Cougars advance to SJ Group 1 soccer final, hosts familiar playoff foe Saturday
Schalick edges Woodstown to reach SJ Group 1 soccer final
PITTSGROVE — There was more than a soccer game being played in Schalick’s South Jersey Group 1 semifinal Wednesday. There was a chess match happening as well.
The two coaches, best of friends, were going at it move-for-move for 80 minutes, but in the end, checkmate belonged to Schalick, 3-2.
Jake Sepers scored what proved to be the winning goal on a 25-yard free kick with 26:03 left in regulation.
The top-seeded Cougars (16-4) now host second-seeded Haddon Twp. (14-4-4) Saturday for the sectional championship that’s a rematch of last year’s sectional final. In fact, the teams have met in the semifinal or later six of the last seven years, with Schalick’s only win coming in the 2023 semis.
This one was all about moves and countermoves.
Woodstown took the first piece off the board with the game’s first goal seven minutes into the match. The Cougars lost one of their knights several minutes later when senior center mid Nolan O’Toole came off with a leg injury.
Schalick’s Connor McQuaid got the equalizer with 15:33 left in the half when he redirected the rebound of a Josh Stecher shot and the teams went into the break stalemated at 1.
Ryan Loper put the Cougars up 2-1 seven minutes into the second half when he followed another Stecher rebound. Woodstown retied it on a long free kick from just inside the midstripe that floated over the raised arms of Schalick keeper Nick Latona.
Sepers scored what proved to be the game-winner on a free kick from the left side just above the half circle. It was his third free kick goal in two games, his third against the Wolverines this season and sixth of the year, including a penalty kick.
Woodstown continued making moves to get in position for the equalizer and had several opportunities down the stretch, but the Cougars were there to counter.
This story will be updated.