Both Shawnee teams advance to SJ Coaches Cup semis

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The South Jersey Coaches' Cup is a highlight every year in South Jersey soccer because it pits 16 ranked boys and girls teams each in a knockout competition that adds an added level of pressure on games late in the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shawnee hosted a pair of quarterfinal games for the competition on Monday and ended up seeing both their girls and boys teams advance to the semifinal round being contested in Cherry Hill tonight (girls play at 6:30, boys at 8:15). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The girls advanced the hard way, going toe to toe with Ocean City in a scoreless draw that ended in a penalty shootout. Sophomore goalkeeper Mackenzie Borbi was the hero of the day with a big save that gave the hosts the advantage. She watched as Ocean City's attempt to tie the shootout sailed wide of the goal and met her teammates to celebrate.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While Shawnee struggled to find a final ball going forward, Borbi and the back line were tested by an Ocean City attack led by sophomore striker <a href="https://highschoolsports.nj.com/player/naomi-nnewihe/girlssoccer/season/2022-2023">Naomi Nnewihe</a>, junior Mckenna Chisholm, senior Emily Benson and freshman Gabby Cupit, who provided some solid minutes off the bench. Sophomore center backs Erin Doyle and <a href="https://highschoolsports.nj.com/player/joellie-giquinto/girlssoccer/season/2022-2023">Joellie Giquinto</a> both put in tough shifts and senior outside back <a href="https://highschoolsports.nj.com/player/annelese-ribiero/girlssoccer/season/2022-2023">Annelese Ribiero</a> was also solid on the day. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shawnee was able to control a lot of the possession through sophomore Jaden Aaronson centrally and junior Mackenzie McCready and freshman [player_tooltip player_id='24159' first='Madelynn' last='Sadusky'] but it didn't amount to many clear chances on the day. Having sophomore Julia Tepes out with an injury doesn't help but the Renegades appear to be lacking a forward they can set the table for with all of the playmakers they have. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They'll face a Cherry Hill West team tonight flying high after a big upset of second-seeded Rancocas Valley in the quarterfinal. Senior <a href="https://highschoolsports.nj.com/player/reilly-mcglinn/girlssoccer/season/2022-2023">[player_tooltip player_id='24258' first='Reilly' last='McGlinn']</a> was the hero in the 10 vs 2 seed with a goal in overtime. McGlinn had a brace and an assist in their 3-0 first round upset over 7 seed Holy Cross. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The other semifinal will feature top seed Eastern against fourth seed Cherokee. Eastern beat Delsea 2-0 in the quarterfinals and Cherokee had five different players score in a 5-0 win over Sterling. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/mattralph_tbg/status/1582209042856173568?s=61u0026t=xCIXvQVe2ifJzx5qt9oFuQ","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/mattralph_tbg/status/1582209042856173568?s=61&amp;t=xCIXvQVe2ifJzx5qt9oFuQ </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Shawnee boys advanced to tonight's semifinal with a 2-1 overtime win over Cherry Hill West. West took a first half lead on a strong finish from Gavin Murray but Shawnee roared right back to tie the game just before halftime on a play started by a pretty curling ball from senior Matt Conger into sophomore Sean McFadden, who head the ball down but had it saved by junior Leo Orefice. McFadden didn't give up on the play and pounced on the rebound and fired it across the face of goal to Aiden Santamaria for the tap-in. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McFadden came up big in overtime when he scored the golden goal off a Conger pass to send the Renegades through. To book a ticket in Saturday's final they'll need to upend top seed Rancocas Valley, which beat Washington Township 3-0 to advance. Rancocas Valley has weapons all over the field but Shawnee showed in the quarterfinal a grit and resilience that could bode well in another knockout game tonight. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The other boys semifinal will be played Thursday between seventh seed Haddon Township and West Deptford. West Deptford advanced on penalty kicks against third seed Cherokee Tuesday in a continuation of a Monday quarterfinal that was delayed by weather. The 11 seed upset sixth-seed Kingsway in the first round on a last minute goal by sophomore Nick Hartman. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/mattralph_tbg/status/1582198179252297729?s=61u0026t=xCIXvQVe2ifJzx5qt9oFuQ","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/mattralph_tbg/status/1582198179252297729?s=61&amp;t=xCIXvQVe2ifJzx5qt9oFuQ </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->