Sun gives Milhomme a path for boys’ ‘magnificent’ game-winner
CLAYTON – It was quite a gloomy day for most of the first half Monday, but when the sun finally did make its appearance it was as if it shone directly on Don Milhomme.
In a moment that bordered on the spiritual, the sun burned through the overcast just as the Woodstown senior broke away from the two Clayton defenders soldered to his shoulders and he scored the tie-breaking goal that propelled the Wolverines to a 2-1 win at Haupt Field.
“It was magnificent; it was really magnificent,” he said, breaking into a broad smile. a broad smile crossing his face. “When I got the ball, I felt like those two guys were like chasing me, they wanted to rip the ball out of my feet and I said oh my goodness I got to take a shot and I just took it. When I shot the ball and I saw it go to the corner, I thought it wasn’t going in, and when it went in I said oh and the weather, like, changed.”
Even Wolverines coach Darren Huck commented on the timing of the sun coming out when the players came off the field after the goal.
Milhomme, who came to Woodstown from Haiti, has three goals this season and four in his career. It was his first game since celebrating his 18th birthday Friday. His sunny disposition has long made him a popular teammate.
“Don is an inspiration for our entire team,” Huck said. “He’s always smiling and just willing to play whatever role, whatever limit, he can to help the team. He’s good at kind of getting into spaces, slithering through some defenders, and, man, what a goal today. That was big. He’s taken advantage of all his opportunities right now.”
“Don’s just a good guy,” teammate Jake Lewis said. “He’s always happy. He’s always lifting the team up. He’s just a good person to be around.”
Another key to winning was keeping Clayton’s Jonathan Rehm off the scoring sheet. The Clippers’ all-time leading goal scorer has 75 goals in his career, 41 against Salem County opponents, including 13 of his 15 this season, but he has scored only two in four years against the Wolverines (and none against Schalick). He was shutout by the Wolverines Monday.
Lewis marked Rehm inside the box and made a brilliant sliding tackle to separate him from the ball with 28 minutes to play in a one-goal game. Tommy Tucci and Andrew Lane had him when he got to the outside.
“There was really no specific plan, just make sure there was always me or Tommy on his back,” Lewis said. “Just keep an eye on him wherever he goes on the field, make sure he’s marked. It was pretty much try to make as few mistakes as possible.”
“He’s a player we just have to make sure we know where he is at all times and we have to make sure we are aware of the space that he’s in because he’s dangerous with the ball,” Huck said. “If we can kind of neutralize what’s around him that would make it a little easier for us and we were able to do that. He didn’t get the ball in too many spaces where it was really difficult, and that was to our advantage.”
Woodstown opened the scoring with 19:07 left in the first half when Tyler Robertson scored in traffic in front of the net. The Clippers took advantage of a defensive mistake to get the equalizer about three minutes later. The Wolverines passed the ball back towards the goal and keeper Lee Coombs came out to get it, but Clayton’s King Mosley beat them all to it and scored into an open goal.
Less than two minutes later the clouds parted and the sun lit the way for Milhomme to score.
“I found an opportunity and I just took it,” Milhomme said. “It was a nice goal. I love when I play for my team and help my team to score and win.”
BORDENTOWN 5, SCHALICK 1: Tim Koering scored Schalick’s equalizer, then Cullen Hosszu-Barrett scored twice before the end of the half and the Scotties pulled away to end the Cougars’ six-game winning streak. Kyle Williams and Anthony Crisostomo scored goals in the second half, both assisted by Everett Barrett, who scored Bordentown’s first goal.
Hernandez ties Wolverines’ freshman scoring record
CLAYTON – Bella Lucas cradled two small pieces of plastic in the palm of her hand. They were just simple beads, but for what they represented the freshman treated them like diamonds.
The Woodstown girls soccer coaches have come up with a novel way of rewarding their players for success this season – beads to attach to a string that hangs on their bag. Football players get helmet decals, Woodstown girls soccer players get beads.
Different colors for different categories – blue for goals, orange for assists, white for shutouts and silver Player of the Game. Lucas held beads of blue and orange for the goal and assist she recorded in the Wolverines’ 4-0 blanking of Clayton.
“It’s brand new this year,” Wolverines coach Kieran Keyser said. “It was actually my wife’s idea; it’s nice to have that supportive wife.
“We were just talking about things to build camaraderie, to bond the team and something to work for. Obviously, it’s something you can celebrate and just for the girls to work towards. It’s fun.”
Lucas’ goal was worth more than a couple baubles. It opened the floodgates. The Wolverines (11-2-1) dominated the chances in a scoreless first half, but didn’t have anything to show for it. When Lucas’ swinging-gate goal found the back of the net in the 48th minute, it touched off a flurry of four goals in 18 minutes that carried the Wolverines to their fifth straight victory and 99th since the start of the 2019 season.
Genevieve Flynn got the play started with a free kick to 30 yards out and Lucas kept it moving by swinging her right leg around her body with her back facing the goal. It was with the defensive center midfielder’s eighth goal of the season. The Wolverines are 8-0 in game she has scored a goal.
Ten minutes later sophomore Kyrsten Dussault sent a bouncing ball in on an open goal that Clayton defender Mya Pinkey couldn’t run down. Freshman Korynn Hernandez made it 3-0 less than four minutes later (with an assist from Lucas) and sophomore Gabby Maldonado made it 4-0 four minutes after that.
“I feel like sometimes it just takes that one goal for our whole team to go,” Lucas said. “It just takes that one set up all working as a team together and then one person scores and it kind of just happens. I didn’t think it was going to go in.”
For Hernandez it was her 17th goal of the season, tying Woodstown’s freshman single-season goal record, held by Tatum Devault, the program’s all-team leading goal scorer (75).
In all, assistant coach Maddi Burlingame passed around 18 beads from the game – four goals, four assists, five to the back line and keeper Mazie Massoni for their eighth shutout and to the same group for Player of the Game. Captains received gold beads at the start of the season.
At this rate, Keyser just might run out of beads before the Wolverines run out of games.
“That would be pretty cool,” Lucas said.
“We’re good so far,” Keyser said. “I think I’ve bought enough, but I’ll have to go back and check.”
