Five SJ First Round Playoff Games to Watch (Boys)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's playoff time! Check out our list of the first-round games to watch in South Jersey.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>All games are on Tuesday:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>No. 9 Pennsville @ No. 8 Glassboro, 2 PM.</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This should be an interesting first-round playoff contest between two solid Group 1 squads. Pennsville lost to Glassboro, 1-0, back on Sept. 16. The Eagles are led by sophomore forward Samuel Hassler, who has a team-leading nine goals and six assists this fall. Glassboro is led by junior forward [player_tooltip player_id='319356' first='Lucas' last='Kudless'], who has eight goals and five assists for the Bulldogs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>No. 10 Haddon Heights @ No. 7 Collingswood, 2 PM.</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Haddon Heights has won its last five matchups against Colonial Conference rival Collingswood, dating back to 2022. The Garnets narrowly escaped with a 2-1 overtime victory on Oct. 9. Junior forward Charlie Merz has powered the Garnets with four goals and a team-leading six assists this fall. Collingswood is hot at the right time, winning its last three games entering the tournament. Expect this to be a highly competitive SJ2 opener.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>No. 10 Kingsway @ No. 7 Eastern, 4 PM.</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kingsway won its first matchup with Eastern, 2-1, on Sept. 20. However, the Dragons have won just one of their last seven games entering the SJ4 tournament, which dropped them to the 10th seed. Senior Logan Cherkas has a team-leading seven goals and four assists for Eastern this fall, while Gavin Wiggins, Will Warner, and [player_tooltip player_id='318874' first='Ethan' last='Read'] haave four goals each for the Dragons. Still, this should be an interesting rematch, considering Kingsway's battle-tested schedule.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>No. 9 Deptford @ No. 8 Mainland, 2 PM.</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Deptford has won four of its last five games entering the tournament. The Spartans are led by senior forward Kenny Cockerill, who has powered their offense with 25 goals this fall. Junior forward Cole Stefano has nine goals for Mainland.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>No. 13 Palmyra @ No. 4 Woodstown, 4 PM.</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Palmyra may be a low seed in the SJ1 bracket, but the Panthers know how to win in the playoffs. The Panthers are led by senior forward Kian Briant, who has a team-high 11 goals and 12 assists this fall. [player_tooltip player_id='321624' first='Bryce' last='Ayars'] has a team-leading 17 goals for Woodstown. The Wolverines were eliminated by the Panthers in last year's SJ1 semifinal, so expect them to look for some revenge on their home turf.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->