Goal Getters

by Marc Narducci | Nov 25, 2024

This was an exceptional year for high school girls’ soccer in the area, with two teams winning state titles and two more suffering late-game losses in the state championship games.

Shawnee won the state Group 3 title and finished 25-0, cementing its status as one of South Jersey’s top teams of all-time. The Renegades beat Northern Highland, 3-0 in the state final as Temple commit Eva Matesich scored twice and Miami commit Madelynn Sadusky scored the game-winner in the first half. That was her team-leading 20th goal.

The Renegades won the South Jersey Coaches Tournament by defeating Non-Public A state champion Paul VI, 3-2 in the final. Shawnee finished with 19 shutouts in earning the first state title in school history.

Paul VI also won its first state title when the Eagles beat Immaculate Heart, 1-0 in overtime during the state Non-Public A championship game. Emma McCarthy scored the game-winner, giving her 17 goals for the season.

Paul VI had to defeat a tough field to win the title. They earned a 2-1 win over Red Bank Catholic in the South Jersey Non-Public A semifinal and then defeated Immaculata, 1-0 to win the South Jersey title. Sophomore Camryn Koerner scored the game-winner.

Paul VI’s best win was a 6-0 Coaches Tournament semifinal win over Group 4 state finalist Eastern. The Eagles finished 21-2-1 on the season.

Eastern got hot at the most opportune time and won the South Jersey Group 4 title and earned a trip to the state championship before losing 1-0 to Westfield on a goal scored with just 2:05 left. Senior Araba Abanyie was among the top keepers in South Jersey. She finished the year with 151 saves. In what was supposed to be a so-called rebuilding year, Eastern finished 18-7-2.

Haddon Township followed almost a similar script in earning a berth in the state Group 1 championship. The Hawks were big underdogs to two-time defending champion Mountain Lakes but played a strong game before falling 1-0. Mountain Lakes scored its goal with exactly two minutes remaining.

The Hawks upset defending champion and top seeded Audubon, 2-1 in a South Jersey Group 1 semifinal. That avenged two regular season losses to Audubon, both by 1-0 scores.

Haddon Township then beat Palmyra, 2-0 to win the South Jersey title and upset Point Pleasant Beach, 1-0 in the state semifinal.

Playing in the competitive Colonial Conference Liberty Division, the Hawks finished with an overall record of 15-7-2.

Leading the way was senior Emerson McDonald, who scored 19 goals, while classmate Jamie Kozarski made 130 saves in goal.

Photo: Shawnee Girls' Soccer / Marc Narducci

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Author: Marc Narducci

Goal Getters

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