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The girl’s soccer team took a step in the right direction this fall with an appearance in the sectional title game. Here is our 2016 season review.
Cinnaminson opened the 2016 campaign (19-3-1, 11-1 Liberty) with a 0-0 draw against Williamstown before downing Kingsway 2-0 for their first win.
Those two shutouts would be the first of 15 on the season as sophomore keeper Maddie Ogden and the Pirates defense was nearly impenetrable.
The Pirates allowed a total of 10 goals in 23 games played, good for an average of 0.43 goals per game.
Cinnaminson would go unbeaten through its first 11 games before suffering a 3-2 setback to Rancocas Valley, their only loss in the division.
“I can’t think of any one win that stands out, but being able to win the Liberty Division by beating our strongest rivals twice like Moorestown, Holy Cross and Delran impresses me the most,” head coach Matt Digney said.
The Pirates won the Liberty title outright in 2016 and played in the South Jersey Coaches’ Cup.
“Experience,” Digney said of the importance of the team’s success this season.
“Experience is a big piece of the puzzle when talking about successful seasons. I hope they learned from this season and apply it moving forward.”
Cinnaminson picked up a win in the first round, 3-0 over Deptford, before falling to Haddonfield 1-0 in the second round.
After the loss to Haddonfield, the Pirates won their next four games by a combined score of 16-0.
Cinnaminson picked up the #1 seed in the South, Group 2 bracket, besting Lower Cape May 6-0 in the opening round.
The Pirates then downed Oakcrest 4-0 and Middle Township 2-0 to advance to the sectional final.
The title game brought a rematch with Haddonfield, the #2 seed in the bracket.
Cinnaminson would fall 1-0 on a questionable penalty kick call.
“The team had great balance, we were getting goals from different players, the defense along with Maddie Ogden did a great job keeping us in every game,” Digney said. “Players knew their roles, and took it to heart to perform them. Our success was based on all 20 players contributing.”
The Pirates offense was paced this season by junior Hailey Gutowski and freshman Emma Karch each with 14 goals.
“Emma Karch was definitely our breakthrough player,” Digney said. “As a freshman coming into the program we didn’t know what to expect, but every game she continued to find goal scoring opportunities for herself or her teammates.”
We conclude our Fall 2016 season review series tomorrow with a look back at the 2016 season for football.
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