PITTSGROVE — Schalick had lost to Haddon Township in the sectional playoffs each of the last two years. On Saturday, the top-seeded Cougars made sure there wouldn’t be a third.
Tim Koering scored the equalizer early in the second half and set up Marco Spinnato’s go-ahead goal with 9:10 left, and Schalick held off a final Haddon Township free kick to win the South Jersey Group 1 boys soccer championship, 2-1.
Schalick (17-4) won its eighth straight game and its first sectional title since 2015. Second-seeded Haddon Township fell to 14-5-4. The Cougars advance to the state semifinals against Shore, which they will host Wednesday at 2 p.m.
Haddon Township had been the roadblock. The teams had met in the sectional semifinals or finals six of the last seven years, and the Hawks had won four of the five previous meetings, including 2-0 in last year’s final.
Haddon Township strikes first on a set piece
The first half was tight, and Haddon Township scored first. Just under 7 minutes into the first half, Bobby McIlvaine sent a free kick from near midfield toward the left side of the Schalick penalty area. The ball was headed on in front of the goal, bounced out, and junior midfielder Danny McIlvaine headed it in for a 1-0 lead.
Ryan Loper had hit the inside of the post early in the half off a give-and-go. Spinnato beat a couple of defenders and got a good shot off in front of the six-yard box, but it was pushed away and led to a corner kick that Haddon Township’s keeper Collin Freeley caught.
After the goal, the Hawks dropped back and played more cautiously, packing their back line. Aidan Sayles stepped in front of several Schalick passes in the midfield and started counterattacks, which slowed the Cougars for stretches.
Koering ties it with a one-on-one finish
As the game went on, Schalick’s athleticism and talent showed in the midfield. Sophomore Tyler Vanlier controlled play up the middle, Josh Stecher was a threat on the outside as a forward, and sophomore midfielder Loper kept the ball moving in the midfield.
Schalick tied it about seven minutes into the second half. Connor Jackson played a ball forward that worked its way to the top of the box, where Koering, with his back to the defense, turned past the defenders and went one-on-one with Feeley. Koering slipped it past the keeper to make it 1-1.
Schalick controlled the second half and created chance after chance between Koering and Spinnato. The Cougars had far more shots on goal than Haddon Township, and Feeley played well enough to keep the Hawks in it. Feeley stretched to full extension to make a save around the 22-minute mark. Spinnato had a one-on-one at 18:33 that hit the side netting, and Koering missed a couple of shots on net. The game got heated around the halfway point of the half when a Haddon Township player was shown a yellow card with 21:00 left.
Spinnato breaks through for the go-ahead goal
With 9:10 remaining, Spinnato got the ball again and went one-on-one with Feeley. He got around the defender and finished. The shot hit the near post, bounced across the goal and settled in the net for his 13th goal of the season. Koering got the assist, giving him a goal and an assist in the second half.
Schalick then tried to run out the clock while still looking for another goal. Stecher and Koering combined on several through balls, and Connor McQuade stayed active on the left side.
Couch and the defense hold the line
The Cougars’ defense was just as big. Nathan Couch, the sweeper, kept winning 50-50 balls and clearing them, especially in the second half, and Schalick’s student section grew louder with each one. And so did Couch! He seemed to get more and more psyched and amping up his teammates with each ball he played and each second that ticked off of the clock.
With 2:08 left, Jacob Sepers, who scored all six of his goals this season on free kicks, hit a direct free kick that freshman keeper Max Baker saved. Stecher hit the rebound, and Baker saved that, too.
One last free kick as time expires
When time expired, the referees put three seconds back on the clock so Haddon Township could take one last free kick. The Hawks set up a three-man wall, and Bobby McIlvaine took it. It sailed wide, and the Schalick players ran onto the field to celebrate.
A resilient team that kept finding a way
It was a rebuilt team that kept absorbing losses. Schalick graduated three defenders and its goalie from last year, then lost a senior captain, Luke Price, to injury early in the season. Nolan O’Toole, another senior captain and the center midfielder, was hurt in the win over Woodstown. Neither captain dressed for the championship game.
“It means everything,” Schalick coach Joe Mannella said when asked what the win meant to this team. “Against Woodstown, we lose the senior captain. We lose Luke Price earlier in the year, two senior captains.
“It’s just the next man up mentality that you see in sports, and winning teams have it. We got it.”
The back line was the biggest question. “We lost three defenders and a goalie last year, so it was a rebuild in the back,” Mannella said.
Couch settled it.
“Early in the year, we went to Cumberland Regional. We lost. We did not play very well, but Nate showed that game that he had what it took to play back there,” Mannella said. “He’s been in there the whole season, and he’s been the emotional leader of our team. He’s been the soul of our team, and you know, without him, we would not have been here.”
“I thrive off adrenaline, and just getting the energy really makes the whole team start playing better,” Couch said.
Mannella said the full weight of the title may not hit until later. “When everything calms down, you think about what we were able to accomplish so far,” he said. “It’s been awesome.”
