Super seniors and sophomores spark Washington Township
Washington Township overcame an early goal and a near two-goal first half deficit on a shot that may or may not have hit off the inside of the net to capture a 2-1 win in overtime and advance to the…
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Continue ReadingWashington Township overcame an early goal and a near two-goal first half deficit on a shot that may or may not have hit off the inside of the net to capture a 2-1 win in overtime and advance to the semifinal of the South Jersey Coaches Cup on Monday.
Playing near a large banner for the school’s 2014 state championship, the Minutemen recovered from the early deficit with several waves of attacks sparked by their mix of senior leaders and sophomore up-and-comers. Seniors Drew Heil and Anjani Dwyer were a near constant threat going forward with sophomore attackers Sean Tarsatana, Ayden Anderson, Landon Heil and defender Robbie Finnegan all contributing to the attack. Senior Mark Simmons was also fantastic playing from the back. His passing range and 1v1 defending were critical throughout.
Cherry Hill West was able to absorb the pressure, double-team Dwyer in the box on entry balls and survive through much of the game. Senior forward Gavin Murray contributed mightily to the defense and did all he could to try and grab a second but was often alone going forward with so many behind the ball. Murray thought he had a second goal when his curling effort hit the upper 90 and bounced out. Did it hit the post or the bar inside the net? It was definitely close. Junior Christian Pacella had the opener and seniors Ryan McHugh and Payton Gardner looked strong in the attack when they had possession. Sophomore midfielder Jeffrey Morse also showed promise for the visitors.
But much of the attention was on the back line as West junior defenders Aiden Ryder and Sekou Tarrant and seniors Nate Johnson and Jack Young chipped in with a number of key defensive plays. West goalkeeper Leo Orefice was also strong off his line. Ultimately, however, Washington Township’s potent attack couldn’t be denied. The equalizer came from Dwyer to send it to overtime and Drew Heil left little chance of kicks when he poked home the winner minutes into overtime.
The Minutemen are now two wins away from recapturing what would be the program’s first coaches cup since 2017. They’ll play 11th seed Ocean City in the 8 p.m. semifinal on Wednesday in Cherry Hill. Clearview will play 16 seed Lenape in the earlier semifinal. Lenape has been the team of the tournament so far upsetting top seed St. Augustine Prep in the first round 1-0 on a second half penalty kick and besting a very talented Cedar Creek team on kicks after a 1-1 draw at their place on Monday.