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Girls' Soccer Advances to South Jersey Group II Finals

The Bulldawgs will make their eighth straight appearance in the SJ Group II Final

Whenever teams meet for the third time in a season and the first two games are decided by one goal, fans and players know they are in for a special treat. In Monday’s South Jersey Group II semifinal, the scoring may have been low, but the action was not as Haddonfield moved on to Thursday’s final with a 1-0 win over rival West Deptford.

And boy, was it a good win for the Bulldawgs.

“This is one of the biggest wins in our program's history,” said head coach Glenn Gess, not downplaying the importance by any means.

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“For us to get this win with the injuries we’ve had is unbelievable,” said Gess. “There were some girls that stepped up big time today, some girls that don’t always get that many minutes. We talked about that last night, we just needed to step up and make plays.

“Every kid has something in their belly that they can dig for,” he said.

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The Bulldawgs have been ravaged by injuries lately, as starters Emily Carson and Gretchen Kipp are battling mono. Senior forward Laurel Falana recently recovered from a leg injury.

Senior Katie Johnson scored her team-leading 20th goal of the season on a penalty kick in the 38th minute, giving Haddonfield the only goal they would need.

“We’ve been practicing those so much lately leading up to this game,” Johnson said. “I knew my spot, and I just hit it.”

“KJ’s just doing everything she can,” said Gess. “They’re marking her out and double and triple teaming her. And we’re trying to give her help.”

The Bulldawgs were able to thwart any Eagle chance in the second half, sparked by great play in the midfield. The majority of the action took place in the middle third of the field.

“We’re strong in the midfield, and we like to play that air game,” Gess said. “But hey, we had to muck it up today. My job isn’t to make it look pretty, it’s to get us to move on.”

Haddonfield had its share of scares. In the 16th minute, Eagles midfielder Paige Paratore sent in a shot that went just over the crossbar. West Depford actually outshot the Bulldawgs 5-3.

Haddonfield moves on to Thursday’s SJ Group II Final, where they will meet familiar foe Middle Township. Haddonfield lost to them in last year’s final on penalty kicks. It is the Bulldawgs’ eighth straight trip to the finals.

“It would mean everything to get that title,” Johnson said. “Ultimately, we want that state title, but one step at a time.”

Tuesday’s final will be played at Scout Field at 2 p.m.

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