Boy’s Soccer Falls in PKs to Delran in Sectional Final

It was the matchup everyone truly wanted in the South, Group 2 Final; just not the outcome, as the Pirates fell to Delran in penalty kicks on Friday 4-2.

Box Score

The meeting required plenty of upsets from both teams for it to occur, with the #7 Pirates upsetting #2 Middle Township 1-0 and #6 Manasquan 2-0 on the road to get to the finals.

#8 Delran had to upset #1 Haddonfield and #5 Sterling on the road. Both programs enjoyed first round home games.

It was the second time each squad had to use penalty kicks to determine a winner as the Pirates took down Pinelands 4-1 in PKs in the opening round and Delran took down Sterling 4-1 in PKs to get to the final.

The two teams played to a scoreless first half that saw the majority of play dominated by the Bears in front of scores of fans.

“I think the first 20-30 minutes of the first half we were on our heels, but we started to even it out as the half came to an end,” head coach Jay Meile said. “I thought we started to even it out a little bit in the second half, and once they got that goal, it woke us up.”

Delran scored their lone regulation goal with 27:37 left in the second half when Skyler Diggs headed a cross from Jeremy Rafanello past keeper Mike Deal for the 1-0 lead.

It took until 18:55 for the Pirates to tie the game and it came off a restart by Jarrod Averill. Averill sent the ball towards the middle of the pitch and it was headed close to the goal by Sampson Abah.

Abah’s header was then headed on a lunging dive by Pat McCarthy past Delran keeper Phillippe Alves. The Pirates regulation goal was the first allowed by Delran in the sectional tournament.

“I’m really proud of the way we played all season; how we came together as a team and the ability to respond to setbacks,” Meile said.

Both teams had one major scoring chance each to win the contest towards the end of the second half, but could not convert. Both overtime periods were evenly matched, but 100 minutes of play could not decide a South Jersey, Group 2 champion.

“Once the kids accepted their roles, we became a very dangerous team,” Meile said. “I’d argue we had a little more depth than them (Delran). We subbed in 5 or 6 guys throughout the game and we didn’t skip a beat.”

Cinnaminson shot first in PKs, with McCarthy netting a goal. Abah’s shot was saved. Sean Bockius picked up a goal and Mason Stepnowski’s shot went wide left.

Delran answered with four goals of their own from Rafanello, Cole Gifford, Rudy Engel and the winner from Andrew Gordon.

It is the 11th sectional title for Delran. This was the third sectional title game the Pirates have played in under fourth-year head coach Jay Meile.

“This was just a tough group of kids,” Meile said. “The expectations that outsiders had of the team, the kids thrived on it. It was an example today when we went down in the second half and Delran tried to run out the clock. Our kids weren’t fazed one bit. They responded and did an excellent job.”

Cinnaminson finishes the 2015 season with an 11-6-5 record. The Pirates are now 1-1-3 against Delran all-time in the playoffs, with Delran advancing on penalty kicks all three times following draws.