Woodstown falls in PKs

Wygand comes up big in goal to send game into overtime, but Wolverines just didn’t have enough to get through the shootout

SJ GROUP I GIRLS SOCCER
Thursday’s Quarterfinals
Audubon 4, Gateway 1
Haddon Twp. 6, Riverside 0
Palmyra 1, Woodstown 0 (3-2 SO)
Glassboro 1, Schalick 0 (5-4 SO)
Monday’s Semifinals
(4) Haddon Twp. at (1) Audubon
(7) Glassboro at (6) Palmyra

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN — If he weren’t so busy moving the pieces and making decisions, Woodstown girls soccer coach Kieran Keyser probably would have enjoyed just watching Thursday’s South Jersey Group I playoff quarterfinal.

Both teams played with intensity. Both teams had good chances only to be turned back by a couple hot goalkeepers. There was high drama, overtime and a shootout. In the end, Palmyra made one more PK in the shootout and stunned the third-seeded Wolverines 1-0. The Panthers won the shootout 3-2.

“It was a great, great high school soccer game,” Keyser said. “I almost wish I could’ve watched it and didn’t have to make any decisions. It was a great, great game.”

Even before the shootout, the game had what Keyser called “one of the most dramatic finishes before the shootout I’ve ever seen in a high school soccer game.”

With Woodstown boys coach Darren Huck counting down the final 10 seconds of a scoreless game, a ball took a crazy bounce in the box and hit a Woodstown defender in the hand for a penalty kick with no time left on the lock.

But keeper Ellie Wygand stood her ground. She stopped Mikayla Mangano’s shot to extend the Wolverines’ season and send the game to overtime.

“The shot was low and to her right and she made the save with her right hand and curved it around the post,” Keyser said. “Incredible. It was truly incredible.”

The two met in the shootout and Wygand, a junior, stoned her again.

“I said to Ellie going into PKs she’s going to be on the line, read her body language again,” Keyser said. “Generally PK takers like to go to same side. See If she steps up the same. Watch. You read her perfectly the first time and then the girl did exact same thing and Ellie saved it again.”

Wygand made 14 saves in the game. She made her 100th save of the season during the game and the final save on Mangano in the shootout was the 200th of her career.

Palmyra took the lead in the shootout by hitting its first attempt. Woodstown missed its first two. The Wolverines hit their next two – by left-footed Delia Hahn and Lizzy Daly – but the Panthers answered both to maintain their lead.

Emma Perry took Woodstown’s final shot and was turned away.

“It’s just an unfair way to end it; it’s unfortunate,” Keyser said. “There’s nothing I can say to my girls that are going to make them (feel beter). It’s so unfortunate.

“I told (Perry) we wouldn’t be in that position without her this whole season. If we didn’t have Emma’s skill and everything she’s brought to this team, we’re not in this position. It’s just unfortunate it had to come down to that.”

The crossbar certainly wasn’t the Wolverines’ friend, either. They hit in in the first four minutes of the match and once in each of the two 10-minute overtimes.

Palmyra (16-4) will now host Glassboro in one of the SJ Group I semifinals Monday. Glassboro upset top-seeded Schalick in a PK shootout after a scoreless regulation and overtime. Woodstown’s season ends at 13-5-2.

A Sunny day

It was for Glassboro, at least; Bulldogs end Schalick’s season in PK shootout to advance in South Jersey Group I girls soccer playoffs

SJ GROUP I GIRLS SOCCER
Thursday’s Quarterfinals
Audubon 4, Gateway 1
Haddon Twp. 6, Riverside 0
Palmyra 1, Woodstown 0 (3-2 SO)
Glassboro 1, Schalick 0 (5-4 SO)
Monday’s Semifinals
(4) Haddon Twp. at (1) Audubon
(7) Glassboro at (6) Palmyra

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITTSGROVE — Tears flowed from both sides of the center line here Thursday afternoon, but they were coming from different places.

Glassboro coach Scott Rogers was fighting back tears as he tried to describe the pride in his undermanned team’s 1-0 shootout win over second-seeded host Schalick in the SJ Group 1 girls soccer quarterfinals. The Bulldogs won the shootout 5-4.

The Schalick players, meanwhile, were understandably distraught that a game they had dominated got away in the most intense of ways and ended an otherwise inspirational season fraught with injuries that sometimes made it challenging to field a starting 11.

“I really am trying not to cry,” Rogers said after his first PK shootout in 14 years of coaching. “It’s the old adage: It’s hard to beat a team three times. I told our girls we had nothing to lose, as a seventh-seed, sneaking in as the seventh seed by one-thousanths of a point (to get on this side of the bracket … You can hear how nuts they are (celebrating in the dugout). This is a huge boost to the program.”

The Bulldogs (10-5-3) now travel to sixth-seeded Palmyra (16-4), which knocked off Woodstown in a PK shootout a little ways up the road.

While all 12 available players on the Bulldogs’ roster contributed to the win, the difference in the match clearly was the play of Glassboro keeper Sunny Moore. The junior repeatedly turned back the Cougars in regulation and overtime, then stoned them three straight times in the sudden death wave of penalty kicks before Emma Schoch ripped the game-winner past Schalick sophomore goalie Eve Berger on the ninth round.

“Sunny played out of her head today,” Rogers said. “With her in the back for us, it makes you sleep a little easier. “

The Cougars’ best chance to score on her came in the first half when Liv Vanacker banged a shot off the crossbar with 8:35 left in the first half and Abby Willoughby did the same with the rebound. Moore stoned Vanacker and Willoughby on semi-breakaways midway through the second half. And they had numerous other chances throughout regulation and overtime that just became another save.

“I don’t even know how many shots we had, but that was probably one of our better games creating opportunities,” Schalick coach Will Kemp said. “(But) when you have the best goalkeeper in the state playing, it’s really difficult to get anything by her.

“Sunny is unbelievable. Any other goalkeeper, we score. The funnest part is putting the ball in the back of the net; the hardest part is getting it past Sunny.”

Glassboro goalkeeper Sunny Moore lunges for a Schalick shot that eventually hits the cross bar in the first half of their playoff game Thursday. On the cover, Moore stops Schalick’s final penalty kick before Glassboro knocked in the game winner.

Schalick, which had beaten Glassboro the last 18 times they played and twice this season, took a 2-0 lead in the Round of 5 PKs when Quinn Berger and Emily Miller beat Moore off the line. But the Bulldogs hit their last three attempts to force the sudden-death round, with Moore coming out of the goal to go one-on-one with her opposite number to extend the shootout.

“I knew coming into this game I had to play my heart out, this had to be my best game of the season,” Moore said. “That’s just what I put my mind to. I just tried my best. I tried to anticipate shots more than I would in a regular game. In the shootout it was the same mindset, this had to be my best game, I had to show up and show out. We had to get this.

“(Falling behind 2-0) I didn’t try to think about it too much, I just tried to clear my head because I knew that’s what I needed. I knew if I stayed frustrated the game would go their way. It was kind of a reset in my head. All these parents were yelling the entire game so it’s like I have to prove these people wrong.”

Cali Fisler gave the Cougars the lead in the sudden-death round, but Amina Brown matched it on Glassboro’s turn. Both teams missed their next two attempts – Eve Berger turned away Marianna Dempster and Marissa Pasquarello, and Moore denied Quinn Berger and Abby Willoughby.

In the ultimately decisive ninth round, Miller shot towards the right post but Moore guessed correctly, dove towards the post and knocked the ball away. With the chance to win the match, Schoch, who scored on her Round-of-5 attempt, hit a bullet to the left side of the goal. Berger dove that way and got a hand on the shot, but it still got through just inside the post to end the marathon.

“II was just trying to save it for the team,” Berger said. “I got a whole hand on it. I think I was angled wrong. It hit hard. I wasn’t on a good angle, I don’t think.”

It was a bittersweet ending to the Cougars’ season. At one point in the season they had seven players on the injured list, accumulating more than 70 missed game. They played a couple weeks without their regular goalie. Still, they managed to put together a season that ended two wins shy of their sectional final run the year before.

“The girls were great this year,” Kemp said. “Even though with all the injuries, playing with 11 players multiple times, underclassmen stepping up, girls who never played organized soccer before stepping up, it just shows how tough this team currently is. I’m excited for the future for them. For them to overcome as much as they did this past season, I’m nothing but proud of them.”

**Glassboro’s Sienna Wedderburn (11) makes a sliding tackle to knock the ball away from Schalick’s Liv Vanacker during Thursday’s playoff game.**

Emotional openers

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

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

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It stayed that with until the final minute of regulation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“We had good balance today,” Huck said.

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

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

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

Off and running

Woodstown wakes up in second half to pull away in South Jersey Group I girls soccer playoff opener, Schalick posts runaway victory, Pennsville drops close one

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I PLAYOFFS
Monday’s First-Round Games
Gateway 3, Clayton 2 (SO 5-4)
Riverside 2, Pennsville 1
Haddon Twp. 8, Buena 0
Woodstown 6, Wildwood 0
Palmyra 5, Maple Shade 0
Glassboro 3, Pitman 2 (OT)
Schalick 9, Cape May Tech 0
Thursday’s Quarterfinals
(8) Gateway at (1) Audubon
(5) Riverside at (4) Haddon Twp.
(6) Palmyra at (3) Woodstown
(7) Glassboro at (2) Schalick

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – Kieran Keyser isn’t the type of coach to yell and scream on the sidelines, but this time warranted getting a little loud.

Keyser’s third-seeded Woodstown girls soccer team was locked in a scoreless tie at halftime of their South Jersey Group I playoff opener with Wildwood, a team it had beaten by seven goals early in the season. The Wolverines were having the best of the play and had a couple good scoring chances, but just couldn’t finish the ball.

Keyser had his say at the break and it was obvious the Wolverines got the message. Talia Battavio found the back of the net in the first five minutes of the second half and the Wolverines went on to score six goals in a 6-0 win.

The Wolverines (13-4-2), unbeaten in their last seven games and 10-1-2 in their last 13, now host Palmyra (15-4) in the quarterfinals Thursday.

“I had to light a fire under them,” Keyser said. “We’ve never had a game where we’ve been outhustled and outworked; we were for 40 minutes.

“Maybe because we beat them 8-1 in the second game of the season I think our girls thought this is an easy win. We had moments of greatness in the first half, don’t get me wrong, but we couldn’t convert. We came out flat.”

Battavio scored twice in the second half, giving her 17 for the season and 64 for her career – one shy of fourth on the Wolverines’ all-time scoring list. Gina Murray, Blair Baldi, Bailey Arnold-Peters and Emma Morgan had the other goals.

“They answered the call,” Keyser said. “I said we need to do this and they started doing it. I was proud of them. It should’ve been an easy win for us and in the end it was but at halftime there was a lot of tension in the air. We figured it out.”

SCHALICK 9, CAPE MAY TECH 0: Quinn Berger scored the first of her two goals in the opening minute of the game and it opened the door to an eight-goal first half and the second-seeded Cougars’ 11th straight opening-round win.

“It’s always good to get the morale going, especially going into the playoffs,” Schalick coach Will Kemp said. “The girls stepped up big time today. It was the type of match we needed to get through.”

Abby Willoughby scored three goals, giving her 22 for the season, Olivia Devoe scored twice and Cali Fisler and Liv Vanacker each had one. Willoughby and Vanacker each had two assists.

“The girls handled business, definitely,” Kemp said. “They know where we are in the season. Their intensity was great. Their ability to kind of control the game on their own, they stepped into that really big this time. They were really together today.”

The Cougars (13-5) now host Glassboro (9-5-3) in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

RIVERSIDE 2, PENNSVILLE 1: Natalie Tkacs scored a goal in the first half Larissa Santos DaSilva scored what proved to be the game-winner off a pass from Tkacs in the second half.

This week’s schedule

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wednesday’s scores

GIRLS SOCCER
Woodstown 2, Vineland 2: Talia Battavio scored two goals in the second half as the teams played to a draw in the Wolverines’ final regular season game. The goals gave her 62 for her career and 149 points. Gina Murray and Sophie Wells had the assists on the goals. Ellie Wygand made 15 saves in the Woodstown goal.

BOYS SOCCER
Salem at Gloucester Catholic

FIELD HOCKEY
Oakcrest at Pennsville

Playoff pairings

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

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

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

Semifinals
Nov. 12

Championship
Nov. 15

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

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

Semifinals
Nov. 12

Championship
Nov 15

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

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

Semifinals
Nov. 11

Championship
Nov. 14

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

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

Semifinals
Nov. 11

Championship
Nov. 13

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

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

Semifinals
Nov. 9

Championship
Nov. 12

Keeper turned scorer

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

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This week’s schedule

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

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

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

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

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

BOYS SOCCER
Schalick at Cumberland

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

Playoff projections

Saturday was the cutoff date for boys soccer, girls soccer and field hockey. Here are the projected South Jersey Group I playoff pairings in each sport based off the current power points standings:

BOYS SOCCER
(R1 Nov. 5; R2 Nov. 8-9)
Cape May Tech (3-15-1) at Schalick (15-2)
Penns Grove (7-9) at Pitman (8-7-1)
Gateway (9-8) at Audubon (12-4-1)
Pensville (10-8) at Haddon Twp. (10-5-2)

Woodbury (6-11) at Palmyra (9-6)
Glassboro (5-10-1) at Riverside (11-5-1)
Maple Shade (9-6-1) at Wildwood (13-3-1)
Clayton (6-10) at Woodstown (14-4)

GIRLS SOCCER
(R1 Nov. 4; R2 Nov. 7)
Woodbury (2-13-1) at Audubon (15-4)
Clayton (10-6-1) at Gateway (11-4)
Pennsville (6-11) at Riverside (11-6)
Buena (8-8) at Haddon Twp. (9-6-2)

Wildwood (5-11) at Woodstown (12-4-1)
Maple Shade (5-9-1) at Palmyra (12-4)
Pitman (8-8-1) at Glassboro (8-4-3)
Penns Grove (2-12-1) at Schalick (12-5)

FIELD HOCKEY
(R1 Nov. 4; R2 Nov. 6)
Pennsville (5-8-2) at Shore (19-1)
Florence (6-9-1) at Salem (8-5-1)
Lower Cape May (6-6-2) at Gloucester (12-5)
Haddon Twp. (4-12) at Haddon Heights (9-6-2)

Maple Shade (8-9) at West Deptford (12-3-2)
Bordentown (7-9) at Gateway (12-4)
Collingswood (6-9) at Woodstown (9-7-1)
South Hunterdon (9-11) at Schalick (16-0-1)