Girls Standouts in South Jersey Coaches Cup Semifinals

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Olympic Conference rivals Eastern Regional and Shawnee both won their South Jersey Coaches Cup semifinals on Wednesday night to set up a meeting between the two South Jersey powerhouses tonight at 6 p.m. at DeCou Sports Complex in Cherry Hill. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams made it through their semifinals - Eastern against Cherokee and Shawnee against Cherry Hill West - with strong defense against talented attacking teams, solid goalkeeping and timely offense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's a look at the players that stood out to me in the games played simultaneously on Wednesday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":61852,"width":413,"height":275,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/10/33898B97-4521-40F0-BE05-EA9F32925A5B6N4A9261-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61852" width="413" height="275"/><figcaption><br><em>Joelle Giguinto</em></figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Joelle Giguinto, Sophomore, Defender, Shawnee</strong><br>Guguinto had a good night both on the back line and in the attack. She scored a late goal to ice the 2-0 win over Cherry Hill West and also forced a save on a free kick that set up the corner that led to the first goal of the game. She also did well to limit chances for double-digit goal scorers Kennedy Erdman and [player_tooltip player_id='24258' first='Reilly' last='McGlinn']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ava Clark, Senior, Goalkeeper, Eastern</strong><br>In a game where Cherokee had a lot of the ball and was player the better attacking soccer, Clark had to do what she's done so often for the Vikings this season - step up. She finished the night with six saves, none bigger than one she was able to push off the bar on an [player_tooltip player_id='24239' first='Olivia' last='Marrone'] shot.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jada Branford, Junior, Goalkeeper, Cherokee</strong><br>For as good as Clark was, Branford was even better in her 45 minutes of play in the first half. She was unlucky to concede a goal after making a diving stop but she was pretty sensational and kept Eastern from grabbing an early lead and running away with the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"left","id":61853,"width":410,"height":273,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignleft size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/10/8D063EE8-9481-4A8D-8F82-ABAE78C57BE46N4A9015-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61853" width="410" height="273"/><figcaption>Ava Clark</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eva Matesich, Sophomore, Shawnee</strong><br>Matesich scored the eventual game winner 10 minutes in with a strong header in traffic off the Mackenzie McCready corner. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kennedy Erdman, Junior, Forward, Cherry Hill West</strong><br>Even though Erdman didn't get on the score sheet on the night it was easy to see how she has stuffed the stat sheet with 16 goals and 7 assists on the year. She's strong with the ball at her feet and putting herself into dangerous positions.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='24258' first='Reilly' last='McGlinn'], Senior, Midfielder, Cherry Hill West</strong><br>Cherry Hill West's other stat sheet stuffer was kept in check on the night but she was still able to create off the ball and attract a lot of attention in the middle of the park.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='43530' first='Kasey' last='Eustace'], Junior, Forward, Eastern</strong><br>Eustace was able to score the game-winner when she pounced on a rebound and blasted the put back in the first half. It was a big moment for Eastern with Cherokee having the better chances going the other way and Jada Branford cleaning up the chances they were able to generate.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"align":"right","id":61854,"width":399,"height":265,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/10/3DB49F7B-1534-41F4-88DD-4DBDA8B0C0076N4A8999-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-61854" width="399" height="265"/><figcaption>Kennedy Erdman</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='24086' first='Katie' last='Ulmer'], Senior, Forward, Cherokee</strong><br>Ulmer had some bright attacking moments on the night with some dangerous crosses and strong movements toward goal. Despite getting shut out 2-0, Cherokee looked dangerous throughout. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='24239' first='Olivia' last='Marrone'], Senior, Forward, Cherokee</strong><br>Marrone was so close to putting Cherokee on the board and back into the game when Ava Clark denied her with a highlight-reel save. Like Ulmer, Marrone was a danger throughout the match. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Annelese Ribeiro, Senior, Defender, Shawnee</strong><br>Annelese was active from the left back spot both in the attack and on defense in a strong overall defensive performance for the Renegades in keeping a clean sheet against a talented offense.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Remi Cherkas, Junior, Defender, Eastern</strong><br>One of Eastern's strengths this year has been their defense and while everyone on the back line could get a mention here for the overall job they did against a very good Cherokee team, I'm going to highlight Cherkas for her work rate, hustle and tenacity.&nbsp;Eastern wasn't the more attractive team on the night but they were grittier in part thanks to the play of Cherkas on the back line. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->