Bulldawgs Stunned by West Deptford in Boys' Soccer

There are wins. There are playoff wins. And then there is the type of win the West Deptford High School boys’ soccer team experienced Saturday afternoon.

Led by a goal less than two minutes in and a phenomenal defensive performance, the Eagles excised past demons while also keeping their playoff run alive in a 1-0 win over host Haddonfield, at Scout Field.

West Deptford got a goal from senior Joe Mingrino 1:38 into the game and its defense took care of the rest as the No. 9 Eagles stunned the No. 1 Bulldawgs, 1-0, in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 2 quarterfinals.

“We didn’t play well,” Haddonfield coach Joe Falana said. “The guys we count on to have a good game had bad games. They played well. We beat them twice in the regular season and for them to come and beat us is a feather in their cap.”

West Deptford goalie Brendan Gill made several key saves, helping the Eagles end a five-game losing streak against No. 1 Haddonfield.

“It’s really hard,” said Haddonfield senior John Alemi. “We always play hard against them, but today we just weren’t prepared. They were the better team. They went hard to every ball.”

The Bulldawgs won a pair of one-goal contests against West Deptford during the regular season, including a 3-2 decision at West Deptford Park. The loss seemed to be a rallying point for the Eagles who have played their best soccer over the last month.

“We’ve kind of marked this on the calendar, knowing going into the playoffs this was going to happen and we were going to be overly prepared for it,” first-year coach Steve Jakubowski said. “When we had that devastating 3-2 overtime defeat to them at home I guaranteed to these guys that we would see them again and it couldn’t have come at a better time.”

Mingrino’s goal was set up by Lewis Hunter, who took the ball down the end line and fired in a shot that went off the Haddonfield keeper and bounced right to Mingrino. The Eagles’ forward didn’t miss, sending the team into a frenzy.

“They just got really pumped up for the game and we were flat-footed,” Alemi said. “We didn’t come out at all. They were energetic. We were on our heels and they were on or toes. They wanted it more than us.”

Gill’s biggest series of saves came with 20 minutes left in the first when he made a lunging save on a strong shot from the Bulldawgs, then made a diving save on a header attempt by Jeff Sabatini on the ensuing corner kick.

“Those are his biggest saves of the year,” Jakubowski said.

Gill got some help from defender RJ Eckley a few minutes later when a shot bounced out of his hands and right to the feet of Pease. The Haddonfield forward looked to have an easy goal, but Eckley was able to clear the ball off the goal line to preserve the lead.

“The ball came out and I saw (Pease with it) and my heart just dropped,” Eckley said. “I just sat on the goal line and tried to do whatever I could to stop it from going in. I just sat on it, sort of.”

Haddonfield continued to apply pressure throughout the second half, getting several set pieces. The Bulldawgs got several good looks on free kicks and long throw ins, but were never able to put a serious shot on target in the final 20 minutes.

“We had opportunity after opportunity but we would just kick the ball to the keeper,” Alemi said.

The loss is a disappointing ending to an otherwise successful season.

Meanwhile, West Deptford is off to the semifinals where it will take on No. 4 Buena or No. 5 Deptford.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Gill. “It’s something you would never think we could do as a nine seed coming in and taking on one seed and not only beating them, but shutting them out.”