SJ Sports: Talk of the Town

This past year, Medford was the high school boys’ and girls’ soccer capital of South Jersey. That’s because Shawnee ended 25-1-1 and was the consensus No. 1 boys’ soccer team in South Jersey for the second straight year. Lenape went 18-4 and ended as the consensus No. 1 girls’ soccer team in South Jersey for the third consecutive year.

It’s not surprising that both schools also helped sweep the South Jersey player of the year awards. Shawnee junior midfielder Stephen King was the South Jersey player of the year and a first-team all-state selection. Lenape senior midfielder Jamie Weist was the South Jersey girls’ soccer player of the year and a first-team all-state choice.

What made this past season even more impressive about both players is that they faced intense scrutiny on the field. Each was heavily marked by opponents, but both found a way to control games. Neither was overly vocal, but both let their actions speak volumes.

King had 14 goals and 17 assists as Shawnee won three titles, the South Jersey Coaches Tournament, the South Jersey Group 4 championship and the Olympic Conference American Division crown. Coach Brian Gibney has called King one of the most skilled players he has coached in 29 years. That’s quite a statement from somebody who has won 509 career games and five state titles.

King’s penchant for making big plays became his trademark. He scored seven game-winning goals this season. As a sophomore, he played his best soccer when Shawnee captured the 2001 state Group 4 crown. His ability to break down defenders one-on-one, find teammates with a pin-point pass from 30 yards out or further and his recently developed rocket shot made King a major offensive threat.

Jamie Weist, like King, tried to stay out of the spotlight, but couldn’t avoid it with her stellar play. Her ability to control the tempo of a game from center midfield was among her strong traits. This season she scored 14 goals and added six assists, but her value was much more than the stat sheet revealed. Weist often commanded double-teaming and that left teammates open. She was often the target of overzealous defenders, who found no other way to stop her than to take her down. Despite receiving hard fouls on a daily basis, Weist said little. She picked herself up and continued to make sensational plays.

Like King, Weist was at her best in the biggest games. She scored a sensational goal on a long run in Lenape’s 1-0 overtime win over rival Shawnee. In a 2-0 regular season win over South Jersey’s No. 2 team Washington Township, Weist provided both goals. She added the game-winner in Lenape’s 1-0 win over Toms River East during a South Jersey Group 4 quarterfinal.

Weist finished her career with 53 goals, but her legacy will be left as one of the great winners in South Jersey soccer history. Her team won four Olympic American Division championships, one South Jersey Group 4 crown, one South Jersey Soccer Coaches Tournament title and as noted was South Jersey’s No. 1 team three years running.

Weist has accepted a soccer scholarship to Villanova. Always more comfortable talking about teammates, Weist and King couldn’t stop people from talking about them, or honoring them as the best in South Jersey in 2002.

Content provided by South Jersey Sports Club.

For more Local Sports features, visit our Sports page.

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: SJ Sports Club-Marc Narducci