Woodstown boys fourth in Tri-County XC Showcase, girls fifth; Wolverines’ Abby Marino finishes third in girls race; also includes tennis results
By Riverview Sports News
SEABROOK — The Woodstown boys by all accounts ran well in Wednesday’s Tri-County Conference Cross Country Showcase, just not well enough to overthrow the loaded field.
The Wolverines, the Salem County champions, put three runners in the top 20 and finished an expected fourth in the race at Cumberland Regional. They had the third-fastest team average in the field.
Jacob Marino led the Wolverines across the line with a 10th-place 16:35.47. Karson Chew finished 13th and David Farrell was 18th. The top 20 finishers received medals.
“I think we landed right where I expected,” Woodstown coach Steve New said. “We could have maybe done a little better, but sectionals is what matters.”
Woodstown’s girls finished fifth, with Abby Marino running third (19:41.62), the highest individual finish among all Salem County runners. Teammate Anabel Schaal was 17th.
Glassboro, with three of the top four finishers, won the boys title. Delsea won the girls crown.
Tri-County Showcase
BOYS TEAM: Glassboro 48, Highland 98, Timber Creek 115, WOODSTOWN 121, Kingsway 134, Washington Twp. 161, Delsea 180, Williamstown 207, Clearview 211, SCHALICK 236, Pitman 275, GCIT 284, SALEM TECH 341, Cumberland 371, Deptford 402, SALEM 431, PENNSVILLE 506.
Top finishers among other Salem County teams: PENNSVILLE – Boys: (90) Logan Cowperthwait 20:11.09; Girls: (23) Sawyer Slad 21:58.38. PENNS GROVE – Boys: (67) John Johnson 19:08.72. SALEM – Boys: (72) Gavin Conrath 19:14.73. SALEM TECH – Boys: (50) Levi Seals 18:24.74; Girls: (51) Paityn Harrington 24:28.63. SCHALICK – Boys: (22) Collin Bittle 17:27.50; Girls: (21) Helen Lillia 21:41.66.
Girls tennis
WEDNESDAY’S SCORES Woodstown 5, Glassboro 0 Salem 5, Overbrook 0
SALEM 5, OVERBROOK 0 Angelina Fothergill (S) def. Sophia Burgos, 6-1, 6-2 Tahirah Davenport-White (S) def. Isabella Sepulveda, 7-5, 6-2 JaNye Hubbard (S) def. Anne Mason, 6-2, 1-6, 13-11 Heaven Jones-McCullough-Erica Brewer (S) def. Sophia Perticari-Heaven Williams, 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 Evangeline Jimenez Barreto-Phoenix Holland (S) def. Liana Grant-Williams-Emma Acevedo, 7-5, 6-6 (10-7) Records: Salem 4-11, Overbrook 3-19.
WOODSTOWN 5, GLASSBORO 0 Nathalie Neron (WO) def. Alana Killelea, 6-0, 6-0 Alyssa Berry (WO) def. Alice Dinzeo, 6-0, 6-0 Noelle Neron (WO) def. Virginia Tarasevich, 6-1, 6-0 Madison LaPalomento-Emilee Kehr (WO) def. Sofia Dungea-Amani George, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) Elliana Norman-Emma West (WO) def. Ijeoma Ufomba-Conception Soriano, 6-2, 6-1 Records: Woodstown 16-5, Glassboro 6-10.
Woodstown battles Pitman to 1-1 tie, but needed a win to share division title with Schalick; draw was the Wolverines’ fourth of the season and third in a row
BOYS SOCCER Woodstown 1, Pitman 1 Schalick 4, Penns Grove 0 Pennsville 7, Salem 1 Gloucester Catholic 6, Salem Tech 4
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN – The message to the Woodstown soccer team as it was about to start the second overtime was pretty straightforward: “We cannot tie and we cannot lose.”
The Wolverines just couldn’t get what they needed.
Most teams might accept a tie with a rival as a positive result, but the 1-1 draw the Wolverines got against Pitman Monday was neither the one they wanted nor needed.
It felt like a loss. With Schalick beating Penns Grove 15 miles down the road, Woodstown needed to beat the Panthers to grab a share of their first Tri-County Diamond Division title since 2014.
Instead, the tie – their fourth of the season and third in a row — left the Wolverines (9-1-4) one point behind the Cougars in the final division standings despite posting a winning record against them (1-0-1) during the season. They also had four ties in 2016.
“I feel like it feels more like a loss to this group of guys,” backliner Tommy Tucci said. “We came off the really good game against Schalick, keeping them to zero, and then came out here today really excited to hopefully get the win to keep the division. I think (the tie) feels more like a loss today.”
Both teams had chances, but both goalies and defenses turned them away. The Panthers finally broke through with 4:09 left in the half when Jonas Trum sent Trevor Leach down the right side and Leach shot it across into his left side of the net.
Landon Gugliemo got the equalizer with 9:11 left in regulation when Bryce Ayars’ shot went towards the left post and Gugliemo came crashing it and rifled back into the right side. But the Wolverines needed more.
While the Wolverines were clearly focused on their game at hand, they had an eye on the events 15 miles down the road and Schalick kept the pressure on from afar.
The Cougars grabbed a 1-0 halftime lead on the strength of Anthony Sepers’ penalty kick, then poured in three goals in the second half that left no doubt what the Wolverines had to do.
Steve Chomo headed home a cross from Mike Nelson to give Schalick a 2-0 lead, he assisted on Connor Jackson’s goal that made it 3-0, then closed the scoring later in the half. Evan Sepers made three saves in goal to record his eighth shutout of the season. The division title was Schalick’s third straight.
Both Pitman and Woodstown had good chances to win their game in the second overtime. With six minutes to go, Ayars got the ball in the box, stepped over a defender to create some separation but the keeper blocked his shot and the Panthers cleared the ensuing corner kick.
Three minutes later, Trum got past a defender down the right side and got in alone on the keeper, but Trey Markward stoned him to keep it tied. Both keepers, Markward and Pitman’s Joey Zubert, were credited with 13 saves.
“I just felt confident in myself and felt confident that God would give me the ability to make the save,” Markward said. “I kind of yelled way too loud basically at Him, then I apologized to Him.”
The match ended with the ball at Ayars’ feet in the Panthers’ box, but the double team on him kept him from controlling it and getting a shot.
“We came up a little short,” Woodstown coach Darren Huck said. “I know the way we play we’re going to keep games close and we did it today. We had the formation we wanted, we had we thought the guys in place to be successful. We just needed that one goal, that one more goal.”
There was a lot on the line for the Wolverines. Besides the division title, the teams were battling for the Orange Cup and it also was Woodstown’s Senior Day. The tie allowed the Wolverines to retain the Cup, having won last year’s designated game, but they no doubt would have preferred the bigger prize. Both Schalick and Woodstown had 15 standings points coming into the day.
“It’s terrible, not only for us, but for our seniors, too,” junior Nick DiTeodoro said. “This was their last chance. We all tried, we really wanted it. Even in the huddle, at halftime, before overtime, we were like this is our last time, this is our one chance. Coming up short just hurts.”
NOTES: It was the sixth tie in the history of the Orange Cup … The Wolverines had four ties in 2016 (6-12-4) … The teams considered an unofficial penalty kick shootout to decide the Cup (it would’ve still gone down as a tie), but dwindling daylight and the Senior Day program prevented it from happening … To show there were no hard feelings over the hard-fought result, Huck noticed the Pitman team still in the parking lot waiting on their bus to return and called them over to share in the Senior Day smorgasbord. “We got to share a little bit of a moment,” Huck said. “It was a little emotional.”
Here are the current South Jersey Group I top 16 in football, field hockey, boys soccer and girls soccer heading into the week; the cutoff date is Saturday; Salem County teams in bold
FOOTBALL
UPR
FIELD HOCKEY
PTS.
s-Glassboro (8-0)
1.4
Shore (15-0-1)
33.002
c-Burlington City (7-1)
2.2
W. Deptford (12-2)
28.964
s-Paulsboro (7-1)
2.8
Haddon Twp. (9-6)
22.695
c-Shore (5-2)
3.6
Schalick (11-6)
20.238
c-Riverside (6-2)
6.4
Gloucester (9-7)
20.181
s-Pennsville (4-4)
7.8
S. Hunterdon (12-3)
19.716
c-KIPP (5-2)
8.8
Audubon (9-5-2)
18.664
s-Salem (4-4)
8.8
Haddon Hts. (8-6-1)
18.548
c-Asbury Park (4-3)
9.8
Gateway (7-5-2)
15.033
c-Pt. Pleasant Beach (5-2)
10.2
Woodstown (7-7-1)
13.830
s-Woodbury (3-5)
11.4
Lower Cape May (6-4-1)
12.597
c-Manville (8-0)
12.0
Florence (5-7)
11.242
s-Schalick (2-6)
13.8
Pennsville (6-7-1)
10.970
s-Audubon (2-5)
14.0
New Egypt (5-8-1)
10.004
s-Clayton (4-3)
15.2
Collingswood (2-11-1)
9.884
c-Highland Park (2-5)
15.2
Bordentown (6-9)
9.821
Football teams projected out to South Section (s), Central Section (c)
BOYS SOCCER
PTS.
GIRLS SOCCER
PTS.
Schalick (11-2-2)
23.686
Gateway (13-1)
20.811
Haddon Twp. (10-5-1)
23.261
Haddon Twp. (7-9-1)
18.752
Audubon (11-2-1)
21.991
Schalick (9-5-1)
18.737
Woodstown (9-1-3)
20.905
Clayton (10-4-1)
17.256
Riverside (9-2-2)
19.096
Pitman (9-5)
17.048
Pitman (8-5-1)
18.760
Palmyra (8-5-1)
16.974
Penns Grove (6-3-3)
16.550
Woodstown (10-3-1)
16.085
Pennsville (8-5-2)
14.188
Audubon (6-8-1)
15.285
Gateway (7-5-2)
13.868
Pennsville (8-6)
12.883
Palmyra (7-5-3)
13.263
Glassboro (6-7)
10.316
Maple Shade (7-3-2)
13.057
Riverside (5-8)
9.975
Clayton (10-6)
12.411
Maple Shade (2-12-1)
9.300
Glassboro (5-10-1)
12.331
Buena (6-7-2)
9.131
Wildwood (7-6)
11.192
Wildwood (5-6-1)
8.613
New Egypt (5-11)
9.245
Woodbury (4-7-2)
7.110
Woodbury (5-7-2)
8.411
x-Penns Grove (1-12)
5.872
NOTE: Football, which follows a different qualifying formula than the other sports, will be split into South and Central sections based on top 16 and geographic northing numbers; Salem Tech is in Group 2 and currently No. 19 in field hockey, No. 19 in boys soccer; No. 17 in girls soccer; some teams may opt out of playoffs. x-Penns Grove has opted out of girls soccer playoffs.
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Oct. 20-25; the cutoff for fall sports power points is Saturday
MONDAY, OCT. 20 FIELD HOCKEY Deptford at Schalick, 4 p.m. Gloucester Catholic at Salem, 4 p.m. Overbrook at Woodstown, 4 p.m. BOYS SOCCER Gloucester Catholic at Salem Tech, 4 p.m. Penns Grove at Schalick, 4 p.m. Pitman at Woodstown, 4 p.m. Salem at Pennsville, 6 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER Pitman at Salem, 4 p.m. Salem Tech at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m. Schalick at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Woodstown at Pennsville, 4 p.m. GIRLS TENNIS Woodstown at Schalick, 3:45 p.m. Salem at Pitman, 4 p.m. Overbrook at Pennsville, 4:15 p.m. GIRLS VOLLEYBALL Buena at Salem Tech, 4 p.m. CROSS COUNTRY NJTAC at Salem Tech, 1 p.m.
TUESDAY, OCT. 21 FIELD HOCKEY Overbrook at Salem, 4 p.m. Pennsville at Gateway, 4 p.m. Salem Tech at Absegami, 4 p.m. GIRLS TENNIS Pennsville at Schalick, 4 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 22 FIELD HOCKEY Salem Tech at Paulsboro, 4 p.m. BOYS SOCCER Overbrook at Salem Tech, 4 p.m. Pennsville at Collingswood, 4 p.m. Penns Grove at Salem, 4 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER Salem at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Salem Tech at Overbrook, 4 p.m. Schalick at Pitman, 4 p.m. Clayton at Pennsville, 6 p.m. GIRLS TENNIS Pennsville at Pitman, 3:45 p.m. Woodstown at Glassboro, 3:45 p.m. Overbrook at Salem, 4 p.m. Penns Grove at Wildwood, 4 p.m. CROSS COUNTRY TCC Championship at Cumberland, 3:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, OCT. 23 FIELD HOCKEY Salem Tech at Burlington City, 3:45 p.m. Overbrook at Pennsville, 4 p.m. BOYS SOCCER Schalick at Sterling, 4 p.m. Woodstown at Audubon, 7 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER Gloucester City at Pennsville, 4 p.m. Salem at Salem Tech, 4 p.m. GIRLS TENNIS Salem at Wildwood, 4 p.m. Schalick at Woodstown, 4 p.m. GIRLS VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech at Timber Creek, 4 p.m. WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL Penn State-Brandywine at Salem CC, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, OCT. 24 WJFL FOOTBALL Pennsville at Collingswood, 6 p.m. West Deptford at Overbrook, 6 p.m. Glassboro at Woodstown, 7 p.m. FIELD HOCKEY Salem Tech at Overbrook, 3:45 p.m. Gloucester Catholic at Woodstown, 4 p.m. BOYS SOCCER Penns Grove at Wildwood, 4 p.m. Pennsville at Gloucester City, 4 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER Woodstown at Pennsville, 3:30 p.m. Clayton at Schalick, 4 p.m. GIRLS TENNIS Cumberland at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m.
SATURDAY, OCT. 25 WJFL FOOTBALL Schalick at Woodbury, 11 a.m. Penns Grove at Salem, noon Clayton at Paulsboro, 12:30 p.m. BOYS SOCCER Highland at Woodstown, 10 a.m. GIRLS SOCCER Woodstown at Highland, 10 a.m. Penns Grove at Salem, noon COLLEGE BASEBALL Salem CC at Lincoln (2), noon
Salem, Carey take it out on Woodstown after losing to the Wolverines last year and their Homecoming Game last week; Pennsville unloads on Lawrence to enhance its playoff hopes; Schalick falls to Glassboro; includes WJFL standings
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN — For Troy Carey, this one was personal.
Carey had a monster game against Woodstown last year, passing for an eye-popping 279 yards, but Salem lost to the other quarterback’s big game.
Salem’s Troy Carey proudly wears the Game MVP chain he won for the second time this season.
Friday night, the senior got a little payback on a lot of counts, rushing for 125 yards and two touchdowns and making some big plays on defense as the Rams crushed the Wolverines on their Homecoming and Senior Night, 47-0, a week after losing their own Homecoming game.
It was Salem’s first win in the rivalry since the 2020 season finale, its first at Woodstown since 2019 and its first at Clint Ware Field in the regular season since Thanksgiving 2017. There was talk on the sidelines Woodstown hadn’t lost at Homecoming in years.
“I was definitely hungry because last week was a tough game, I didn’t get any carries last week, but this week was definitely personal, for sure,” Carey said. “We lost our Homecoming (to West Deptford), so we had an opportunity to upset somebody else’s, so it was definitely big. It was personal this week, for sure.”
Carey was part of a balanced offense and a dominating defense. He, Cashmir Parsley and Isiah Santiago all scored a pair of touchdowns. Santiago, normally a receiver, played in the backfield for the first time and rushed for 71 yards. Parsley rushed for 68 yards and quarterback Desmund Thomas had 141 total yards and threw for a score on the final play of a 21-point first quarter.
The defense held Woodstown to minus-14 yards of net rushing and 45 yards total. It was the second opponent in three weeks the Rams held to negative rushing yards.
“I thought the defense played really well,” Rams coach Kemp Carr said. “Offense is for being cute and defense is for winning championship. The guys understood the call. For the most part there was good communication throughout. I heard a lot of pointing, a lot of talking, and that’s what it takes every game.”
Carey has played so many positions in his Salem career it’s hard to pigeon-hole him as any specific type player. You might call him a Swiss Army Knife. Carr just calls him “unicorn.”
He went for 34 yards the first time he touched the ball — on the first snap of the game — and scored on a 19-yard run two plays later. He had a 23-yard touchdown run in the final minute of the third quarter.
“He’s a unicorn, whatever we need him to do he’s willing to do and you can’t ask for anything more than that,” Carr said. “He plays wing, he plays quarterback, he plays running back, he plays Mike linebacker, defense and down line. When you have a unicorn like that you try to use him in the best place you can, but we have multiple of those guys.”
It was another tough night for the Wolverines (2-6), who fell out of the top 16 of the South Jersey Group I power points standings for the first time ever this week and are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
They were held to less than 50 yards of net offense and had four turnovers, three of which Salem (4-4) converted into touchdowns. They did have a big play on their first drive when freshman quarterback Frankie Hoerst connected on a 63-yard bomb to Sincere Cook-Reese, but the sophomore receiver was stopped short of the end zone and they ended up not scoring, missing a 26-yard field goal attempt.
There was a scary moment in the game involving the quarterback later in the quarter. Hoerst lay still on the 30-yard line after getting crushed by the Salem rush and losing a fumble. The game was delayed nearly 15 minutes while trainers and medical staff treated him for an apparent neck injury.
They stabilized his head and neck area before lifting him on a backboard to an awaiting stretcher. Woodstown coach Frank Trautz reported Hoerst was moving and talking as he was being treated. He did not have an update on the player’s condition immediately after the game.
It was just another in a series of injuries that have befallen the Wolverines this season. At one point this year they had nine starters out because of injury. As it was, they had fewer than a half-dozen of their opening day starters on the field against the Rams.
“It’s unfortunate you have a season (like that),” Trautz said. “You keep telling yourself we’ve made it through and we get some guys back and we can’t seem to stay healthy. It’s part of this game, unfortunately.
“We’re not making excuses here. We’re very confident in the guys we have playing, but it’s no doubt it takes a toll on you. As ironic it sounds I do think it’s still going to help us in the long run here with a lot of these kids who were forced to play different positions this year before stepping into roles they were not expected to play in.”
With backup quarterbacks Mason Middlemiss and Lucas Fulmer among those already sidelined, the Wolverines turned to “Q” for the “A” at the position. Noah Chiu, pronounced like the letter Q, plays a hard-nosed style of ball and did what he could despite being under constant pressure.
“Noah is as tough as they come,” Trautz said. “He’s one of those kids that every coach would take 100 of. He’d run through a brick wall for you. He’ll do everything you ask of him. Very tough. We asked a lot of him tonight and he didn’t flinch.”
Woodstown coach Frank Trautz (R) gives some instructions to Noah Chiu before sending the junior in at quarterback in the second quarter Friday night against Salem.
Salem 47, Woodstown 0
SAL (47)
WOOD (0)
11
1st Downs
2
31-321
Rushing
19-(-14)
5-7-0
Passing
2-9-1
88
Passing yds
59
2-0
Fumbles-lost
3-3
3-32.0
Punts-avg
4-29.5
12-101
Penalties
2-7
Salem (4-4)
21
6
13
7-
47
Woodstown (2-6)
0
0
0
0-
0
SCORING SUMMARY S-Troy Carey 19 run (kick failed), 10:36 1Q S-Cashmir Parsley 2 run (Johnathan Bower kick), 1:07 1Q S-Kaden Robinson 30 pass from Desmund Thomas (Antwuan Rogers pass from Desmund Thomas), 0:00 1Q S-Cashmir Parsley 4 run (run failed), 4:40 2Q S-Isiah Santiago 10 run (run failed), 6:42 3Q S-Troy Carey 23 run (Johnathan Bower kick), 0:38 3Q S-Isiah Santiago 4 run (Johnathan Bower kick)
Pennsville 44, Lawrence 6
PENNSVILLE — The homestanding Eagles played one of their most complete games of the season, dominating their Mercer County visitors on both sides of the ball on Senior Night.
Rylan Hardy scored three touchdowns, Robbie McDade scored two and Adrian Alleyne scored once. Perry Meranti had three two-point conversions.
The Eagles led 16-0 in the first quarter and 30-6 at halftime.
“We had everything clicking,” Eagles coach Mike Healy said. “You know how we’ve talked about getting to play all four quarters? We did that.”
Glassboro 35, Schalick 7
GLASSBORO — Schalick gave Glassboro all it could handle for the better part of three quarters, but then the Bulldogs remembered who they were.
The Cougars held their own with the defending state champions through the first half and into the third quarter, but Xavier Sabb got loose for two late fourth-quarter touchdowns to close out a 35-7 victory.
Schalick had the Homecoming crowd worried for a while. Glassboro scored first, but the Bulldogs answered with an 82-yard drive after a Jase Volovar interception capped by Gary Simonini’s 30-yard TD pass to Sherrod Jones.
The Bulldogs scored again, and the Cougars nearly got the tying touchdown right before halftime. David Stewart set them up with an interception and they got to the 2 with four seconds left but couldn’t punch it in.
They ran three plays, missed a receiver in the end zone on second down and were stopped on third down. They lined up for a field goal, but it was blocked, so instead of going into the halftime trailing 14-10 they remained down by a touchdown, but not feeling as hurt as the Bulldogs.
“We were right there all through the first half,” Cougars coach Kevin Leamy said. “We had a game plan that the kids executed great and frustrated them on offense. Kids made plays.
“Everything was going good in the first half. We played well in the second half, too, but you give them enough opportunities, those kids are going to make plays.”
The events of the first half must not have sat well with the Bulldogs (8-0) because they didn’t come out for the second half until there were 30 seconds left in the break.
It was a 20-7 game going into the final four minutes of the fourth quarter, but Xavier Sabb, who hadn’t caught a pass to that point, scored twice to put the game out of reach.
“I don’t think it was anything special,” Leamy said of the approach. “I think it was just a mentality that we came into the game with that we were going to force them to earn everything they get. Pressure them, force them to continue to make plays. Force them to run the ball.
“They run the ball really well, but they refuse to commit to it. They’re always going to revert back to throwing the ball because they have those three kids out there that they can get the ball to. I think we knew that going in and were going to say we dare you to run the ball, we’re going to try everything we have to take away that pass.”
Glassboro 35, Schalick 7
Schalick (2-6)
7
0
0
0-
7
Glassboro (8-0)
14
0
7
14-
35
SCORING SUMMARY G-Amari Sabb 42 pass from Jack O’Connell (Sal Esgro kick) S-Sherrod Jones 30 pass from Gary Simonini (Hunter Dragotta kick) G-JoJo DeLecce 22 run (Sal Esgro kick) G-Amari Sabb 3 run (Sal Esgro kick) G-Xavier Sabb 22 pass from Jack O’Connell (pass failed) G-Xavier Sabb 25 pass from Jack O’Connell (Mekhi Parker run)
WJFL Standings
DIAMOND
ALL
DIV
Glassboro
8-0
4-0
Salem
4-4
3-1
Schalick
2-6
2-2
Woodbury
2-4
1-2
Woodstown
2-6
1-3
Penns Grove
0-7
0-3
PATRIOT
ALL
DIV
Paulsboro
7-0
5-0
West Deptford
6-1
4-0
Overbrook
5-2
2-2
Pennsville
4-4
2-3
Collingswood
5-3
2-3
Audubon
2-4
1-3
Camden Catholic
0-8
0-5
FRIDAY’S GAMES Glassboro 35, Schalick 7 Pennsville 44, Lawrence 6 Salem 47, Woodstown 0 Collingswood 28, Camden Catholic 24
SATURDAY’S GAMES West Deptford at Paulsboro, 11 a.m. Overbrook at Audubon, 11 Woodbury at Penns Grove, noon
Woodstown, Schalick battle to scoreless tie to remain tied for division lead; Pennsville also plays to a draw in its quest for a division crown
BOYS SOCCER Pennsville 1, Gloucester Catholic 1 Penns Grove 4, Overbrook 1 Wildwood 7, Salem 1 Schalick 0, Woodstown 0
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
WOODSTOWN — Rivals Woodstown and Schalick played for the upper hand in the TCC Diamond Division, as they always seem to do, but they came out of this one the same way they went into it: Tied for the lead after playing to a scoreless draw.
The game may have been scoreless, but it was an aficionado’s dream.
“It’s a game that those who don’t care for soccer and part of it is because there’s no scoring and there’s no action, this would be that game they would want to use for evidence,” Woodstown coach Darren Huck said. “But if you were there you would have seen it was a good game.”
Another false assumption would be thinking the Wolverines were playing for the tie because they moved leading scorer Bryce Ayars back into a more defensive center mid position. Huck refuted the notion, saying they played the same formation they had the last three games, but had to drop Ayars back because Jake Lewis remained out after getting hurt in the Penns Grove match and that move gave them the best chance to win the game.
“We weren’t playing for the tie, we weren’t,” Huck said. “I looked at some of my options and each one I said who’s going to give us the best opportunity to stay in the game and Bryce was the best, the most logical, choice. When I presented it to my coaching staff every one of them came back and said this is the right call.
“It wasn’t about putting Bryce there to keep a tie. It was about putting Bryce there to keep us in the game to give us a chance to win the game. I wasn’t moving Bryce back there with a healthy team. What I was looking for was someone else step up and score a goal.”
The Cougars, meanwhile, were prepared to play their rivals the way they played in the first meeting, with Ayars up top. The change was a “clear indication,” to Schalick coach Joe Mannella at least, “that you’re going to try to score on a free kick or a counterattack … and they stuck with it the whole time.”
Mannella acknowledged it was frustrating at times and tested the Cougars patience. They created enough chances, he said, they just didn’t score.
Schalick outshot their rivals 14-5, but Woodstown keeper Trey Markward made 11 saves. Schalick keeper Evan Sepers was credited with four saves and wasn’t overly tested, but he did hold his breath in overtime when Ben Lippincott’s shot from just outside the box just missed the post.
The tie left the teams atop the division standings with 15 points — Woodstown at 6-0-3 and Schalick at 7-1-1. They can finish as co-champions in the division with wins Monday (even though Woodstown is 1-0-1 in the season series), and that wouldn’t be a bad thing in Huck’s mind.
Schalick remained No. 1 in the South Jersey Group I power points standings, with a slight lead over Haddon Twp. Woodstown fell to No. 4, just behind Audubon. Schalick and Woodstown came into the week 1-2.
“I look at it as sharing a division championship with a team like Schalick, who routinely, year in and year out, is a division champion, a South Jersey finalist, a state Group I contender, I look at that as an honor and an accomplishment to be in there with them in the same sentence,” Huck said. “I really, honestly feel that way.
“Schalick has been a thorn in our side for a long time. I wouldn’t want it any other way. If given a choice, I wouldn’t want to be in any other division where it’s easy. I take a lot of pride in going ‘us and Schalick, co-champs,’ well deserved by both teams.”
NOTES: The three ties are the most Woodstown has had in a season since 2022 (5-10-3) and with Monday’s draw at Penns Grove it marks the first time the Wolverines have had back-to-back ties since 2016 (Triton, Schalick) … It was Woodstown’s first scoreless tie since 2019 (Glassboro) and Schalick’s first since 2022 (Palmyra) … Schalick hosts Penns Grove Monday, Woodstown hosts Pitman.
Penns Grove 4, Overbrook 1: Prince Ledbetter scored twice and assisted on Michael Schultz’ first career goal in the second half as the Red Devils (6-3-3) extended their unbeaten streak to five games. Erdem Yardim scored their other goal. Pennsville 1, Gloucester Catholic 1: Not really the result the Eagles were looking for, but they still can clinch their first division title in 32 years with a win over Salem Monday. Right back Brett Land scored the tying goal in the first half, four minutes after the Rams scored, off a long Stevie Fatcher throw-in that hit the crossbar and came straight to him. Wildwood 7, Salem 1: Michael Blanda had two goals and an assist for the Warriors, who moved within a half-game of Pennsville in the Classic Division race.
Girls roundup: Schalick edges Woodstown to win sixth straight soccer division title; includes tennis and field hockey
GIRLS SOCCER Schalick 2, Woodstown 1 Clayton 6, Salem Tech 0 Overbrook 5, Penns Grove 2 Glassboro 2, Pennsville 0 Wildwood 6, Salem 0
By Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE – You know you’ve got something special going on when you don’t know what it feels like to finish second.
The Schalick girls soccer team under coach Will Kemp doesn’t know second place.
The Cougars clinched at least a share of their sixth straight TCC Diamond Division title and fourth under Kemp Thursday in a 2-1 victory over rival Woodstown. They can win it outright with a win at Penns Grove Monday or a Woodstown loss at Pennsville.
Since the conference declares co-champions in event of a tie at the top, that means Kemp’s entire class rotation of players – freshmen through seniors – have known nothing but division championships. That’s a closet full of championship jackets.
“It’s the culture,” Kemp said. “It’s a special thing for us to continue to win the division year after year, but it just shows you the standard that has been set in the past and that continues to be inside the actual program itself.
“It’s special for the ladies to win this. When you’re now a senior, such as Cali (Fisler) and Abigail (Willoughby), for them to win it four years in a row it’s just something special. It’s almost starting to become the lone standard when you play at Schalick soccer to win the division.”
The Cougars (9-5-1) have lost only one division game in Kemp’s four years at the helm – to Woodstown in his first year. They’re unbeaten in their last 32 regular-season division games (31-0-1). The teams played to a 1-1 draw earlier this season.
Despite the close score, the Cougars dominated the game, playing most of it in their attacking end. Olivia Vanacker scored in the 34th minute to open the scoring and Karlie Bakley scored in the first 30 seconds of the second half to give them a 2-0 lead.
Kyleigh Cutler, in her first game back from a recovery break, assisted on both Schalick goals.
“Kyleigh Cutler came in a changed the whole dynamic of our team,” Kemp said. “Adding her back to the squad, she’s a very important piece to us.”
Gina Murray made it a one-goal game in the 55th minute when she hit a great shot past keeper Eve Berger after the Cougars failed to clear a free kick.
The win was the Cougars’ fifth in a row since moving into the second phase of their season on Senior Night, Oct. 2. In Kemp’s tenure, they are 30-9-1 after Oct. 1.
“The main timeline I always give my players is six weeks, from preseason all the way into the sixth week,” Kemp said. “That’s when everything starts to roll for them and they start to understand the consistency inside their style of play, the effort that’s needed and, of course, being able to showcase their talents.
“Before the six weeks, lot of mistakes happen, we’re still trying to figure some things out, players are still getting their fitness in, but after six weeks that’s when you start to see exactly what type of team that we are.”
Glassboro 2, Pennsville 0: Amina Brown and Alyssa Mattox scored goals for the Bulldogs. Clayton 6, Salem Tech 0: Nicole Lemon scored two goals in the second half for the Clippers.
FIELD HOCKEY Schalick 9, Overbrook 0: The Cougars (11-6) got all their goals from seniors on Senior Night, including two each from Caylen Taylor, Ava Scurry, Lena Virga and Phoebe Alward, to win their third straight and clinch the TCC Diamond Division crown. For Alward, it was her 50th career goal. Natalie May scored their other goal. The shutout was their seventh of the season. GCIT 4, Woodstown 1: Lexi Taylor scored the Wolverines’ goal in the third quarter.
GIRLS TENNIS Pennsville 5, Salem 0 Woodstown 5, Wildwood 0 Glassboro at Schalick
Here are the scores and highlights from Tuesday’s Salem County sports action
FIELD HOCKEY Salem Tech 3, Clayton 0: Jessilyn Chambers, Hazel Eachus and Olivia Lydon scored second-half goals in the Chargers’ fifth straight win. All five wins have been by shutout with Caroline Tighe in the cage. Peyton Mayhew assisted on two of the goals. Pennsville 3, Deptford 2: Kylie Harris scored two more goals and Gracie Mease scored once for the Eagles (5-6-1). Harris has scored five goals in her last two games. Salem at Glassboro, 4 p.m.
GIRLS SOCCER Woodstown 6, Penns Grove 0: Lia Covely scored two goals, while Emma Perry, Hailey Kucharczuk, Kyrsten Dussault and Elizabeth Daly scored once in the Wolverines’ fifth straight win. Ellie Wygand and Mazie Mazzoni combined for their seventh shutout The Wolverines visit Schalick for the Diamond Division title Thursday. Schalick 2, Glassboro 0: Olivia Vanacker and Quinn Berger scored in the first half and goalie Eve Berger made them stand up. The Cougars take a four-game winning streak into their showdown with Woodstown and have shut out three of their last four. Wildwood 2, Salem Tech 0: Addison Troiano and Nyara Alves scored second-half goals for the Warriors. Pennsville 3, Overbrook 2: Taylor Bass scored her third goal of the game with 3:25 left in overtime to lift the Eagles (8-5), who bettered last year’s win total with the victory. Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 6 p.m.
Woodstown scores twice in final three minutes of regulation, then holds on in OT to tie Penns Grove, set up showdown with Schalick BOYS SOCCER Woodstown 2, Penns Grove 2 Schalick 4, Glassboro 0 Clayton 3, Pennsville 0 Gloucester Catholic 7, Salem 0 Salem Tech at Wildwood
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNS GROVE – Woodstown plays the biggest game of the season in South Jersey Group I boys soccer Thursday when it hosts rival Schalick for the TCC Diamond Division title and the presumptive No. 1 seed in the upcoming sectional tournament.
But the matchup would have lost a lot of its juice if the Wolverines didn’t take of business Tuesday. Or if Schalick didn’t either.
Luckily, both teams upheld their end to remain on collision course, but, boy, did Woodstown cut it close.
The Wolverines needed two goals in the final three minutes of regulation to get back in the game and then held on through overtime to earn a 2-2 draw with Penns Grove. Bryce Ayars scored both their goals, with the equalizer coming in the final minute on a pass from Trey Markward, who was pulled up top with his goalie gear on to give them an extra attacker.
“My goodness, way too close,” Woodstown coach Darren Huck said. “I’m proud of the resiliency this team showed, the don’t give up. Even though they were not happy with the way they were playing and we all felt we could be playing better, the will was always there. We just kept coming back, coming back, coming back. There’s something to say about that.”
Schalick upheld its end with a 4-0 Senior Night win over Glassboro, its seventh win in a row since the loss to Woodstown.
If Woodstown (9-1-2, 6-0-2) wins the showdown, it can win the division outright with just a tie against Pitman in its last division game Monday. If Schalick (11-2-1, 7-1) wins, the Cougars could win it outright beating Penns Grove in their last division game Monday. There are scenarios they could share the title regardless of Thursday’s outcome.
And then there’s the matter of the South Jersey Group I power points standings. Schalick currently holds the No. 1 seed and Woodstown is No. 3, but the cutoff is Saturday and the Wolverines have just reached the threshold where they can start dropping games in the formula.
“The power points that are available on Thursday will have a huge impact on first through third,” Huck said.
“Pulling out a tie after being down 2-0 definitely gives us hope to beating Schalick and taking the division,” Ayars said.
But none of it would’ve mattered if the Wolverines didn’t get a positive result against Penns Grove. And for 77 minutes the Red Devils had them on the ropes.
Prince Ledbetter converted a pass from Joey Schultz with 14:10 left in the first half and Poyraz Erdonmez blasted home the rebound after Markward stoned Juan Ortiz’ penalty kick 10 minutes into the second half to make it 2-0.
The Red Devils held onto the lead until the closing minutes of regulation before the Wolverines came to life.
Ayars got the first goal with three minutes to play on a cross from Nick DiTeodoro, then got the equalizer with about a minute to go with help from an unlikely source. He had a good chance to win it in overtime, but his free kick from right outside the box skittered just past the far right post.
“I was just trying to find different connections I thought could give us a spark out there and give us something to change it up a little bit,” Huck said. “Even if it was a different style of player, someone who maybe is not a threat to score but could be maybe settle the ball a little bit better or pass the ball a little bit better.”
He found that player way back on the end line. With time running out, Markward came all the way up from the goal leaving the crease empty. As fate would have it, the ball came his way and he got just enough touch on it to direct it toward Ayars for the equalizer and his first career assist.
“At first I really wanted to (do it), then I got there and I was scared,” Markward said. “I got a touch on it and was like, ‘Please, God, help me,’ then I kicked it and was like, aw, I missed it, but it was OK, Bryce got me. He’s always there.”
“The first thing I saw was a beautiful touch by the goalie; I didn’t know Trey could do that,” Ayars said. “I think he took a shot or a pass, I don’t really know, that’s up to how he wants to describe that, but it went right to my foot like normal and I just put it away.”
Both games between the teams this year have ended in ties, but this one didn’t leave the Red Devils with the same sense of accomplishment as the earlier meeting. They were that close to beating Woodstown for the first time since October 2022 and couldn’t close it out.
“I kept telling my guys to stop talking about it because a team like Woodstown is never out of it and clearly that’s what happened,” Penns Grove coach Mano Massari said. “Good teams find ways to get back in games no matter how much time is left and that’s exactly what Woodstown did.
“Good teams also know how to close a game out and we didn’t do that, so that’s something we definitely need to improve on if we want to have success moving forward in this season.”
NOTES: By the time overtime started the Wolverines were missing three starters, two of whom went down during the game. At least they could be replaced. The Red Devils played the OT one man down due to an end-of-regulation red card. There were seven yellow cards and one red card issued in the game … The Wolverines are 9-0-1 this year in games Ayars scores a goal.
SCHALICK 4, GLASSBORO 0: Glassboro 0: Mikey Nelson and Anthony Sepers, two of the 11 seniors recognized prior to the game, had a goal and an assist for the Cougars. Luke Price and freshman Jake Sepers scored their other goals.
CLAYTON 3, PENNSVILLE 0: The Eagles missed a chance to clinch a share of the TCC Classic Division title. The still hold a one-game lead over the Clippers and can now clinch a share with a win at Gloucester Catholic Thursday and then clinch its first division title in 32 years Monday against Salem.
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 7, SALEM 0: Zack Payne scored the first four goals of the game and assisted on another score.
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of Oct. 13-18
MONDAY, OCT. 13 GIRLS TENNIS Schalick at Woodstown, 4 p.m.
TUESDAY, OCT. 14 FIELD HOCKEY Clayton at Salem Tech, 4 p.m. Pennsville at Deptford, 4 p.m. Salem at Glassboro, 4 p.m. Woodstown at St. Joe (Hamm.), 4 p.m. BOYS SOCCER Gloucester Catholic at Salem, 4 p.m. Pennsville at Clayton, 4 p.m. Salem Tech at Wildwood, 4 p.m. Woodstown at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Glassboro at Schalick, 6 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER Overbrook at Pennsville, 4 p.m. Penns Grove at Woodstown, 4 p.m. Schalick at Glassboro, 4 p.m. Wildwood at Salem Tech, 4 p.m. Salem at Gloucester Catholic, 6 p.m. GIRLS TENNIS Woodstown at Overbrook, 3:45 p.m. Glassboro at Salem, 4 p.m. Schalick at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. GIRLS VOLLEYBALL Salem Tech at Cape May Tech, 4 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 15 FIELD HOCKEY Clayton at Pennsville, 4 p.m. Salem Tech at Highland, 4 p.m. GIRLS TENNIS Schalick at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m. Wildwood at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. GIRLS VOLLEYBALL Triton at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
THURSDAY, OCT. 16 FIELD HOCKEY Woodstown at GCIT, 4 p.m. Overbrook at Schalick, 6 p.m. BOYS SOCCER Pennsville at Gloucester Catholic, 4 p.m. Penns Grove at Overbrook, 4 p.m. Wildwood at Salem, 4 p.m. Schalick at Woodstown, 4 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER Clayton at Salem Tech, 4 p.m. Overbrook at Penns Grove, 4 p.m. Pennsville at Glassboro, 4 p.m. Salem at Wildwood, 4 p.m. Woodstown at Schalick, 4 p.m. GIRLS TENNIS Salem at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m. Wildwood at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m. Glassboro at Schalick, 4 p.m. Pitman at Penns Grove, 4 p.m.
FRIDAY, OCT. 17 WJFL FOOTBALL Camden Catholic at Collingswood, 6 p.m. Lawrence at Pennsville, 6 p.m. Salem at Woodstown, 7 p.m. Schalick at Glassboro, 7 p.m. FIELD HOCKEY Clayton at Salem, 4 p.m. Schalick at Overbrook, 4 p.m. Vineland at Pennsville, 4 p.m. BOYS SOCCER Clayton at Salem Tech, 4 p.m. Salem at Haddon Heights, 4 p.m. GIRLS SOCCER Paulsboro at Salem, 4 p.m. VOLLEYBALL Clearview at Salem Tech, 4 p.m.
SATURDAY, OCT. 18 WJFL FOOTBALL Overbrook at Audubon, 11 a.m. West Deptford at Paulsboro, 11 a.m. Woodbury at Penns Grove, noon COLLEGE BASEBALL Salem CC at Wilmington (2), noon COLLEGE BASKETBALL Salem CC Jamboree at Cristo Rey HS, Philadelphia
Riverview Sports News 