Woodstown milestone

Wolverines played the 1000th game in its football history last week; includes Wednesday’s results and highlights

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – While everyone involved in Friday night’s Schalick-Woodstown football game was – rightfully so – focused on recognizing the 25th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11, another more celebratory milestone slipped under the radar.

The game was the No. 1,000 in the storied history of Woodstown football, according to a recently published list of all-time New Jersey high school football records. The Wolverines played their first game in 1911.

“I didn’t know all that, but it’s very cool to be a part of,” Wolverines head coach Frank Trautz said. “Woodstown football has a tremendous history and so many great people have come through it that I’m honored just to be a small part of it.”

“It’s wild,” said Woodstown athletics director Joe Ursino, himself caught off-guard by the milestone. “I was here for when the school turned 100 years old. It’s just another feather in the cap or attribute towards the tradition that we have. A thousand football games is pretty neat.”

Penns Grove, which started football a year after Woodstown, has played the most games among the county schools and has the most wins. Salem, the longest running program in the county, dating back to 1904, is second in wins with 537.

All told, the five current Salem County football-playing schools have amassed 2,074 wins and 1,937 losses.

Woodstown is closing in on two other milestones on either side of the emotional spectrum. They are nine wins away from 500 all-time and three losses shy of the same number.

“We’ll let the Phillies and the pro sports worry about that,” Ursino said of the losses milestone. “It’s a lot of opportunities we’ve had for kids to grow and learn the game and develop as adults. We focus more on that than we do the Ls, and we celebrate the Ws, but they all have the same goal in the end.”

Salem County football records

SCHOOL	START	GAMES	RECORD
Penns Grove	1912	1047	556-442-47
Pennsville	1957	657	335-303-16
Salem	1904	1041	537-434-70
Schalick	1977	469	205-261-3
Woodstown	1911	1000	441-497-62

Source: Published records

Wednesday’s results

BOYS SOCCER
Penns Grove 3, Salem Tech 2: Juan Ortiz’ second goal of the game, four minutes into overtime, was the game-winner. Ortiz has scored a career-high nine of the Red Devils’ 13 goals this season. Avery Reed and Josh Woroniak scored for the Chargers.
Cumberland 4, Schalick 2: Fernando Santiago scored three goals as the Colts beat Schalick for the first time since 2014. Josh Stecher and Marco Spinnato scored for the Cougars.
Woodstown 8, Gloucester Catholic 0: The Wolverines had their scoring shoes on, Jake Lewis, Nick DiTeodoro and Tyler Robertson all scored twice and DiTeodoro notched three assists. It was the most they’d scored in a game since putting nine on the Rams in 2023. The Wolverines had scored seven goals in their first four games.
Glassboro 2, Pennsville 1: Lucas Kudless scores both Glassboro goals, finishing a long cross on the touchline for the game-winner. Brett Land scored for the Eagles.

GIRLS SOCCER
Cumberland 13, Salem 1: Ellie Bodine scored seven goals, the most in a single game in the state this season. Hoboken’s Wren Napolitani had six in a game last week. Lyric Hayes scored Salem’s goal in the second half.
Woodstown 2, Gloucester Catholic 0: Bella Lucas and Genevieve Flynn scored the goals as the Wolverines won their third in a row. All three wins have been by shutout. Mazie Mazzoni and Co. haven’t allowed a goal in their last seven halves.
Glassboro at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Salem Tech

FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick 12, Pennsville 0: Lucy Virga scored three goals, Addi Shimp and Lily Terrigno each scored twice and the Cougars scored the most goals in any game under head coach Heather Cheesman. It’s the most goals the Cougars have scored in any game since putting 13 on Clayton in 2010.
Salem Tech 2, Overbrook 1: Abigail Beals’ goal in the fourth quarter proved to be the game-winner for the Chargers. Hayden Crispin scored their first goal. Caroline Tighe made six saves in the goal and Jessilyn Chambers came up with a big defensive save to keep the Rams out of the net.

GIRLS TENNIS
PENNSVILLE 3, GLASSBORO 2
Graillyn Weber (P) def. Alana Killelea, 6-1, 6-1
Naomi Hess (P) def. Alice Denzel, 6-0, 6-1
Jaisley Weber (P) def. Virginia Tarasevich, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7)
Sofia Dungca-Conception Soriano (G) def. Aubrey Hall-Mariangela Rangel, 6-2, 6-2
Ijeoma Ufomba-Shreeti Sutaria (G) def. Marissa Dowell-Juliana Thomas, 6-1, 6-0
Records: Pennsville 6-2, Glassboro 3-4.

PITMAN 4, WOODSTOWN 1
Ava Mollenhauer (P) def. Madison LaPalomento, 6-3, 6-0
Kendall Bennett (P) def. Emma West, 6-1, 6-0
Angelina Lindenmuth (WO) def. Mikaela Totora, 6-1, 6-0
Listella Eisenhardt-Delaney Pierson (P) def. Emilee Kehr-Elliana Norman, 3-6, 6-3, 10-8
Anna Jones-Mia Gladney (P) def. Isabella Lindenmuth-Eleanore Lawson, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
Records: Pitman 6-4, Woodstown 5-4

Cougars break through

Schalick field hockey scores first goal, first win against gritty Salem Tech; roundup includes scores, highlights from Monday’s Salem County sports schedule

MONDAY FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick 2, Salem Tech 1
Woodstown 8, Deptford 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – This is a different kind of year for the Schalick field hockey. The Cougars have been the dominant team in Salem County and one of contenders in South Jersey Group 1 for the past couple years, but now they’re in a rebuild.

The core of the group that had won 56 games over last last four years has graduated, off to other pursuits, leaving coach Heather Cheesman with one of the youngest teams in her tenure, but one intent of starting the cycle all over again. Of course, all that comes with growing pains until the light bulb comes on.

The Cougars hadn’t been 0-2 to start a season in 13 years and had yet to score a goal. They finally broke through both barriers Monday when they scored their first goals of the season and secured their first win of the season, 2-1 at Salem Tech.

“It for sure is a different kind of year,” Cheesman said. “I have a lot of young players. We haven’t a team like this in probably the last four years with so many freshmen starting or playing the game at this level. Even when the kids who just graduated were freshmen they had been playing together for years throughout our feeder program so they were already jelled.

“I think once we connect it’s going to be good. It’s just getting them to jell and connect and play together. Individually they’re all good, we’ve just got to bring it together.”

One sure sign it’s a different kind of year is the length of the post-game huddle. The ones the last couple years were brief, if they had one at all. The one down in the far corner Monday lasted 10 minutes – and that wasn’t even the longest one of this season.

“Probably the one against Woodstown was probably more like 20 minutes,” Cheesman said. “The last couple years sometimes we wouldn’t even meet; we’d talk about it the next day. It was a three-minute, five-minute conversation. Now, it’s definitely a lot longer, like what can we do, what can we fix, this is what looked good, this is what we need to work on.”

Ranae Scurry scored the Cougars’ first goal of the season with 4:50 left in the first quarter. Addy Shimp, in her new role as inserter, got the ball to Lucy Virga at the top of the arc. Virga sent it towards the goal and Scurry ripped it into the cage.

“it wasn’t a relief,” Scurry said. “I think it was just a pick-me-up. More like, OK, we can get one, how many more can we get?”

That answer came in the first minute of the second quarter when Shimp made it 2-0. Scurry sent Shimp’s corner into the zone where Virga got it to Morgan DuBois who put a nice touch on it in traffic. Chargers goalie Caroline Tighe made the initial stop, but the ball dropped at her feet where Shimp was “there at the right time” to bang it home.

Both goal scorers are confident the Cougars will return to their old form soon.

“It’s definitely a rebuilding process, but as the season goes on we’re going to learn each other,” Scurry said. “It’s just meshing together. I think it’s kind of hard right now, but we’re learning this game, we’re trying different formations, lineups to deal with. We didn’t have to (before) because we were together for so long.”

“I think the only difference is we’re just not completely used to playing with each other yet,” Shimp said. “We all have the skill, we just have to connect. I think we’ll connect eventually. We definitely have a lot of potential and I think we’re going to connect, it’s just early in season. That was definitely an improvement today because we definitely did a lot better.”

The Chargers, meanwhile, were playing their first game ever against a Salem County opponent and held their own against one of the county’s traditional bests. As an independent in their inaugural season, they could schedule at their leisure for early success and foundational confidence and did just that. Now that they’re in the TCC Classic Division, however, half the schedule is made for them and that includes at least two games each with county rivals Pennsville and Salem.

They fell behind 2-0 in the first half, but didn’t wilt. Abby Beals got them on the board when she kept Hayden Crispin’s shot moving through the box and inside the left post with 9:45 left in the third quarter.

It looked like they got the tying goal five minutes later, but the whistle blew the play dead before the ball reached the crease. They had another good chance with 2:30 left, when Beals got it in to Crispin, but her shot just missed the right post.

“I think they did great,” Chargers coach Melissa Lewis said. “I felt like they played their game and they were very strong. They didn’t give up and they had a fire in them. They wanted this win and it’s unfortunate we didn’t get it.”

WOODSTOWN 8, DEPTFORD 0: Talia Guardascione had a pair of goals and six other Wolverines scored. Lexi Taylor and Brooke Dillion both had a goal and an assist. The eight goals were the most they’ve scored in a game since a 9-1 win over Cumberland in 2024. It was their third straight shutout.

BOYS SOCCER
Clayton 3, Salem Tech 2: Jonathan Rehm’s second goal, a penalty kick five minutes into overtime, was the game-winner. Logan Pace got the game-tying tying goal for the Chargers on a penalty kick four minutes before the end of regulation.
Penns Grove 6, Pitman 1: Juan Ortiz scores three goals.
Pennsville 2, Gloucester Catholic 0: Sam Hassler and Ugur Elmali scored goals as the Eagles got their first win of the year and extended their unbeaten streak over the Rams to six in a row.
Schalick 8, Overbrook 1: Luke Price and Tyler Vanlier each scored twice and Marco Spinnato had three assists.
Woodstown 1, Glassboro 0 (OT): Ayden Ellis collected his second game-winning goal of the season when he was credited with an own goal midway through OT1. He got the game-winner in the final five minutes against Pennsville in their season opener.

GIRLS SOCCER
Clayton 6, Salem Tech 0: Six players lit the lamp for the Clippers.
Gloucester Catholic 2, Pennsville 0: Alexa Battaglia and Olivia Pisano scored goals, Ruth Cutuli made eight saves in the shutout.
Schalick 6, Overbrook 0: Emily Miller scored three goals and Mackenzie Talarico had a goal and two assists.
Woodstown 7, Glassboro 0: Freshman Korynn Hernandez scored her third hat trick in five games.
Pitman 7, Salem 1: Erin Rudley had two goals and Emery Sharpnack had three assists for Pitman. Jaylynn Dickerson scored Salem’s goal in the fourth minute of the second half.
Woodbury 5, Penns Grove 0

GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville 3, Buena 2
Woodstown 5, Schalick 0
Salem at Bridgeton
Timber Creek at Penns Grove

WOODSTOWN 5, SCHALICK 0
Madison LaPalomento (WO) def. Olivia Lunemann, 6-1, 6-2
Emma West (WO) def. Sebrina Bradford, 6-4, 6-4
Angelina Lindenmuth (WO) def. Jasmine Hunt, 6-4, 4-6, 10-4
Emilee Kehr-Elliana Norman (WO) def. Brooke Brown-Jasmin Perez, 6-1, 6-2
Eleanore Lawson-Isabella Lindenmuth (WO) def. Riveras Wojcik-Janae White, 6-2, 6-3
Records: Woodstown 4-3, Schalick 4-2

PENNSVILLE 3, BUENA 2
Graillyn Weber (P) def. Caroline Futty, 6-1, 6-2
Naomi Hess (P) def. Kara Horton, 6-0, 6-1
Jaisley Weber (P) def. Makenna Feaster, 6-4, 6-1
SciOni Simmons Laboy-Julie Tomasso (B) def. Aubrey Hall-Mariangela Rangel, 4-6, 6-2, 10-7
Analeigh Nardone-Isabella (B) def. Marissa Dowell-Juliana Thomas, 6-2, 4-6, 10-6
Records: Pennsville 4-2, Buena 1-4.

COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Atlantic Cape 3, Salem CC 0

This week’s schedule

Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Sept. 14-19; all events start at 4 p.m. unless noted

MONDAY, SEPT. 14
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick at Salem Tech
Woodstown at Deptford
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Pennsville
Overbrook at Schalick
Penns Grove at Pitman
Salem Tech at Clayton
Woodstown at Glassboro
GIRLS SOCCER
Clayton at Salem Tech
Glassboro at Woodstown
Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic
Pitman at Salem
Schalick at Overbrook
Woodbury at Penns Grove, 6 p.m.
GIRLS TENNIS
Schalick at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Buena at Pennsville
Salem at Bridgeton
Timber Creek at Penns Grove
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Salem CC at Atlantic Cape, 6 p.m.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 15
FIELD HOCKEY
Clayton at Pennsville
Gloucester Catholic at Salem
GIRLS TENNIS
West Deptford at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Pennsville at Penns Grove, 6 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at GCIT, 3:45 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 16
FIELD HOCKEY
Gateway at Woodstown
Pennsville at Schalick
Salem Tech at Overbrook
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester Catholic at Woodstown
Pennsville at Glassboro
Salem Tech at Penns Grove
Schalick at Cumberland
GIRLS SOCCER
Cumberland at Salem
Glassboro at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Salem Tech
Woodstown at Gloucester Catholic
GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Glassboro, 3:45 p.m.
Pitman at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
Penns Grove at Schalick

THURSDAY, SEPT. 17
FOOTBALL
Buena at Clayton, 6 p.m.
Pleasantville at Cherokee, 6 p.m.
Cumberland at Vineland, 6 p.m.
Gateway at Sterling, 6 p.m.
Bridgeton at St. Joe (Hamm.), 6:30 p.m.
Lindenwold at Haddon Twp., 7 p.m.
West Deptford at Paul VI, 7 p.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick at Delsea
BOYS SOCCER
Pennsville at Penns Grove, 6 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER
Cumberland at Salem
Penns Grove at Gloucester Catholic
Schalick at Cherry Hill West
GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville at Millville
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic, 5:15 p.m.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Salem CC at Morris, 6 p.m.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 18
FOOTBALL
Salem at Schalick, 6 p.m.
Pitman at Penns Grove, 6:30 p.m.
Burlington City at Overbrook, 7 p.m.
Shawnee at Rancocas Valley, 6 p.m.
Eastern at Northern Burlington, 6 p.m.
Allentown at Trenton, 6 p.m.
Atlantic Tech at Lower Cape May, 6 p.m.
Absegami at Hammonton, 6 p.m.
Gloucester at Triton, 6 p.m.
Lenape at Williamstown, 6 p.m.
Mainland at Holy Spirit, 6 p.m.
Millville at Kingsway, 6 p.m.
Washington Twp. at Atlantic City, 6 p.m.
Pennsauken at Cherry Hill East, 6 p.m.
Lawrence at Notre Dame, 6 p.m.
Highland at Timber Creek, 6 p.m.
Maple Shade at Bordentown, 6 p.m.
Seneca at Willingboro, 6 p.m.
Camden at Ocean City, 6 p.m.
Oakcrest at Egg Harbor, 6 p.m.
Clearview at Deptford, 6 p.m.
Cinnaminson at Cherry Hill West, 6 p.m.
Middle Twp. at Wildwood, 6 p.m.
Collingswood at Bishop Eustace, 6:30 p.m.
Ewing at Hopewell Valley, 7 p.m.
Florence at Camden Catholic, 7 p.m.
Camden Eastside at Moorestown, 7 p.m.
Delran at Haddonfield, 7 p.m.
Burlington Twp. at Delsea, 7 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
Salem at Woodstown
GIRLS SOCCER
Bridgeton at Pennsville
FIELD HOCKEY
Absegami at Salem Tech
Pennsville at Bridgeton
Salem at Winslow
GIRLS TENNIS
Pitman at Salem
Schalick at Timber Creek
Woodstown at Overbrook

SATURDAY, SEPT. 19
FOOTBALL
Woodstown at Woodbury, 11 a.m.
Pennsville at Paulsboro, 11 a.m.
Hightstown at Princeton, 11 a.m.
Mastern Camden at Holy Cross, 11 a.m.
Palmyra at Gloucester Catholic, 11 a.m.
Haddon Heights at Audubon, 11 a.m.
Nottingham at Steinert, 11 a.m.
Riverside at KIPP, noon
WW-Plainsboro at Pemberton, noon
Glassboro at Cedar Creek, 1:30 p.m.
Robbinsville at Hamilton West, 2 p.m.
Buena at Clayton, 3 p.m.
Winslow at St. Augustine, 6 p.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
Haddon Twp. at Schalick
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Thaddeus Stevens vs. Salem CC, Penns Grove H.S., noon

Friday roundup

Here are the scores and highlights from Friday’s Salem County sports calendar

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
FIELD HOCKEY
Bridgeton at Salem
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester at Salem
Salem Tech 1, Camden Academy Charter 0
GIRLS TENNIS
Pennsville 3, Haddon Heights 2
Trenton at Penns Grove
VOLLEYBALL
Salem Tech 2, Highland 0

By Riverview Sports News

NEWARK, Del. — Woodstown’s Abby Marino finished second and David Farrell placed third in their respective races at the White Clay Creek Cross Country Invitational that drew more than 50 schools from the four-state area.

Marino ran through the White Clay Creek State Park course a 20:18.9 to finish second in the junior girls race behind Tatnall’s Krissa Woods (19:28.8). Farrell ran a 17:04.5 to finish third in the senior boys race, about a second behind runner-up Carter Brown of Newark Charter.

Also in the senior boys race, Woodstown’s Pacey Hutton finished 17th (19:03.4) and Salem Tech’s Anthony Morano was 21st (19:20.9). Woodstown’s Anabel Schaal was 21st in the senior girls race (25:41.1).

In the junior boys race, Woodstown’s Torsten Duva was 11th (19:23.1) and teammates John Hearst and Jackson Perry finished in the top 25. Salem Tech’s Joseph MacNeil was 25th.

Salem Tech’s Levin Seals was 13th among sophomore boys. Woodstown’s Reese Madiraca was 13th among the freshmen girls.

BOYS SOCCER

SALEM TECH 1, CAMDEN ACADEMY CHARTER 0: Logan Pace scored on a pass from Lucca Picci in the second half for the only goal of the match. Aiden Bobo made six saves in recording his second straight shutout. The Chargers are 2-0 for the first time in the history of their program.

VOLLEYBALL

SALEM TECH 2, HIGHLAND 0: Jadelynn Stiffen had seven kills, Shelby Liber had 10 digs and Cecelia Venello had 13 assists for the Chargers. Venello and Liber both had three aces. The set scores were 25-17, 25-10.

GIRLS TENNIS

PENNSVILLE 3, HADDON HEIGHTS 2
Ellie Mazzucco (H) def. Graillyn Weber, 6-3, 6-0
Naomi Hess (P) def. Molly Walker, 6-1, 6-3
Jaisley Weber (P) def. Erin Lewandowski, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
Lucy Durand-Ruby Grieve (H) def. Aubrey Hall-Mariangela Rangel, 6-4, 7-5
Marissa Dowell-Juliana Thomas (P) def. Isla Harkins-Alison O’Brien, 6-3, 6-4
Records: Pennsville 3-2, Haddon Heights 1-2.

COLLEGE CROSS COUNTRY

LOGAN TWP. — Salem CC’s Izzy Saulin ran a 21.27.54 for 4000 meters to finish 24th in the women’s race of Bill Fritz Open at Dream Park. The Pennsville product set the school record at 5000 meters in her last race and this was the team’s first race at 4K. Eliyah Smith was 29th.

In the men’s 6K race, Danny Zellner and Mu’adh Johnson-Ibn Jabbar led the Mighty Oaks across the line with top 10 finishes. Zellmer ran 28:12.3 for ninth and Johnson-Ibn Jabbar ran 28:13.9 for tenth.

Cougars right ship

Schalick soccer bounces back after rare season-opening loss; roundup includes results and highlights from Thursday’s Salem County sports calendar

BOYS SOCCER
Clayton 3, Pennsville 0
Overbrook 2, Woodstown 1
Salem at Salem Tech, ppd.
Schalick 7, Penns Grove 0
GIRLS SOCCER
Pennsville 3, Clayton 2
Salem Tech 7, Salem 1
Schalick 8, Penns Grove 0
Woodstown 5, Overbrook 0
FIELD HOCKEY
Salem Tech 6, Gloucester Catholic 0
Pennsville 4, Salem 1
Woodstown 2, Schalick 0
GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown 4, Pennsville 1
Schalick 5, Salem 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Mano Massari’s Penns Grove soccer team was coming off an inspiring season-opening win looking forward to getting off to a good start. Then he looked at the schedule.

There was Schalick on the next line. Massari knew what that meant, but it was going to be even more challenging than usual. This was a Schalick team coming off a loss. He’d seen this movie before.

The Cougars are a tough out under normal conditions, but don’t get them when they’re mad.

In three of the previous four regular-season meetings between the teams Schalick came into the Penns Grove game reeling from a loss or a tie and handled the Red Devils pretty well. It happened again Thursday, 7-0.

Last year the Cougars came to Penns Grove off a loss to rival Woodstown — and back-to-back losses at that — and won 7-1. In the return game, they were coming off a scoreless tie with the Wolverines and won 4-0. The year before they beat them 5-0 coming off a loss to Cinnaminson. They have now won eight in a row in the series.

“Schalick is Schalick,” Massari said. “I think there’s a big gap between us right now. I think there has been for a few years. They’re a talented group. You can tell they’re very well coached. They listen, they’re very disciplined and they execute. They finish their opportunities; that’s something we need to be better at. We had little to no opportunities today.

“They proved they’re still a top dog. They’re the measuring stick for us right now. We knew it was going to be tough. I think the last couple times we’ve played them they’ve come in off of a loss. I don’t know if they have extra motivation because they’re coming off of a loss, but they really have been our Kryptonite for the last few years.”

Schalick coach Joe Mannella called it purely coincidental Penns Grove has fallen as the next team on the schedule so many times after a rare Schalick loss, but the Cougars were very much in need of a win to get their season started. They were coming off a season-opening 3-0 loss to Delran, the first time since 2022 they lost a season opener and the first time since 2018 they were blanked in one. You have to go back before 2010 to find the last time they started a season 0-2.

“We finally scored,” Manella said. “We had a bunch of scrimmages and the Delran game we weren’t scoring goals. Scoring goals and winning games cures a lot of ailments and we started to question our confidence, question ourselves and wonder how good are we. This helps. We’ve still got a lot to do, but this certainly is what we needed.

“To most competitors your pride gets bruised (in a loss) and you want to get out there and prove yourself. We certainly made a point that we wanted to get the taste of that loss Tuesday out of our mouth and start feeling good about ourselves. We don’t want to hit a losing streak or anything like that so you definitely dig down a little bit, try a little harder, and don’t give them anything.”

The Cougars went right at their hosts. Sophomore Josh Stecher scored their first goal of the season and the first of his two in the game when he buried a shot from the right side of the box into the far left corner two minutes into the match. He was credited with the game’s second score 17 minutes later when his crossing pass caromed home off a Penns Grove defender into the goal. Connor McQuade and Nolan O’Toole made it 4-0 with two quick goals in the 23rd minute.

Marco Spinnato scored two goals a minute part in the second half and Jake Sepers scored on a penalty kick. Stecher scored the Cougars’ first two and Spinnato scored their last two.

“We knew we could win this game by a lot and we just wanted to smash this team because of what happened to us last year,” Stecher said. “Every time we play this team we play very well. I don’t know why we play really well against this team, but we always play pretty good.”

The Cougars could’ve had a lot more. Penns Grove freshman keeper Ruben Torres Saenz stoned Luke Price and Spinnato three times one-on-one between Stecher’s two goals and the Cougars hit the post three times in the game. The goalie was credited with 30 saves on the reporting form.

“I’m very happy with how my keeper performed today,” Massari said. “I think a lot of their goals were second opportunities. I think he made really good saves and my defense was caught lacking. I think as a freshman going against that team and showing what he showed today, he showed a lot guts. I think he shows he can play with these guys.

“He’s a calm kid every day and I don’t think he gets rattled very much. He knew we were playing a very good team. I don’t think he realized how good, but I think he stepped up and showed us something. Dwayne (Guzman) left a big hole for us and last year I didn’t know what we were going to do. I had nobody and now we have this kid, who, quite frankly, looked better as a freshman his first game than Dwayne did. It’s the first game of the season, but it’s promising. That was the one bright spot for us today.”

Top photo: Penns Grove’s Esvin Padilla (5) slides in to deny Schalick’s Marco Spinnato a scoring chance in the first half.

CLAYTON 3, PENNSVILLE 0: Jonathan Rehm scored all three goals in the battle of TCC Classic Division contenders. Rehm scored early in the first half and then converted a pair of King Mosley passes in the second. Justin Delaney made 10 saves in recording the shutout.

OVERBROOK 2, WOODSTOWN 1: Brian Reyes broke a 1-1 tie with a goal eight minutes before halftime and the teams slugged it out in a scoreless second half. Don Milhomme scored Woodstown’s game-tying goal in the 18th minute. Woodstown peppered the goal with 24 shots, but couldn’t get the equalizer.

Girls soccer

PENNSVILLE 3, CLAYTON 2: Sloan Marquette bent a corner kick around the near left post with 3:16 left in the first overtime to bring the Eagles the victory.

The Eagles fell behind 1-0, but took a 2-1 lead on a pair of goals less than two minutes apart late in the first half. Karson Cooksey tied the game with 8:19 left in the half off another Marquette corner kick. Abby Marandola made it 2-1 with 6:31 left in the half.

Clayton’s Madi Traister tied the game with her second goal with 22:18 left in regulation.

SCHALICK 8, PENNS GROVE 0: Nicolette Bloomer and Mackenzie Talarico both scored a pair of goals for the second game in a row and Kyleigh Cutler had a goal and three assists to lead the Cougars. Emily Miller, Karlie Bakley and freshman Giuliana Martin, notched Schalick’s other goals.

WOODSTOWN 5, OVERBROOK 0: Freshman Korynn Hernandez scored her second hat trick in three games. Bella Lucas and Krysten Dussault had the Wolverines’ other goals and Hailey Kucharczuk dished three assists. Mazie Mazzoni made three saves in recording her second shutout.

“She’s a threat anywhere on the field and capitalizes on all her opportunities,” Woodstown coach Kieran Keyser said of Hernandez. “She’s very technically sound, aggressive, fast, and just has a knack for finding the back of the net.”

SALEM TECH 7, SALEM 1: Allie Wentz and Abigail Leuallen each scored a pair of goals and the Chargers tied the program record for goals in a game while winning their season opener for the first time in school history. Kapri Holmes, Olivia Blais and Peyton Pratt scored the Chargers’ only goals and Bryn McLaughlin had two assists. Lyric Hayes scored Salem’s goal in the second half.

Field hockey

PENNSVILLE 4, SALEM 1: The Eagles scored their first goal of the season and gave coach Cass Massari her first official career coaching win.

Massari guided the Eagles to three October wins during head coach Lisa Doran’s medical leave last season, but the win in Thursday’s home opener was all her own.

“It feels really good and it feels really good for the girls to have this under their belt, too,” Massari said. “They were coming off the 8-0 loss to a win; it felt very good to them. They kept their spirits up even though they were coming off that loss and they wanted it today.”

Junior Brianna Hill, one of 10 Eagles playing the sport for the first time, scored the Eagles’ first goal of the season. Massari brought defender Addy Hitt up after the goal as a reward for her impressive early-season stick work and the sophomore responded with the game’s second goal. Kendall Hoyt and Polina Wright scored their other two goals.

“We played well,” Massari said. “We have a very inexperienced team. We have 17 girls on our roster and 10 of them have never played before. We have a ton of girls who this is their first year ever picking up a stick. They’re learning, but they’re learning quick, which is good, because they want to learn. They’re all very motivated to learn the sport, learn the game, and they have positive attitudes.”

WOODSTOWN 2, SCHALICK 0: Joey Foote and Lexi Taylor both scored goals on first-half penalty corners and the Wolverines snapped a five-game winless streak in the series. Kendall Higgins made three saves in posting the shutout.

It’s starting out to be a different kind of year for the Cougars. They fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2013 and have yet to score a goal.

SALEM TECH 6, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 0: Hazel Eachus and Hayden Crispin each scored a pair of goals as the Chargers bounced back from a season-opening loss. Araya DiGregorio and Jessilynn Chambers scored the other goals.

Abigail Beals had a pair of assists and senior goalie Caroline Tighe made five saves in recording the shutout, with a defensive assist from Chambers to keep the sheet clean. The Chargers won nine games in their inaugural season last year, eight by shutout, so the trend continues.

Girls tennis

SCHALICK 5, SALEM 0
Olivia Lunemann (SC) def. Heaven Jones-McCullough, 6-3, 6-0
Sebrina Bradford (SC) def. JaNye Hubbard, 6-1, 6-0
Jasmine Hunt (SC) def. Erica Brewer, 6-0, 6-0
Janae White-Abigail Sotela Hernandez (SC) won by forfeit
River Wojcik-Brooke Brown (SC) won by forfeit
Records: Schalick 4-1, Salem 0-3.

WOODSTOWN 4, PENNSVILLE 1
Graillyn Weber (P) def. Madison LaPalomento, 6-2, 6-1
Emma West (WO) def. Naomi Hess, 1-6, 7-5, 10-8
Angelina Lindenmuth (WO) def. Jaisley Weber, 6-2, 6-0
Elliana Norman-Emilee Kehr (WO) def. Aubrey Hall-Mariangela Rangel, 6-1, 6-1
Isabella Lindenmuth-Eleanore Lawson (WO) def. Juliana Thomas-Yasary Clemente Brito, 6-2, 6-2
Records: Woodstown 3-3, Pennsville 2-2.

Tuesday roundup

Here are the scores and highlights from Tuesday’s Salem County sports calendar

BOYS SOCCER
Cumberland 9, Pennsville 0
Penns Grove 4, Gloucester Catholic 2
Delran 3, Schalick 0
Woodstown 1, Gateway 1

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE — This year’s Pennsville soccer team may be better than some of coach Derek Foglein’s early teams and it may catch up to last year’s division champion in time, but on this day they were overwhelmed by a superior force on this day.

Izzy Benigno got a hat trick and a water bottle shower, captain Fernando Santiago scored twice and Brodey Willis and JV call-up Cristian Villagomez scored their first career goals to lead Cumberland over the Eagles 9-0 Tuesday. The Colts scored their nine goals on 17 shots and had chances for three other goals (offsides, two posts).

Sam Hassler had perhaps the Eagles’ best attempt at a goal when his semi-breakaway and shot across the box four minutes into the second half was turned away at the right post.

“What I just told them in the circle was that I think this year’s team beats the first team that Coach Joe (Mecholsky) and I had eight years ago 9-0 and I think it shows how far our program has come,” Foglein said, “but at the same time if you want to be an elite soccer program in South Jersey we’ve still got a long way to go.

“And that’s OK. It just reminds us that when we’re in practice, the basics matter. We have to do the basics with intensity, we have to compete with intensity and we have to move the ball with intensity. They’re a fantastic team. Yes, they have great kids, but they were a fantastic team. We’ll learn.”

Top photo: Cumberland’s Andrew Rebollo heads the ball away from Pennsville’s Brant Regner (2) during Tuesday’s game.

Cumberland (2-0)	6	3-	9
Pennsville (0-2)	0	0-	0

GOALS — Fernando Santiago (CR), 5:22; Izzy Benigno (CR), penalty kick, 14:14; Ruben Lopez (CR), 15:13; Izzy Benigno (CR), 17:07; Fernando Santiago CR), 23:02; Izzy Benigno (CR), 32:43; Brodey Willis (CR), 42:00; Matt Lucas (CR), 47:48; Cristian Villagomez (CR), 54:55.

PENNS GROVE 4, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 2: Juan Ortiz got his junior season off to a rousing start, scoring all four of the Red Devils’ goals, including two in the final 25 minutes after the Rams rallied to tie the game.

Ortiz, who scored six goals last season and 11 in his first two seasons, staked his team to a 2-0 halftime lead. The Red Devils came out of the break a little complacent and the Rams scored twice to tie it. Ortiz put Penns Grove back on top and then added an insurance goal by curling a corner kick into the top corner.

“He’s a special player, there’s no doubt it,” Red Devils coach Mano Massari said. “Sometimes he tries to do too much and his play drops when he tries to do too much, but when he lets the game come to him and plays his game, I always put him as one of the top players on the field at all times.

“He’s still maturing on the field … but I think when he plays poised and calm and lets the game come to him his game goes to another level and I think today was a good showing of that.”

After giving up the two goals early in the second half, freshman keeper Ruben Torres Sinz kept the Rams out of the net the rest of the game.

WOODSTOWN 1, GATEWAY 1: Both teams scored in the first half and then battled through a scoreless second half and overtime. Jake Lewis scored Woodstown’s goal and Vincent Toner lit the lamp for the Gators. Eddie Fuller made six saves in the Woodstown goal.

The Wolverines played to four draws last season.

DELRAN 3, SCHALICK 0: Three different players scored as the Bears handed the Cougars their first season-opening loss since 2022. The Cougars tied Washington Twp. in last year’s season opener and went on to play in the South Jersey Group I championship game.

Girls soccer

TUESDAY’S GAMES
Schalick 7, Deptford 2
GCIT 3, Woodstown 2
Paulsboro at Salem Tech

PITTSGROVE — Schalick coach Will Kemp has gotten excited about a lot of teams he’s had over the years, but he’s starting to develop a special kind of affinity for the one he has this season. It all goes to the way they go about their business.

Freshmen Nicolette Bloomer and Mackenzie Talerico each scored two goals and Kyleigh Cutler had a goal and two assists to help the Cougars open their season with a 7-2 win over Deptford.

“This one of those squads I’m actually really excited for,” Kemp said. “I don’t have any type of nerves for, it’s just like pure excitement. Everyone understands it now. The culture is fully established within. We have a lot of selfless players who are focused on rebuilding the tradition and legacy of what Schalick soccer used to be. The work ethic is through the roof. It’s been really nice.”

The Cougars led wire-to-wire, but broke it open with three straight goals from Karlie Bakley, Talerico and Cutler to take a 5-2 halftime lead. Cecilee Bell and Bloomer scored in the second half. It was their first opening day win since 2023.

“The ladies really showed up for the first part of the season, dominated the whole entire game,” Kemp said. “Obviously there are a few things we still need to work on, but for the most part they came to play today, which was really good to see.”

GCIT 3, WOODSTOWN 2: The Cheetahs scored three goals in the first half and held on to hand the Wolverines their first loss of the season. Jorja Widmer scored twice and Khloe Leacott once for GCIT. Hailey Kucharczyk and Korynn Hernandez scored Woodstown’s goals.

GCIT led wire-to-wire, but the Wolverines put up a fight against a team that beat them 3-0 last season. Kucharczyk got them on the board with a left-footed goal from the left side. The Cheetahs made it 3-1, but right back Sadie Moore kept it close with a nice defensive save off a corner kick.

Hernandez scored Woodstown’s second goal off a Delia Hahn free kick with about 10 minutes left to bring the Wolverines within one. She brought it down to her foot, made a move to create space and ripped a shot past GCIT keeper Gwen Marvil from 22 yards out to make it 3-2.

Even in the last minute the Wolverines had a chance to tie. Freshman Bella Lucas put a long throw-in into the box with 10 seconds left, but they couldn’t get a shot on net.

“We were pressing; if we had five more minutes …,” Woodstown coach Kieran Keyser said. “It was a hard-fought battle for our girls. They beat us 3-0 last year, so to go 3-2 and be there with some of South Jersey’s Group 4 good strong teams is definitely a win.”

Field hockey

TUESDAY’S GAMES
Audubon 8, Pennsville 0
St. Joe (Hamm.) 5, Woodstown 0
Highland 9, Salem 0

AUDUBON 8, PENNSVILLE 0: The Green Wave scored three goals in each of the first two quarters to spoil the official coaching debut of Pennsville’s Cass Massari.

Massari guided the Eagles to three wins last year filling in during coach Lisa Doran’s medical leave, a stretch that included a division-clinching win, and was promoted following Doran’s retirement.

HIGHLAND 9, SALEM 0: Kiersten Heverly scored the first four goals of the game and the Tartans scored three goals in each of the first three quarters to hand the Rams their second straight 9-0 loss.

Girls tennis

TUESDAY’S MATCHES
Overbrook 4, Penns Grove 1
Pennsville 5, Salem 0
Schalick 3, Glassboro 2
Woodstown 5, Timber Creek 0

PENNSVILLE 5, SALEM 0
Graillyn Weber (P) def. Heaven Jones-McCullough, 6-0, 6-0
Naomi Hess (P) def. JaNye Hubbard, 6-0, 6-0
Jaisley Weber (P) def. Erica Brewer, 6-1, 6-2
Audrey Sauermilch-Mariangela Rangel (P) won by forfeit
Marissa Dowell-Juliana Thomas (P) won by forfeit
Records: Pennsville 2-1, Salem 0-2.

OVERBROOK 4, PENNS GROVE 1
Isabella Sepulveda (O) def. Adanelys Lopez Melendez, 6-3, 6-2
Madison Rikard (O) def. Kavila Pulchard, 6-2, 6-0
Valeria Torres (PG) def. Heaven Williams, 6-3, 6-4
Emma Acevedo-Nicola Cusato (O) def. Cadence Jackson-Clarisleidy Smith, 7-5, 6-1
Records: Overbrook 1-1, Penns Grove 0-2.

WOODSTOWN 5, TIMBER CREEK 0
Madison Lapalomento (WO) def. Christina Abolarin, 6-2, 6-2
Emma West (WO) def. Claire Kopeck, 6-0, 6-1
Angelina Lindenmuth (WO) def. Samantha Boinelli, 6-1, 6-0
Emilee Kehr-Elliana Norman (WO) def. Leah Limon-Anastasia Davis, 6-0, 6-1
Isabella Lindenmuth-Eleanore Lawson (WO) def. Brooklyn Young-Moriah Mudd, 6-2, 6-4
Records: Woodstown 2-2, Timber Creek 1-1.

SCHALICK 3, GLASSBORO 2
Alana Killelea (G) def. Olivia Lunemann, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 10-5
Sebrina Bradford (S) def. Taylor Adcock, 6-1, 6-2
Jasmine Hunt (S) def. Alice Denzel, 6-0, 6-2
Virginia Tarasevich-Sofia Dungca (G) def. River Wojcik-Abigail Sotela Hernandez, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 10-4
Janae White-Brooke Brown (S) def. Ijeoma Ufomba-Conception Soriano, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5).
Records: Schalick 3-1, Glassboro 1-1.

This week’s schedule

Here is this week’s Salem County sports schedule for the week of Sept. 7-12; all events 4 p.m. unless noted

TUESDAY, SEPT. 8
BOYS SOCCER
Cumberland at Pennsville
Gloucester Catholic at Penns Grove
Schalick at Delran
Woodstown at Gateway
GIRLS SOCCER
Deptford at Schalick
GCIT at Woodstown
FIELD HOCKEY
Pennsville at Audubon
St. Joe (Hamm.) at Woodstown
Salem at Highland
GIRLS TENNIS
Glassboro at Schalick
Penns Grove at Overbrook
Woodstown at Timber Creek
CROSS COUNTRY
TCC Batch Meet at Kingsway, 3:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 9
VOLLEYBALL
Triton at Salem Tech, 5:15 p.m.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Delaware Tech at Salem CC, 6 p.m.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 10
FOOTBALL
Clayton at Haddon Twp., 6 p.m.
Atlantic City at Eastern, 6 p.m.
Williamstown at Washington Twp., 6 p.m.
Vineland at Pennsauken, 6 p.m.
Hopewell Valley at Burlington City, 6 p.m.
Lenape at Cherokee, 6 p.m.
Trenton at Northern Burlington, 6 p.m.
Delran at Cinnaminson, 6 p.m.
Gloucester Catholic at WW-Plainsboro, 6 p.m.
Woodbury at Gateway, 6 p.m.
Hightstown at Moorestown, 6 p.m.
Shawnee at Cherry Hill East, 6:30 p.m.
Egg Harbor at Clearview, 7 p.m.
Princeton at Robbinsville, 7 p.m.
Mainland at Seneca, 7 p.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
Gloucester Catholic at Salem Tech
Salem at Pennsville
Woodstown at Schalick
BOYS SOCCER
Overbrook at Woodstown
Pennsville at Clayton
Salem at Salem Tech
Schalick at Penns Grove
GIRLS SOCCER
Clayton at Pennsville
Penns Grove at Schalick
Salem Tech at Salem
Woodstown at Overbrook
GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Schalick at Salem

FRIDAY, SEPT. 11
FOOTBALL
Schalick at Woodstown, 6 p.m.
Pennsville at Pitman, 7 p.m.
Buena at Mastery Camden, 6 p.m.
Paulsboro at West Deptford, 7 p.m.
Highland at Overbrook, 7 p.m.
Bordentown at Steinert, 3:45 p.m.
Timber Creek at Triton, 6 p.m.
Deptford at Oakcrest, 6 p.m.
Burlington Twp. at Willingboro, 6 p.m.
Lower Cape May Cumberland, 6 p.m.
Cherry Hill West at Lawrence, 6 p..
Allentown at Collingswood, 6 p.m.
Palmyra at Florence, 6 p.m.
Riverside at Holy Cross, 6 p.m.
Notre Dame at Ewing, 6 p.m.
Cedar Creek at Pleasantville, 6 p.m.
Rancocas Valley at Kingsway, 6 p.m.
Atlantic Tech at Middle Twp., 6 p.m.
Haddon Heights at Maple Shade, 6 p.m.
Hammonton at Bridgeton, 6 p.m.
Holy Spirit at St. Augustine, 6 p.m.
Winslow at Glassboro, 6 p.m.
Camden Catholic at Bishop Eustace, 6:30 p.m.
Sterling at Gloucester, 7 p.m.
St. Joe (Hamm.) at Paul VI, 7 p.m.
Haddonfield at Delsea, 7 p.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
Bridgeton at Salem
BOYS SOCCER
Gloucester at Salem
Salem Tech at Camden Academy Charter
GIRLS TENNIS
Haddon Heights at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m.
Trenton at Penns Grove
VOLLEYBALL
Highland at Salem Tech, 5:15 p.m.
COLLEGE CROSS COUNTRY
Salem CC in Bill Fritz Open, Dream Park

SATURDAY, SEPT. 12
FOOTBALL
Audubon at Salem, noon
Lindenwold at Penns Grove, noon
KIPP at Wildwood, noon
Pemberton at Nottingham, noon
FIELD HOCKEY
Woodstown vs. Delsea, Rowan, 2:30 p.m.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Nassau CC vs. Salem CC, Schalick H.S., noon

Record breaker

Saulin sets Salem CC women’s cross country record in season-opening meet at West Chester; includes all the non-football action from Friday’s Salem County sports calendar

By Riverview Sports News

WEST CHESTER, Pa. — Isabelle Saulin ran the fastest time in Salem CC women’s cross country history Friday when she led the Mighty Oaks across the line in the West Chester Season Opener.

While the official women’s race results are pending, Saulin, a freshman from Pennsville, ran a 28:52.9 over the 5000-meter course. The previous school record was 32:15.50, set by Chantelle Haskie last year in the Mighty Oaks’ return to the sport. The standing mark at the time was Emily McGlamery’s 2019 time of 32:24.60.

George Nelson was fastest among the Salem CC men, running a 26:00.0.

“It was the first time in SCC history cross country has two full teams competing,” coach Ashley Johnson said. “This course is the toughest course they will see all season. It was a great experience.”

Prep sports

GIRLS SOCCER
Paulsboro 5, Salem 3: Gabby Hicks scored four goals for the Red Raiders. Lyrice Hayes scored Salem’s first goal and assisted on Carlysia Pierce’s goal in the second half.
FIELD HOCKEY
Delran 7, Schalick 0

Finding a way

Woodstown scores two late goals to turn back Pennsville; also includes scores and highlights from Thursday’s Salem County sports calendar

BOYS SOCCER
Woodstown 5, Pennsville 4
GIRLS SOCCER
Woodstown 5, Pennsville 2
GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown 5, Penns Grove 0
Schalick 5, Overbrook 0
Pitman 4, Pennsville 1
Glassboro 5, Salem 0

By Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE — Ayden Ellis scored on a 35-yard free kick with 5:13 left in the match and Woodstown scored twice in the final 14 minutes to finally shake Pennsville 5-4 in an intense season-opener for both teams.

The Wolverines could never seem to shake their hosts until the end. Woodstown held leads at three different times in the match, but each time the Eagles tied it.

“We were really close on scoring many opportunity, but just couldn’t put it away,” Woodstown coach Darren Huck said. “They ended up taking advantage of some mistakes we made in the back to go up and then my guys showed a lot of heart and a lot of grit and kept working.”

The Eagles looked like they had all the momentum after Lucas Cooksey and Sam Hassler scored in the first two minutes of the second half to give Pennsville its first lead 4-3 and Lachlann Hooks was turning back the Wolverines in the goal.

Jake Lewis got Woodstown’s equalizer with 13:56 to play and then Ellis won it with his second goal of the match on the free kick.

“I thought the second half we played a lot better and we had the ball down at our end most of the time, but scoring goals is not easy,” Huck said. “We found a way to score a couple goals late and pull out the victory.”

Nick DiTeodoro also scored a pair of goals for Woodstown. Hassler scored twice for Pennsville. Justin Muchaca’s header off a Cooksey corner kick was Pennsville’s other goal.

Both teams had shots hit the pipes in the first half that could’ve been their second goal. Pennsville’s John Sassi hit the cross bar midway through the half and Woodstown’s Ethan Cotton banged one off the right post seven minutes later.

Top photo: Woodstown’s Tommy Tucci brings the ball upfield under the watchful eye of the Pennsville defense.

Girls soccer

WOODSTOWN 5, PENNSVILLE 2: Freshman Korynn Hernandez burst on the local scene with a hat trick and Hailey Kucharczuk scored two goals to power the Wolverines in their first full game of the season. They opened the season with a scoreless draw with Vineland in a game that was suspended at halftime due to the excessive heat.

On this day, the Wolverines erupted for four goals in the first half. They scored their five goals on 10 shots.

“Hailey was our leading scorer last year so it was great to see her find the back of the net right away,” Woodstown coach Kieran Keyser said.

Tennis

WOODSTOWN 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Madison LaPalomento (WO) def. Adanelys Lopez Melendez, 6-0, 6-0
Emma West (WO) def. Kavila Pulchard, 6-1, 6-3
Angelina Lindenmuth (WO) def. Valeria Torres, 6-1, 6-0
Emilee Kehr-Elliana Norman (WO) def. Andrew Chaparro-Stephani Recinos, 6-0, 6-0
Isabella Lindenmuth-Eleanora Lawson (WO) def. Cadence Jackson-Clarisleidy Smith, 6-2, 6-0
Records: Woodstown 1-2, Penns Grove 0-1.

SCHALICK 5, OVERBROOK 0
Olivia Lunemann (S) def. Isabella Sepulveda, 6-0, 6-1
Sebrina Bradford (S) def. Madison Rikard, 6-0, 6-1
Jasmine Hunt (S) def. Heaven Williams, 6-0, 6-0
River Wojcik-Abigail Sotela Hernandez (S) def. Nicola Cusato-Emma Acevedo, 6-0, 6-3
Janae White-Brooke Brown (S) def. Gianna Harding-Liana Grant-Williams, 6-0, 6-0
Records: Schalick 2-1, Overbrook 0-1.

PITMAN 4, PENNSVILLE 1
First singles not reported
Kendall Bennett (PI) def. Naomi Hess, 6-2, 6-1
Paisley Weber (PV) def. Mikaela Totora, 6-4, 2-6, 10-8
Listella Eisenhardt-Delaney Pierson (PI) def. Aubrey Hall-Juliana Thomas, 6-1, 6-0
Anna Jones-Mia Gladney (PI) def. Marissa Dowell-Yasary Clemente Brito, 6-0, 6-0
Records: Pitman 1-3, Pennsville 1-1.

GLASSBORO 5, SALEM 0
Alana Killelea (G) def. Heaven Jones-McCullough, 6-0, 6-3
Taylor Adcock (G) def. JaNye Hubbard, 6-2, 6-4
Alice Dinzeo (G) def. Evangelyn Jiminez Barreto, 6-1, 6-0
Amani George-Sofia Dungca (G) def. Erica Brewer-Aleena Allen, 6-1, 6-0
Conception Soriano-Ijeoma Ufomba (G) won by forfeit
Records: Glassboro 1-0, Salem 0-1.

Starting off strong

Salem Tech boys soccer opens its season with a shutout, NJTAC Tournament win over Cape May Tech, includes full tournament pairings

NJTAC TOURNAMENT
No. 1 Essex Tech bye
No. 9 Sussex Tech at No. 8 Warren Tech
No. 12 Morris Tech at No. 5 West Caldwell Tech
No. 13 Perth Amboy Tech at No. 4 Woodbridge Academy
No. 11 East Brunswick Tech at No. 6 Edison Academy
No. 14 Piscataway Tech at No. 3 Somerset Tech
No. 7 Salem Tech 4, No. 10 Cape May Tech 0
No. 15 Medford Tech at No. 2 Camden County Tech

WHAT TO KNOW

Salem Tech wins first-round game in NJTAC Tournament

Logan Pace scores twice, Aiden Bobo posts shutout

Avery Reed, Carrington Profitt, both of whom missed considerable time last year to injury, each scored a goal in the opener

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – A lot of Salem Tech’s soccer expectations last year were built around the availability of Avery Reed and Carrington Profitt. Both got hurt and missed considerable time and the Chargers’ fortunes fell.

The Chargers have high expectations this year and Reed and Profitt again are a big reason, one on the top end to score and distribute the ball, the other anchoring the back line of defense..

They returned Wednesday and made an immediate impact, scoring the Chargers’ first two goals of the season in a 4-0 win over Cape May Tech in the opening round of the NJTAC Groups 1-2 Tournament. The seventh-seeded Chargers will play the Medford Tech-Camden County Tech winner on a date to be determined.

“They were a big part of our plans last year and when both of them went down it kind of had an impact, for sure,” Chargers coach Rob Polk said. “We saw a little bit today of what we expected to see last year, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what these two can bring to the table the rest of the season.

“From the standpoint of the whole group, coming into preseason, Coach (Mark Kasubinski) and I talk about it all the time, we haven’t had a group since this program started that came in more fit, ready to play. We were excited from Day One. There was something about this year just felt different. We’re only one game in, but the style of play we want was showing itself today, playing against a team that the last two years always seemed to be a close game and we weren’t able to come through.”

They did on this day, though. Reed, who played only two games last year because of a hip flexor injury that impacted him the rest of the school year, scored the Chargers’ first goal of the season in the sixth minute. Profitt, who missed considerable time with a hamstring issue, scored the second goal six minutes later on a 30-yard free kick.

Logan Pace, the team’s heart and soul up the middle to Profitt’s rock in the back, scored the Chargers’ other two goals. Josh Woroniak had a pair of assists and Aiden Bobo made six saves in posting the shutout.

**Salem Tech’s Daniel Marandola (20) brings the ball into Cape May Tech territory as the Wildcats’** **Christian Brunell contemplates a challenge.**

Reed wasted little time showing he was back. Pace got the play going when he pushed the ball through traffic, Woroniak controlled it and fed it to Reed who was one-on-one with Wildcats keeper J.J. Wenker in the box and the sophomore nudged it into the left side of the goal.

Reed scored a goal against the Wildcats last year, but he also felt responsible for giving up the game-winner right before the end of overtime.

“Last season missing a lot of games I wanted to come back and do something,” he said. “I had a lot of potential last year and I was supposedly going to be a starter, scoring a lot of goals, then I sat out, so I knew I had to do that this year coming into the season.”

Profitt typically takes the team’s longer free kicks and was the choice for this one because two of the other options when the Chargers are looking for shots were both out of the game at the time and a third was injured. He lined up confidently, got it around the defensive wall the Wildcats set up and tucked it just inside the right post. Wenker got his hands on it, but his gloves were just too wet to keep the wet ball from slipping through.

“I’ve had a lot of chances, a lot of opportunities, it was good to finally put one in,” Profitt said. “I was thinking about just trying to give it a chip in and I heard somebody say he can shoot it. I’m like, you know what, I can. Let’s be confident in my shot, I took it and it looked good.

“I missed it so much (last year). I hated to sit on the bench watching my team. We were down a few players last year, there was a decent amount of us, so being back on the field, it feels great and getting my first goal is an amazing feeling. I’ve always wanted one. I knew I could get it and getting that finally is such an amazing feeling. I’m just hoping there are more opportunities. It’s my last year, I want to make it count, make the most of it.”

Cape May Tech (0-2)	0	0-	0
Salem Tech (1-0)	3	1-	4

GOALS: ST-Avery Reed (Josh Woroniak), 6:04; ST-Carrington Profitt (unassisted), 12:19; ST-Logan Pace (Avery Reed), 22:18; ST-Logan Pace (Josh Woroniak), 50:43