Category: SOCCER

Finish with flourish

Woodstown tennis seniors produce memorable finish to their careers with dramatic win over Pennsville; includes all of Friday’s Salem County sports action

GIRLS TENNIS
Woodstown 3, Pennsville 2

By Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – The seniors on the Woodstown girls tennis team knew they had reached the end of the line and they wanted to do something memorable before riding off into the sunset. They sure went out with a flourish.

Three of the Wolverines’ seniors won matches that involved some sort of tiebreaker and their fortitude fueled a 3-2 win over Pennsville that handed the Eagles only their second loss of the season and clinched a share of the Tri-County Diamond Division title.

“I was very proud with how the girls performed today,” Wolverines coach Jesse Stemberger said. “The seniors were a little emotional beforehand knowing this was their last match, but they wanted to have a memorable ending to their careers and season and they were able to achieve that.”

The Wolverines (16-5) clinched the match at No. 1 doubles when senior Julianna Lindenmuth and junior Alyssa Berry took down Emma Cornette and Izzy Schrenker 7-6 (7-3), 7-5. 

Before that, senior Camille Osborn won the final match of her high school career over Regan Witt 6-4, 7-6 (12-10) at No. 2 singles and senior Leah Waterman teamed with junior Nathalie Neron to win a 10-4 super tiebreaker after dropping the first set to Naomi Hess and Morgan Holt, 3-6.

Osborn had lost two of her three previous super tiebreakers this season, with one of the losses coming to Witt on Oct. 1. Lindenmuth (with Berry) had been 1-1 in set tiebreakers this season. It was Waterman’s first super tiebreaker of the season.

The Wolverines finished the season with a five-match winning streak and were 7-1 after being eliminated by Haddon Twp. in the South Jersey Group I quarterfinals.

Pennsville (20-2) got its points from first singles Megan Morris and third singles Lily Edwards. Edwards finished the season undefeated (21-0) and has won 32 consecutive matches going back to last season.

WOODSTOWN 3, PENNSVILLE 2
Megan Morris (P) def. Gabby Kurpis 6-1, 6-2
Camille Osborn (Wo) def. Regan Witt, 6-4, 7-6 (12-10)
Lily Edwards (P) def. Aubrie Rennie, 6-1, 6-0
Julianna Lindenmuth-Alyssa Berry (Wo) def. Emma Cornette-Izzy Schrenker, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5
Nathalie Neron-Leah Waterman (Wo) def. Naomi Hess-Morgan Holt, 3-6, 6-3, 10-4
Records: Woodstown 16-5, Pennsville 20-2.

BOYS SOCCER
HADDON TWP. 1, SCHALICK 0: Andres Santiago scored a first-half goal and keeper Collin Feeley made it stand with 15 saves in the net as the Hawks snapped the Cougars’ 10-match winning streak in the opening round of the South Jersey Coaches Cup. It was only the Cougars’ second loss of the season and they remain No. 1 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings.

Haddon Twp. was the No. 4 team in the SJ Group I power points standings, meaning it would be on Schalick’s side of the bracket if the pairings were finalized today. Woodstown is the solid No. 2, Penns Grove is No. 9 and Pennsville No. 13. The cutoff day for the standings is Saturday.

OVERBROOK 4, PENNSVILLE 0: The Eagles moved up the match with the hopes of enhancing their playoff position before the cutoff, but Overbrook kept them off the board. Four separate players lit the lamp for the Rams.

WILDWOOD CATHOLIC 7, SALEM TECH 1: Teddy Woolery and Charlie Flickinger both scored a hat trick as the Crusaders snapped the Chargers’ school-record three-game winning streak. Graham Fields scored the Chargers’ goal in the second half.

FIELD HOCKEY
SALEM 3, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 0: Audrey Boggs broke a scoreless tie with a third-quarter goal and assisted on the Rams’ other two second-half goals by Kashira Patterson and Julliana Love. Ava Rogers made five saves in posting the shutout.

Heading into Saturday’s cutoff, Salem is No. 10 in the South Jersey Group I standings. Unbeaten Schalick is 2, Woodstown 6 and Pennsville 17.

VOLLEYBALL
SALEM TECH 2, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 1: The Chargers rallied from dropping the first set to score their third win of the season. The set scores were 16-25, 25-13, 25-12. Tori Farnkoph had eight kills and 10 aces to lead the way. Tiara Bazemore had six kills and eight assists, Shelby Liber had seven aces and Alan’s James had six assists.

Battavio notches nifty 60

Woodstown senior becomes fifth player in girls soccer program to hit that milestone, and gets it on Senior Day; also, Thursday’s Salem County results

GIRLS SOCCER
Woodstown 3, Pennsville 1
Schalick 5, Penns Grove 0
Salem at Salem Tech

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – Talia Battavio took up soccer as a way to stay in shape and provide a fun release away from the demands of her first sport, basketball. And, as it turns out, she wound up being pretty good at it.

Four years into it, Battavio scored her 60th career goal and became the fifth player in Woodstown’s girls soccer history to reach that milestone Thursday when got her 13th goal of the season to seal the Wolverines 3-1 Senior Day victory over Pennsville.

The goal came late in the second half and gave the Wolverines (12-4-1) a two-goal cushion, and came in a fashion similar to the way she scores a lot of her points on the basketball court.

Battavio’s initial shot, with her left foot, banged off a defender, but she collected the rebound on her right foot at the 18 and let it fly.

“I didn’t know that was my 60th,” she said. “It was cool to get it on Senior Night and I’m glad we got the win.”

Gina Murray scored Woodstown’s first two goals after the teams played a scoreless first half. Battavio assisted on one of the goals, giving her 25 for her career (ninth on the all-time list). Her 125 scoring points are fifth on that all-time list.

“I actually thought today was her best game,” Wolverines coach Kieran Keyser said. “Talia is a gifted athlete and always finds ways to score, as displayed the last four seasons. But I think her most underrated skill is her ability to see the field and connect with her teammates. She consistently looks to make the final pass and set her teammates up to score.”

Woodstown’s other 60-goal scorers are Tatum Devault (75), Tori Malpezzi (70), Amy Gray (69) and Chelsea Norbuts (65). They’re also the only players ahead of Battavio on the program’s all-time points list.

By the time Battavio graduates this spring she will rank among the top five scorers in two sports at Woodstown. She currently is fifth on the school’s all-time scoring list in basketball (1,194).

“I think I’m very blessed and I’m glad that I got the opportunity to go to the trainers and have parents who will drive me to practices like every day,” she said.

Woodstown leading scorers

GIRLS SOCCERGAPTS
Tatum Devault (2022)7542192
Tori Malpezzi (2008)7033173
Amy Gray (1993)6534164
Chelsea Norbuts (2009)6922160
Talia Battavio (2024)6025145

SCHALICK 5, PENNS GROVE 0: The Cougars (12-4) completed a sweep of their Diamond Division schedule behind Abby Willoughby’s hat trick and single goals by freshman Kassady Sickler and Quinn Berger. Sickler’s goal was the first of her career.

Cover photo: Woodstown’s Talia Battavio takes a shot against Clayton in a match earlier this month.

BOYS SOCCER
SCHALICK 6, PENNS GROVE 0: Luke Price scored two goals and Anthony Sepers recorded three assists as the Cougars (15-1) won their tenth straight game. Brad Foster, Oscar Hernandez, Louis Sepers and Marco Spinnato scored their other goals.
WOODSTOWN 2, PITMAN 1: The Wolverines gave coach Darren Huck his 300th career victory. (See related story)
PENNSVILLE 6, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 1: Michael Veasy scored two goals and Shane Puckett had a goal and three assists for the Eagles (10-7). It was their fifth win in the last six games.
SALEM TECH 4, SALEM 2: Clinton Bobo scored two goals in the second half as the Chargers won their NJSIAA school-record third in a row. Jack McCauley and Christian VanTonder gave the Chargers (6-10) a 2-0 halftime lead.

GIRLS TENNIS
PENNSVILLE 3, SCHALICK 2
(conclusion of susp. match)
Emma Adams (S) def. Megan Morris, 6-2, 6-3
Ally Green (S) def. Regan Whitt, 6-0, 6-0
Lily Edwards (P) def. Miya Watkins, 6-0, 6-0
Emma Cornette-Gabi Forino (P) def. Julia Langley-Helana Tyers, 6-2, 6-2
Izzy Schrenker-Naomi Hess (P) def. Kayleigh Veach-Annie Podehl, 6-3, 6-3
Records: Pennsville 20-1, Schalick 9-8.

FIELD HOCKEY
HAMMONTON 6, WOODSTOWN 1: Sienna Land scored the Wolverines’ goal in the third quarter.

VOLLEYBALL
Timber Creek at Salem Tech

Huck hits 300

Woodstown soccer coach becomes second soccer coach in Salem County to reach the milestone, 60th among boys-only coaches in the state.

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PITMAN – Darren Huck has experienced a lot of neat things in his 26 years as the Woodstown soccer coach, but it wasn’t until the occasion of his 300th coaching win Thursday that he experienced one of the most rewarding traditions in all of sports.

HUCK

For all the meaningful and momentous wins he has collected over the years, Huck had never felt the sweet sting of the water bucket being dumped over his head on a chilly October night.

But after the Wolverines finished off Pitman 2-1 at Alcyon Park and the team ran over to greet their parents and fans the ice bucket brigade emerged from behind the bench and got their head coach pretty good.

And there was even a parade and “champagne” (sparkling apple cider, really) celebration waiting for him when the team got back to town. All they needed was Garrett Stubbs and his locker room goggles and overalls to make it complete.

“Cold, cold, but I don’t even feel it anymore,” Huck said of his reaction to the water bucket treatment. “I’m just very, very happy about this.

“This should lock in the No. 2 seed for us, and that was the whole goal anyway. These guys knew it. I talked to them on the bus. It’s not about me, it’s not about them individually, it’s about the guy next to him, the in front of him, the guy behind him, the guy sitting on the bus. It’s about the jersey and the team and program.”

Huck became the second soccer coach in Salem County to earn 300 career victories with the win and all but locked up the No. 2 seed in South Jersey Group I to boot. He is the 60th coach in state history with 300 boys-only wins and the 23rd all-time in South Jersey to hit the milestone (10th active).

Good friend and neighbor Joe Mannella, the Schalick coach who reached the milestone earlier this season, sent him a note earlier in the day that read in part “enjoy the moment.”

“I sent him a message back and said it would be an honor to join him in the same year,” Huck said. “That was the whole goal of mine because I have a lot of respect for Joe Mannella because he is a true soccer guy. To be in the same conversation with him I think is probably not necessary because he is that good of a coach.”

The Wolverines came into the season needing to win a lot of games if Huck was going to join the club. When they lost to Schalick on Oct. 10 it left no room for error if the milestone was going to happen in the regular season. They haven’t lost since and will take a five-game winning streak into the playoffs, but the Panthers weren’t going to be an easy out.

“I really want him to get it,” his son Cole, a freshman on the JV team, said before the game. “He doesn’t talk about it a lot, but I’d really like to see him get it. Everybody does.”

Woodstown soccer coach Darren Huck holds up the poster and balloons celebrating his 300th career victory. On the cover, Huck reacts to getting the water bucket shower from his players after the game.

The Wolverines played what Huck called “a good game” to get the milestone win.

Erich Lipovsky and Nick DiTeodoro scored first-half goals for the Wolverines (14-4), who kept constant pressure on Pitman keeper Joey Zubert.

Both of the goals were from point blank range. Lipovsky took a deep cross from Blake Bialecki in front of the goal 13 minutes into the match and buried a shot into the upper right corner. He missed a wide open opportunity from the 18 earlier and told Bialecki if he got another chance he wouldn’t miss again.

“Composure’s been a problem I’ve been struggling with a lot in the front of the net throughout the season, but I have really learned to get better and calm down while I’m taking my shot,” he said. “Nobody was marking me so I knew I wasn’t going to miss my spot next time. I really took my time on it and I put it right in the spot I was looking.

“This means a lot. Not only is this his 300th win, but if we win this we go to No. 2 in the playoffs. It was a super important game we all know we needed to win and we came to play. That’s what we wanted to do and we’re happy about it.”

Four minutes later, DiTeodoro ran onto a through ball from Bryce Ayars just across midfield and beat Zubert one-on-one in the middle of the box for his first goal of the season. He had come close to scoring several times during the season, but just never connected. He changed his cleats before the game and it changed his luck.

Huck told him he was destined for a big moment this season and the junior delivered the game-winner in a milestone game.

“It’s the best way to score your first goal of the season,” DiTeodoro said. “Especially for a coach who just puts everything on the line for us. I couldn’t have done anything more for him. I feel so great not only to score but also to be able to seal that win for him so he could get big No. 300.

“Him, a couple of my teammates, they were all saying it’s going to come when it matters most and I can’t think of a better time for it to come than right now.” 

Jonas Trum scored a curling cross-field goal for Pitman with six minutes left in the half to make it 2-1. Keeper Ben Stengel and his Diamond Dome of Defense (Dante Mistichelli, Dante Holmes, Grant Prater, Jake Lewis) stood strong in the second half as Pitman mounted some serious challenges to tie the match.

“The fact I could be his goalkeeper during his 300th is just huge for me,” Stengel said. “Getting his 300th win is what we’ve all strived for. He talked about it more these last five games and that was more motivation for us. You just want it so bad you’re just scared it’s not going to happen. It was very terrifying (ss the closing minutes ticked by).”

Woodstown 2, Pitman 1

Woodstown (14-4)20-2
Pitman (8-7-1)10-1

GOALS: Woodstown, Erich Lipovsky (Blake Bialecki), 13′; Woodstown, Nick DiTeodoro (Bryce Ayars), 17′; Pitman, Jonas Trum, 34′. SAVES: Woodstown, Ben Stengel 4; Pitman, Joey Zubert 8.

Pitman keeper Joey Zubert (orange) comes out of the net to punch away another Woodstown threat in the second half.

Keeping it together

Schalick girls soccer overcoming a rash of injuries that would have decimated a lesser team, projecting a No. 2 seed in South Jersey Group I tournament

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNSVILLE – Way back in 1987, the University of Georgia had a basketball team that lost three of its top six players to a multitude of misfortune and played the second half of the season with only eight players.

A friendly wager with another SEC coach in the preseason that the Bulldogs wouldn’t go .500 was all of a sudden looking pretty good. But somehow they managed to not only survive but thrive, making a run in the SEC Tournament and eventually earning a spot in the NCAAs where they lost in the first round in overtime.

That special team has since been known as “The Miracle Workers.”

If the Schalick girls soccer team goes on to have the kind of success coach Will Kemp says it’s capable of if it keeps its head down and focuses on the task of the day, they might be calling the Cougars the same thing.

The Cougars’ season has been beset with a cascade of injuries that would have crushed a less committed team. Instead, they have made due with what they have, got some inspired play from players way ahead of their developmental schedule and maintained a standard that has them looking at a solid No. 2 seed in the upcoming South Jersey Group I girls soccer tournament.

“We’ve had major injuries,” Kemp said Tuesday after the Cougars handled Pennsville 4-0. “We’re missing several starters throughout this entire season. We went almost three weeks without an experienced goalkeeper. But the girls continue to push forward and do their jobs.

“We’re not winning matches the way we have the past few years, but at the same time we’re still getting the job done and that’s all that matters the most right now to me.”

The Cougars’ 11-4 record that is minor miracle in itself considering they currently have seven players out with injuries (for 72 total matches missed), many of them starters or players projected to play major minutes. They had 14 players available for the game with the Eagles, leaving them only three reserves for substitutions.

They haven’t had their full complement one day this season. They hope the walking wounded with the “best chance” of returning can make it back before the playoffs start.

“It’s a big number,” Kemp agreed. “We’re pretty much playing with 13 players, some matches only 12. We play against the big schools – Cherry Hill (West), Cinnaminson, Cherokee – we see their bench and they have 30 players. We’re trying to stick up with those girls when they’re making subs every 10 minutes.

“Our players have actually done a really good job overcoming a lot of adversity. But at the same time, you wonder what we could have been if we were actually at 100 percent.”

When the wave of injuries first hit, the players’ confidence started to shake, but they rallied around each other and fought through any shortcomings. The older players took the ones now given expanded roles under their wing. Kemp continued to put his faith in the players he did have available and made sure every one understood her role and responsibility.

The only games the Cougars have lost were to the biggest schools they played and Audubon, the projected No. 1 seed in South Jersey Group I.

“It was definitely hard,” junior midfielder Quinn Berger said. “When you lose people you think you’re going to lose more games because they’re starters and important players, but you keep fighting through it because we know deep down it doesn’t matter because you still have to play. It was very important to keep that mentality and not break.”

“I think we stepped up very well,” junior captain Cali Fisler said. “We were able to push through and play together as a team and keep our standard of play.”

The Cougars haven’t lost back-to-back games this season. They’ve had winning streaks of four and five games. They’re looking to maintain their position in the upcoming bracket with their final two regular season games against Penns Grove Thursday and at Williamstown Saturday.

“These girls have already worked miracles,” Kemp said, “pulling out wins when we were completely down, getting back into matches after letting up the first goal, continuing to be competitive, especially inside of our division with some of the rivals we currently have the way certain teams play against us, getting wins when it really mattes the most.

“This squad is special; this squad is very special. I think we can do something big if they continue to keep their head down and work for each other. The more they become a collective the more consistent they’re going to be on the field.”

Schalick 4, Pennsville 0

Schalick (11-4)22-4
Pennsville (6-10)00-0

GOALS — S: Quinn Berger, 6:48; S; Abby Willoughby (Olivia Bergholz), 17:50; S: Cali Fisler (Liv Vanaker), 46:25; S: Jael Winnberg, 58:35.

SOUTH JERSEY GROUP I
Girls Soccer Power Points
(Top 16)
1. Audubon (14-2) 23.944, 2. Schalick (11-4) 19.124, 3. Woodstown (11-4-1) 16.556, 4. Haddon Twp. (9-6-1) 16.345, 5. Riverside (9-6) 15.200, 6. Palmyra (11-4) 14.609, 7. Gateway (11-3) 14.297, 8. Glassboro (7-4-2) 12.924, 9. Clayton (9-5-1) 12.872, 10. Pitman (8-8) 9.558, 11. Maple Shade (5-9-1) 8.578, 12. Pennsville (6-10) 8.413, 13. Buena (7-8) 7.026, 14, Wildwood (4-10) 6.590, 15. Penns Grove (2-11-1) 6.190, 16. Woodbury (2-11-1) 5.862.
Others: Cape May Tech (1-14), Salem (0-14), Paulsboro (0-13).

Cover photo: Schalick girls soccer coach Will Kemp talks to his team prior to sending it out to face Pennsville Tuesday.

Closing on a milestone

Woodstown gives coach Darren Huck his 299th career coaching victory in 4-0 shutout of Glassboro; also includes Tuesday’s Salem County sports results

BOYS SOCCER
Overbrook 2, Penns Grove 1 (OT)
Pennsville 5, Clayton 1
Salem Tech 4, Gloucester Catholic 3
Schalick 2, Pitman 0
Wildwood 9, Salem 0
Woodstown 4, Glassboro 0

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – The milestone has been on the horizon since the start of the season, but now it’s right there on the doorstep.

Adrian Ibarra scored twice and Ben Stengel came up with another shutout as Woodstown blanked Glassboro Tuesday 4-0 to give coach Darren Huck his 299th career coaching victory.

Huck, in his 26th season at the Wolverines’ helm, can become the second Salem County soccer coach to reach 300 wins as early as Thursday in the regular-season finale against Pitman at Alcyon Park.

Schalick’s boys coach Joe Mannella, Huck’s good friend and neighbor, became the first Salem County soccer coach to reach the milestone on Oct. 2.

“People would bring it up and I kept saying I’ve got a ways to go, I’ve got a ways to go, and here we are at 13-4,” Huck said. “It’s definitely a weird feeling because I’m a numbers guy, I love numbers in sports, I’m always looking at different statistics and stuff like that.

“You know how I am about the history of our soccer program, but when it came to me I never really thought about ever being in this situation. Whether I played it off as I don’t know if I’ll be coaching that long or maybe I won’t win as much as I did. As a coach I always downplayed that a little bit, but in all honesty for a while it was like that will be a while before I get to that.”

Ibarra gave the Wolverines (13-4) a 1-0 halftime lead, then scored the first goal of the second half and 46th of his career. Bryce Ayars made it 3-0 and Dante Holmes scored the final goal of the game. Stengel was credited with five saves in the shutout.

“My defense definitely stepped up; they’ve been stepping up all season,” Huck said. “We had a little talk at halftime – we were up 1-0  and were pretty much controlling the game – I looked right at Dante Holmes, my center back, and my two other backs and Ben and I said over the next 40 minutes you guys need to win this game for us. You keep them off the board we win the game.

“Allow the offense to keep working at it and working at it, but you know what you’ve got ahead of yourselves. It’s a 1-0 game and if you can lock ‘em down for 40 minutes than we’ve got ourselves win No. 13. And they did that.”

And it gave their coach win No. 299.

The victory also elevated the Wolverines to No. 2 in the current South Jersey Group I power points standings.

When Mannella joined the 300 Club at Wildwood, the feat was met with a commemorative game ball, balloons spelling out “300” and a healthy dousing from the water bucket. Not that Huck is expecting any of that when his entry into the 300 Club becomes official, but he has never had the water bucket treatment before. 

“I always said I’d love to be able to share that (milestone) within the same year of him,” Huck told Riverview Sports News last month. “It also means we’ve been around a long time, too. We’ve had some very good players and, if anything, 300 is just a true testament to staying consistent and doing the right things.”

SALEM TECH 4, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 3: Clinton Bobo scored the tying and winning goals in the Chargers’ three-goal second-half rally that erased a 3-1 deficit. Aiden Bobo scored in the first half and Bobby Jones got the Chargers’ first goal in the second half.

“We were dragging in the first half,” Chargers coach Rob Polk said. “They were beating us to every ball over the field.

“We talked mainly at halftime about effort and coming out fast in the second half. We’ve been playing pretty well the last couple weeks and I was pretty confident if we came out and found a way to pop a goal in early the momentum would shift and more would follow. We were fortunate enough to finish an early chance and the game kind of opened up for us after that.”

The Chargers (5-10) have their eye on a school-record third straight win Thursday at Salem.

PENNSVILLE 5, CLAYTON 1: Shane Puckett scored the Eagles’ first three goals — his first career hat trick — and Ugur Elmali and J.P. Laughrey extended the lead with goals in the final three minutes.

SCHALICK 2, PITMAN 0: Oscar Hernandez and Luke Price scored first-half goals in the Cougars’ ninth straight victory. The Cougars (14-1) remain the No. 1 team in the South Jersey Group I power points standings.

WILDWOOD 9, SALEM 0: NuNu Bedderi and Gavin Burns both scored hat tricks for the Warriors. For Bedderi it was his second straight three-goal game. He now has 30 goals in his first season playing high school soccer in the United States.

OVERBROOK 2, PENNS GROVE 1 (OT)

GIRLS SOCCER
Wildwood at Salem

SCHALICK 4, PENNSVILLE 0: The Cougars outshot their hosts 24-6, scored two goals in each half and had four players light the lamp. Quinn Berger and Abby Willoughby scored in the first half, while Cali Fisler and Jael Winnberg scored in the second. (Related story posting soon)

WOODSTOWN 1, GLASSBORO 0: Sophie Wells scored the game’s only goal in the first half and goalie Ellie Wygand kept the Bulldogs out of the net to make it stand.

GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 6, SALEM TECH 0: Six players scored goals for the Rams.

OVERBROOK 7, PENNS GROVE 0: Gianna Simon scored four goals and Victoria Bupp had three.

GIRLS TENNIS
OVERBROOK 5, PENNS GROVE 0
Keira Riess (O) def. Alease Stewart, 6-0, 6-0
Nesrine Fosso (O) def. Andrea Restrepo, 6-0, 6-1
Sophia Burgos (O) def. Zeven Akkaya, 6-0, 6-1
Hillary Cho-Jennifer Giovanni (O) def. Janiyah Cummings-Makala Washington, 6-1, 6-2
Madison Rikard-Gianna Hardy (O) def. Elif Sagir-Gabriela Roman, 6-0, 6-0.
Records: Overbrook 6-14, Penns Grove 0-12

WOODSTOWN 4, WILDWOOD 1
Gabby Kurpis (Wo) def. Charlie Cunningham-Hackney, 6-0, 6-0
Camille Osborn (Wo) def. Cydnee Kilian, 6-1, 6-0
Angela Wilber (Wi) def. Aubrie Rennie, 6-2, 6-2
Alyssa Berry-Julianna Lindenmuth (Wo) def. Kiana D’Antuano-Estella Robinson, 6-1, 6-0
Leah Waterman-Nathalie Neron (Wo) def. Selin Ogden-Emma Contreras, 6-0, 6-1
Records: Woodstown 14-5, Wildwood 7-8

FIELD HOCKEY
Woodstown at St. Joe (Hamm.)

PENNSVILLE 1, OVERBROOK 1: Izzy Saulin scored in the fourth quarter to earn the Eagles (5-8-2) a tie.

VOLLEYBALL
Washington Twp. 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-11, 25-18)

Red Devils rising

Penns Grove soccer gets ‘biggest win of the season’ shutting out Group 4 Bridgeton behind keeper Guzman’s acrobatic saves

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

PENNS GROVE – The Penns Grove soccer team couldn’t have been more disappointed after losing its last match after a big win last week. The good thing about playing a lot of matches is the big turnaround could be as near as the next line on the schedule.

The Red Devils scored what coach Mano Massari called “our biggest win of the season so far” Monday night when it blanked Group 4 Bridgeton 2-0.

They scored a goal in each half and junior keeper Dwayne Guzman made 12 saves to preserve the shutout.

“It was awesome,” Massari said. “It’s a big win for us. Very big win for us. Biggest game of the year for us when we came out flat against Pitman last week, so we needed this one tonight. This was a big momentum switch for us.”

The Red Devils are playing this week to secure a first-round home game in the South Jersey Group I playoffs and have won three of their last four games. They went into the match in the power points standings. They lost to current No. 8 Wildwood and split with No. 7 Pitman during the season.

They play Overbrook at home Tuesday and No. 1 Schalick at home Thursday, two days before the qualifying cutoff date.

“It’s hard figuring this math out; we tried,” Massari said. “We’ll see tomorrow what happened. That team was good. We played hard today and came out on top.”

Recently placed center mid Mario Fuentes scored his second goal of the season in the first half and freshman Juan Ortiz volleyed a ball coming outside the box and buried it for his fifth in the second half.

Guzman made several big saves to keep the Bulldogs out of the net. He stoned a breakaway in the first half shortly after the Red Devils took the lead and made several acrobatic saves in the second half.

“He stood on his head again today,” Massari said. “He made saves he had no business making again. He stopped some lasers from inside the box. Diving. Jumping. It was nuts. Kept the ball out of the net. Just absolutely dominated. By far the best keeper I’ve coached and been around in a very long time. Dwayne Guzman, put him on the map.”

Cover photo: Penns Grove soccer coach Mano Massari walks off the pitch with goalie Dwayne Guzman after a recent match at Pennsville.

This week’s schedule

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friday sports report

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scurry, Alward reach milestones

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

FIELD HOCKEY
Schalick 9, Overbrook 1: Ava Scurry and Luci Virga both had three goals and two assists as the Cougars remained unbeaten (14-0-1). Phoebe Alward had two goals and two assists and Addi Shimp scored once.

Scurry, who plays multiple sports for the Cougars but is a field hockey player at heart, has scored a goal in six straight games with three hat tricks in the stretch. Her second goal Thursday was the 50th of her career.

That wasn’t the only milestone in the game. Alward picked up her 50th point of the season to surpass 100 points in her career.

Clearview 7, Woodstown 0: Alaina Lomonaco had a hat trick and Ella Candy scored twice. It was Lomonaco’s third game of three goals or more this season and gave her a single-season career-high 16 goals on the year.

Pennsville at Bridgeton
Salem at Clayton

GIRLS TENNIS
Penns Grove at Schalick

WOODSTOWN 4, OVERBROOK 1
Keira Riess (O) def. Gabby Kurpis, 7-5, 6-3, 10-7
Camille Osborn (Wo) def. Nesrine Fosso, 6-0, 6-0
Aubrie Rennie (Wo) def. Sophia Burgos, 6-1, 6-1
Julianna Lindenmuth-Leah Waterman (Wo) def. Hillary Cao-Jennifer Giovanni, 6-0, 6-3
EvaLouise Thomsen-Melissa Hassler (Wo) def. Madison Rikard-Gianna Hardy, 6-0, 6-0
Records: Woodstown 12-5, Overbrook 4-13.

GLASSBORO 5, SALEM 0
Ella Killelea (G) def. Cassidy Werkheiser, 6-1, 6-0
Kaylee Johnson (G) def. Tytiana Miller, 6-1, 6-1
Halle Lazarus (G) def. Angelina Fothergill, 6-1, 6-0
Records: Glassboro 5-8, Salem 1-9.

Group I Final Four
New Providence 4, Pitman 1
Glen Rock 3, Hanover Park 2
Championship: New Providence 5, Glen Rock 0

BOYS SOCCER
Pitman 5, Penns Grove 0

Quick strike

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

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

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

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

SCHULTZ

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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