and scored four goals, scored the Cougars’ other two goals against the Panthers. Evan Sepers posted the shutout, his third in a row and fifth of the season.
WOODSTOWN 3, OVERBROOK 0: Bryce Ayars scored his first high school hat trick. Nick DiTeodoro assisted on two of the goals and Blake Bialecki assisted on the other.
Ayars has scored a goal in each of the Wolverines’ eight wins this season. They have won 17 straight and 22 of the last 23 in which he has scored a goal.
“It’s definitely an achievement that I’ve been driven to make this year, but it couldn’t be done without my teammates,” Ayars said. “This season feels different and the teamwork we have made this hat trick possible. Hoping this is the first of many, but I’m definitely going to remember this one.”
PENNS GROVE 1, GLASSBORO 0: Juan Ortiz scored the game’s only goal in the first half and Dwayne Guzman Silva made it stand in the goal, including a great save on a header off a corner kick in the first half. The Red Devils are 3-0 in one-goal games this season.
SALEM AT SALEM TECH: The Rams were looking for their first win of the season. The Chargers were looking for a season sweep.
Keeping pace
Girls roundup: Schalick soccer dodges bullet in division with Berger’s golden goal, Salem field hockey wins in final minute, Pennsville falls in South Jersey tennis quarterfinals
GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick 3, Pennsville 2 (OT)
Woodstown 3, Overbrook 1
Salem Tech 7, Salem 1
Glassboro at Penns Grove
By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Will Kemp might not have seen it that way, but the Schalick girls soccer team dodged a bullet that could have disrupted its division title hopes Monday.
The Cougars needed a goal less than four minutes before the end of regulation to keep the game alive and then got a golden goal in overtime to beat Pennsville 3-2.
The win allowed them to remain tied with Woodstown atop the TCC Diamond Division at 6-0-1. The teams play the rematch of their 1-1 draw at Schalick Oct. 16 – as if there needed to be any more incentive for a matchup between those two teams, although it might not have been as juicy had the Cougars not won Monday.
“I don’t think we dodged a bullet,” the Schalick coach said. “We had a good match against a team that’s developed extremely well over the last few weeks.
“Even if the division’s not on the line, the match with Woodstown is always going to be a heated, high-intense match, so for us to go ahead and continue to have a first-place fight going into a match like that, it just adds a lot more fuel to the actual fire that’s going to happen inside that game. I’m just really excited for the girls to be able to continue to play for it.”
Pennsville took a 2-1 lead on Taylor Bass’ goal with 8:38 to play and as time dwindled down the Cougars chances to pull this one out were starting to look what Quinn Berger described as “iffy” until center back-turned striker Emily Miller got the equalizer with 3:31 to play.
“Emily has been able to find the back of the net numerous times over her career,” Kemp said. “I’m not really too surprised she actually was able to give us the equalizer inside a match like this.”
Berger then won it midway through the first overtime with a 20-yard kick to her lower left side after a foul just outside the box.
“I saw the gap in between their wall and the corner of the net and the goalie kind of behind the wall so I knew not to chip it over the wall,” Berger said. “And I saw the corner was wide open so I might as well place it, so that’s exactly what I did.”
The Cougars won the first meeting between the teams 6-0 and seemed headed that way when Cali Fisher scored in the eighth minute of the rematch. But the Eagles were having none of it as Marley Wood drew them even 8:54 before halftime.
It was the first goal the Eagles have scored on Schalick in seven meetings and the closest they’re played the Cougars since beating them 1-0 in 2021.
“They played spectacularly,” Pennsville coach Casey Slusher said of her team. “This group of girls is very resilient. We’ve had some ups and downs, up players, down players, it doesn’t matter to them, they come out and just give us their all.
“Even going into overtime with Schalick is a pretty good accomplishment for us, so I’m just proud of my girls for putting it all out there and playing the way they did.”
Kemp was equally generous with the praise for his team’s resiliency.
“Our word of the day today was ‘remember,’” he said. “I was talking to the players about what are you actually going to be remembered for when you leave this field. For us to walk away from this match, they’re going to remember us for getting frustrated but still continue to maintain the course by keeping the standard and making sure we see the game through.”
WOODSTOWN 3, OVERBROOK 1: The Wolverines (8-2-1) held onto their share of the division lead behind goals from Emma Morgan, Emma Perry and Sophie Wells. Wells has scored both of her goals this season against the Rams (4-7).
SALEM TECH 7, SALEM 1: Julia Hewitt-Friebel scored three goals and Ava Robinson scored twice to lead the Chargers. Evening Ademee and Peyton Pratt scored Salem Tech’s other goals. Isla Bohn scored for Salem.
Love that goal scorer
FIELD HOCKEY
Salem 3, Absegami 2
Hammonton 2, Woodstown 1
SALEM – Julliana Love beat the clock and the goalie in the final minute to complete a three-goal comeback against Absegami that produced the Rams’ second win of the season, 3-2.
With time running out, the senior went 1-on-1 with Braves goalie Fairleigh Wilson, aimed for the corner and popped in the game-winner with 52 seconds to play. She scored two goals in the game. Freshman Khloe Bubier scored the Rams’ other goal.
“It was a great competitive game,” Love said. “All I can remember is thinking I didn’t want to go into overtime, so I took the ball up the field, dodged two girls and then was 1-on-1 with the goalie and made the game-winning shot.”
HAMMONTON 2, WOODSTOWN 1: Gabriella Teti scored the game-winner in the fourth quarter. Bella Eachus scored for Woodstown (6-4-1) in the second quarter.
Tennis
SJ Group I Quarterfinals
AUDUBON 3, PENNSVILLE 2
Lily Edwards (P) def. Olivia Tessitore, 6-0, 6-0
Olivia Tessitore (A) def. Isabella Schrenker, 6-1, 6-2
Isabella Lamancusa (A) def. Morgan Holt, 6-3, 6-2
Bridget Mattson-Finola Witherington (A) def. Emma Hankin-Naomi Hess, 6-0, 7-5
Graillyn Weber-Yerlian Charon (P) def. Yesica Palillero-Bea Herman, 6-4, 2-6 10-8
Records: Audubon 13-1, Pennsville 9-7.
Volleyball
WOODSTOWN – Neima Dominguez scored 18 kills and Erin Compton 14 as Camden Tech rallied from one set down to defeat Salem Tech 2-1. The set scores were 20-25, 25-23, 25-14. Valentina Andeliz had 22 digs and Madeline Kopakowski had 26 assists and seven aces.
This week’s schedule
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Oct. 5-12
SUNDAY, OCT. 5
FIELD HOCKEY
SJ Tournament of Champions
At Clearview
Schalick vs. Clearview, 3:15 p.m.
MONDAY, OCT. 6
FIELD HOCKEY
Absegami at Salem, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Hammonton, 4 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Salem at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Wildwood at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Overbrook at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Glassboro at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Salem Tech at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Overbrook, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic, 3:45 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Camden County Tech at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
TUESDAY, OCT. 7
FIELD HOCKEY
Deptford at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Pitman at Schalick, 4 p.m.
Salem at Pennsville, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
SJ Group I Quarterfinals
Lower Cape May at Pitman, 2 p.m.
Schalick at Woodstown, 3 p.m.
Wildwood at Haddon Twp., 3 p.m.
Audubon at Pennsville, 3:30 p.m.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 8
BOYS SOCCER
Cumberland at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
Salem at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Palmyra, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Pitman, 7 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Schalick at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m.
Woodstown at Salem, 4 p.m.
Pennsville at Pitman, 5 p.m.
Penns Grove at Cumberland, 6 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Penns Grove at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
OLMA at Salem, 4 p.m.
CROSS COUNTRY
Salem County Meet at Schalick, 3:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, OCT. 9
WJFL FOOTBALL
Paulsboro at Pennsville, 6 p.m.
Haddon Heights at Woodstown, 7 p.m.
Cinnaminson at Glassboro
FIELD HOCKEY
Burlington City at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.
Woodstown at Schalick, 4 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Camden Academy Charter at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Gloucester City at Salem, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Salem at Gloucester City, 4 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Wildwood, 4 p.m.
FRIDAY, OCT. 10
WJFL FOOTBALL
Gloucester at Schalick, 6 p.m.
Penns Grove at Delran, 6 p.m.
Collingswood at Audubon, 7 p.m.
Overbrook at Camden Catholic
Woodbury at Willingboro
FIELD HOCKEY
Overbrook at Salem Tech, 3:45 p.m.
Salem at Gloucester City, 4 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Penns Grove at Woodbury, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Paulsboro at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
Woodbury at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown at Pitman, 3:45 p.m.
Penns Grove at Salem, 4 p.m.
Schalick at Wildwood, 4:15 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Highland, 4 p.m.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC Prospect Showcase
SATURDAY, OCT. 11
WJFL FOOTBALL
West Deptford at Salem, noon
CROSS COUNTRY
South Jersey Coaches Meet, Dream Park
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC Prospect Showcase
SUNDAY, OCT. 12
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Salem CC Prospect Showcase
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Morris CC, CCBC at Salem CC, 10 a.m.
Photo credit: Kaitlyn Khairzada
Riverview Sports News 