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ABOUT THE COVER
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our years ago Nina Casselberry was a freshman at Cedar Creek High School and figured she would give volleyball a try. It’s something she liked to do in gym class in middle school and thought it would be fun. Having virtually no experience, she nearly got cut from the team after tryouts, but coach Brian Beck decided to keep her on board because she was a good kid and he knew she would be a hard worker. That decision paid huge dividends, as Casselberry blossomed into one of the best players in the Cape-Atlantic League during her career and helped the Pirates win consecutive league tournament championships the past two years. But volleyball might even be the least of Casselberry’s impressive talents. Check out page 10 of this digital edition to read more about a young lady who is going places. Dave O’Sullivan, Publisher
GLORY DAYS MAGAZINE General contact: 609-788-4294/advertising@acglorydays.com Dave O’Sullivan, Publisher: sully@acglorydays.com On Twitter: @GDsullysays Giuseppe Ungaro, Managing Editor: gungaro@acglorydays.com On Twitter: @GDgisepu Amy D’Adamo, Graphic Design: advertising@acglorydays.com Bill Lynskey, Director of Advertising: bill@acglorydays.com STORY IDEAS/ADVERTISING: Have a story you’d like to see told in Glory Days Magazine? Want to get your business noticed with a marketing campaign at glorydaysonline.com? Call us anytime at 609-788-4294. Volume: 7 Issue: 6 Overall Issue Number: 140. Cover Photography: Dave O’Sullivan 2019 Glory Days Magazine. All rights reserved.
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MAKING HEADLINES Sully takes a closer look at the athletes, coaches and teams who are generating news and highlights in the Cape-Atlantic League and throughout South Jersey.
u Total domination: Holy Spirit lost to rival St. Joseph of Hammon-
ton during the regular season, but come playoff time it was a whole different story. The Spartans dominated the Wildcats to the tune of 38-0 in the Non-Public Group 2 championship game at Rutgers in early December in a game that featured the coming out party for sophomore receiver Elijah Steward, who had more than 100 receiving yards to help lead Spirit to a state championship. The win was an emotional one for the Spartans, who lost beloved longtime assistant and former head coach Bill Walsh in November, as he died after a nearly three-year battle with ALS. u Plenty of hype: The basketball season can’t get here soon enough for Wildwood Catholic fans, as the Crusaders have perhaps one of the most talented teams in Cape-Atlantic League history. Taj Thweatt and the boys open up at Holy Spirit on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m.
glory days digital Want the best high school sports coverage every day of the week? Visit glorydaysonline.com for game coverage, features and more! You can also like us at facebook.com/acglorydays/, and follow Sully on Twitter @GDsullysays. Get the best. Every day.
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Glory Days Girls Tennis Player of the Year CHARISSE TIGRADO u CEDAR CREEK
Tigrado showed why she’s one of best in CAL By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer edar Creek’s Charisse Tigrado described her junior tennis season as “OK.” There are more than 100 other girls tennis players in the Cape-Atlantic League who would gladly take an “OK” season by Tigrado’s standards. She played the No. 1 singles position all year for a Cedar Creek team that played some very tough competition in the CAL National Conference, and invididually she won 26 of the 30 matches she played and made her second straight appearance in the CAL Championship. Glory Days Magazine’s Girls Tennis Player of the Year came up just short of a league title, as she battled teammate Jenna Crawford, a sophomore, for three sets and nearly three hours before Crawford outlasted Tigrado for the first league title in school history. “There was a lot of pressure because I made it to the CAL finals last year. But it was a good season. From the challenge matches in the summer, (Jenna) evolved a lot throughout the year. During the summer, when I played challenge matches against her, she played nothing like she did in the CAL final, and I’m proud of her,” said Tigrado, who said she has drawn some interest already from NCAA Division II and Division III colleges. “The competition was really good this year, so I didn’t really expect to win a lot, I guess. But this year I didn’t have as many ankle injuries as I did over the course of my high school career. I feel like I did OK.” Tigrado beat Crawford in preseason challenge matches to garner the No. 1 position on the team, but having such a great practice partner ultimately made Crawford a contender for the league title, and that’s a testament to how good Tigrado was all year. “The CAL final was pretty nerve wracking because Jenna is my friend, but we basically had to forget about that (on the court) and go out and play our game. We were just competitors and both had to play our best, and it resulted in Jenna winning. But the games were pretty tough and it was almost three hours long. It was a good match with a lot of good points,” Tigrado said. “One of the best parts of this season was making it to the CAL final along with Jenna. That was great for our school, for both of us to make it from the same school and making history for Cedar Creek. That was fun.” “For our program, what better turnout to have them
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Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Junior Charisse Tigrado advanced to the Cape-Atlantic League individual championship match for the second straight year and also posted a 26-4 record for Cedar Creek. both there (in the championship)? We feel like they can both be there next year,” Creek coach Nicole Rose said after the CAL final. “Charisse has been in the finals now twice. They played for two-and-a-half hours, so that really shows the quality of tennis and how evenly they are matched. We’re excited for both of them and ready for next year.” Tigrado, who said she may also consider entering one of the military service academies after graduating in 2021, said she’s using that CAL Final as motivation to be even better next year, which is a scary
though for the rest of the league. “My focus is to not get injured ever again, hopefully, and just to improve my record and make it back to states. I hope I can win the CAL next year, but you never know because it’s such an unpredictable tournament,” she said. “I’ll be playing all year and I want to work on my endurance and my backhand, and just my overall game, getting better in every aspect.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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Other Girls Tennis Player of the Year Nominees u Jenna Crawford, Cedar Creek: Perhaps the best second singles player in the Cape-Atlantic League, Crawford got hot at the right time in late October and got past teammate Charisse Tigrado in a grueling three-set match to win her first league championship. She went 28-2 overall and was undefeated in the regular season at her second singles position, and also was named the Press of Atlantic City Morgan Grimmie Player of the Year. u Sarbjeet Devi, Absegami: Devi was consistently one of the league’s best players all season, and earned her way into the CAL semifinals. u Jordan Moyer, Ocean City: The senior helped lead the Red Raiders to a second-place finish behind rival Mainland Regional in the CAL American, and after consecutive losses to Millville and Mainland to start the season, Moyer sparked a 12-match winning streak for Ocean City that didn’t end until the state playoffs. u Morgan Grimmie, Holy Spirit: Another CAL semifinalist, Grimmie has been one of the best players in the league throughout her career and helped lead the Spartans to an 18-2 record and a CAL National championship despite dealing with a shoulder injury.
Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Sarbjeet Devi had an outstanding season for the Absegami girls tennis team and was one of the top first singles players in the CapeAtlantic League in 2019.
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Glory Days cross country runners of the Year KEVIN ANTCZAK u MAINLAND u Antczak had one of the greatest cross country seasons in South Jersey history this year, capping it off this past weekend with an 8th-place finish at the Foot Locker National Championships that earned him All-American status. Here’s a quick look at some of his accomplishments: u Started championship season with easy wins at Atlantic County and CALs, clocked a 15:54 to win the league title. u Posted a blistering 15:11 to win the South Jersey Group 3 title in early November u Skipping the Group 3 meet to concentrate on the NJSIAA Meet of Champions paid off, as Antczak clocked a 15:29 to finish second in the state, just six seconds behind champion Liam Murphy of Allenton. u Named first-team All-State by nj.com.
OLIVIA SHAFER u EHT u Shafer started making her way onto the South Jersey running radar as a sophomore, and has been everything EHT could have hoped for the past two years, as she won backto-back league championships and also went on to make an impact at the state level. Here’s a quick look at her fantastic senior season: u She started championship season by breezing to victory at the Atlantic County race, then cracked the 19-minute mark (18:57) to defend her Cape-Atlantic League championship. u Shafer then edged Kate Rathman of Cherokee by five seconds, clocking an 18:08 to win the South Jersey Group 4 title. u Shafer took fourth in Group 4 with an 18:54, then become the only CAL girl to place in the top 100 at the MOC, scoring a sixth-place finish. She was second-team All-State.
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VIC’S SUBS COVER STORY
a star in the making Creek’s Casselberry went from nearly getting cut as a freshman to the best player in the CAL, and her future is even brighter By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer here is no doubt that high school coaches in any sport put in a ton of time and work, and there are reasons why some are highly successful. Their knowledge of the game, the ability to teach it, the dedication to game planning and scouting. There are also times when a coach simply needs a bit of luck. Four years ago, Cedar Creek girls volleyball coach Brian Beck was whittling down his roster after tryouts, and decided to keep one extra player. He had known her as a middle school student because he was a teacher at William Davies Middle School in Mays Landing, and knew she was a nice kid who would work hard even if she had no volleyball experience. It never hurts to keep a “character” kid on the roster, he figured. A player who was seen as an add-on to the roster as a freshman has since vaulted the Pirates into the elite among Cape-Atlantic League girls volleyball programs, and a team that this year garnered a No. 8 seed out of 32 teams in the Group 2 state playoff bracket, which features teams from throughout the entire state. Oh, and there are back-to-back CAL Tournament titles now sitting in the trophy case in Egg Harbor City, thanks in large part to Nina Casselberry. The Glory Days Magazine Girls Volleyball Player of the Year went from a kid who liked to play the sport in gym class to the class of the Cape-Atlantic League in just four seasons — and only two-and-ahalf on the varsity level — but if you know anything about Casselberry’s background, that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. She decided in seventh grade that she wanted to someday become an aerospace engineer. “I was the last pick for the team. I was a dancer my whole life up until that point, but I always enjoyed playing volleyball in gym class, so I figured I would go to the Stockton University camp because it
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Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Cedar Creek senior Nina Casselberry had an incredible season individually while also helping the Pirates to division and Cape-Atlantic League Tournament championships. was local. It seemed fun. I tried out and didn’t really have high hopes, but I enjoyed playing it so I figured I would give it a try. I was going to take it seriously, but I didn’t expect to fall in love with the sport the way I did. I started playing the game every night that I could. It started out as a fun thing, but turned into a passion,” the senior outside hitter said. “It was really difficult (to learn all the skills), but luckily when I went to play travel ball I had a coach that reinforced technique every single day and believed nobody could get better unless they perfected their technique. He spent countless hours teaching us technique and really reinforcing that until we could apply that into everything we did. By the end of my travel club season freshman year and going into sophomore year, that’s when I realized I could hang with the girls on varsity. Going from JV to varsity was a tough transition, but coach Beck just kept supporting me. When
he told us the starting lineup sophomore year, I was like, ‘oh, my gosh, I’m on there!’ That’s when I realized I could really add something to the team and help the team win games.” “She’s the best player I’ve ever coached and the best player who has ever come through Cedar Creek. She was a dancer in middle school, and that’s all she did. Her freshman year she came out for the volleyball team and because I knew her from middle school, it wasn’t going to hurt me to keep her,” Beck said. “So I kept one extra girl — she was the last one I would have cut, but I’m so happy I kept her. If I had cut her, we wouldn’t have back-to-back CAL Tournament championships and a division title this year. She’s really blossomed. As a freshman she played JV, then she started playing travel and started working
See Star, page 11
Dec. 19, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 11 Star, from page 10 hard to get her skills better, and midway through her sophomore year we really saw a big improvement in her and brought her up to varsity. This year, she really rose above everyone else in the CAL.” That Casselberry would work hard to become a force on the volleyball court could most likely have been predicted by those who know her. She still has six months left of high school and already has a resume that would rival a lot of people in their 30s or 40s. Her list of accolades is long and impressive — She was recently named a Governor’s STEM Scholar, is in the National Honor Society, National German Honor Society, a Rensselaer Medalist, a Distinguished Varsity Scholar, a state finalist for STEAM Tank for her app for epilepsy patients. She is on the robotics team, a class officer, a student council member, Key Club treasurer, and in her school’s Project Lead the Way (PLTW) engineering magnet program. Her particular area of interest in STEM is engineering and plans to major in astronautical engineering and minor in astrophysics. “It’s difficult, but I work on time management a lot. I go from track or volleyball to back home doing homework, to club volleyball. I juggle it all because I know it will set me up for success in college and after college. I’ve had a goal of being an aerospace engineer since the time I was in seventh grade, so I’ve always wanted to work toward that goal. Hav-
ing that goal makes it easier to put in all the work. Every single day I know that’s what I want to do with my life. It can get overwhelming, but luckily I have teachers who are willing to put in the extra time if you are. They’ll go over the lessons as many times as it takes. And having my parents there to support me and keep my head on straight when I get stressed out, they are my biggest support system,” Casselberry said. “I think that’s why I like volleyball so much, because it didn’t come easily and I really had to work at it. With the classes I take, I have to put in extra work and they always keep me busy, but I’m always learning something new, which is exciting to me.” Her work on the volleyball court this year was equally impressive. She helped lead Cedar Creek to 18 wins, a CAL National Conference title, the overall CAL Tournament title and a berth in the second round of the state Group 2 playoffs. Individually, Casselberry made the switch from middle blocker to outside hitter this year and the stats were off the charts. She finished with 202 kills, 114 digs, 14 assists, 184 service points and 65 aces, and she holds school records for service aces in a season, career aces, career blocks, season kills, season service points and career service points, and this year was named first-team All-Group 2. “I think all around she was probably the best player in the league. I expected this kind of year from her. She really started coming on in the middle of last year and she wanted to move to the outside because
in club volleyball she had moved to outside hitter. She was a middle hitter last year and had 153 kills, and this year she had 202. She had more digs, more aces — her serve was much better this year — and it didn’t matter if she was in the front row or the back row, she was a player who was vocal and talking. She was one of our captains and definitely a leader on the court,” Beck said. “One of the people who did really well for me this year was our setter, Angelina Cox. I called it ‘The Ang and Nina Show.’ You can’t have one without the other, and Angelina knew I needed a setter so she transitioned to that position during her travel season. A big part of her success was Nina moving to the outside because Nina had more than 50 kills than she had last year. It was a combination of moving some parts around a little bit. Overall, it was a team season, but Nina definitely shined.” The Pirates had a home playoff game for the first time ever this season, and nearly made it to the Group 2 quarterfinals before Indian Hills made a late comeback to end Cedar Creek’s state title hopes. “This year a lot of girls played club volleyball and I was able to switch to outside hitter. Everyone was really well rounded, so the positions kind of filled themselves out. Coach Beck had the intent of moving me to the outside to get the ball more and create more options, and with everyone playing club and being so skilled, it kind of just filled out that way,”
See Star, page 13
Dec. 19, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 13 Star, from page 11 Casselberry said. “I don’t think anyone ever expected us to be a No. 8 seed in all of Group 2, so it was an incredible experience being on a team with such hard-working girls who know what they are doing and have the same love for the game that I do. We played every single point for each other and not for ourselves. It was an indescribable feeling, winning that first playoff game and winning the CAL Tournament for the second year in a row. People doubted us because we lost some seniors who were a big part of our team, but we knew we had it in ourselves and we believed in ourselves. We lost to Absegami twice during the regular season but beat them in the tournament, and that came from just knowing we could do it. It was an amazing feeling. Having that win in the tournament, and having that carry over into the playoffs, we were on such a high. We went from the first point in that playoff match to the last with energy I’ve never seen us have. Even when we lost in the second round, we still carried that energy and that was the best match we’ve ever played in our program’s history. Even though we didn’t come out with the win, we played with so much energy.” Casselberry said she is happy with the impact she has made with the Cedar Creek volleyball program, and believes the team is in good hands with the players it will have returning in 2020. “That second playoff game against Indian Hills
Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Casselberry filled up the stat sheet this year, cranking out 202 kills to go along with 114 digs, 184 service points and 65 aces for the Pirates, who finished with 18 wins and advanced to the second round of the state playoffs. will always stick out for me because not only was it the best game for me, personally, but it was the
best game we’ve ever played as a team. We were facing a team that was just like us and neither of us wanted to give up. The energy in the room was insane, it’s hard to describe. It was unlike any other game I’ve played,” she said. “Getting first-team All-Conference last year and this year was a really big accomplishment that I could never have dreamed of as a freshman. I wouldn’t change how these past four years went. I never thought I would get to this point. We are still such a new program, but we had the goal to let people know what Cedar Creek is all about, that we’re here to win, we’re not messing around, and you’re going to know who we are.” And as impressed as Beck was with Casselberry’s rise to stardom on the volleyball court, he knows she’ll be an even bigger star in the game of life. “All of those things she does involve donating time and community service. She puts in a lot of time and is a multi-sport athlete who could probably be a high jumper in college. She’s doing a great job with everything. She’s done what she’s had to do and has made herself better in so many aspects of her life,” he said. “She has a really good head on her shoulders and has a really good support system with her family. It’s a great thing that she was able to come through Cedar Creek, and I’m thankful she made the decision to come here.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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Other Girls VOLLEYBALL Player of the Year Nominees Kaylin Flukey, a senior, had a tremendous year for an Absegami team that won 22 matches, as she finished with 165 kills and 59 service aces. Glory Days photo/ Dave O’Sullivan
u Kaylin Flukey, Absegami: Flukey had a huge senior season for the Braves. Aside from helping mom, Kerry, win her 200th game, Flukey was a dominant player on the outside, leading the Braves to a 22-3 record, best in the Cape-Atlantic League. She finished with 165 kills and added 100 digs and 59 service aces. u Kailyn Fortis, Absegami: Somebody had to set up all that offense the Braves were putting up all year, and Fortis was one of the best setters in the league, racking up 358 as-
sists. She also finished with 67 digs and 63 service aces. u Yancely Hernandez, Pleasantville: Hernandez, a junior middle blocker, filled up the stat sheet all year for a Greyhounds team that won 18 matches and finished second behind Absegami in the CAL American Conference. She had 163 kills, 17 blocks, 131 digs, 183 service points and 67 aces. u Rosa Gill-Hernandez, Pleasantville: The senior also was no stranger to the box score, as she racked up 158 digs, 318 assists, 136 service
points and 41 aces for the Greyhounds. u Angelina Cox, Cedar Creek: Cox played the role of assisting Nina Casselberry’s tremendous season perfectly, as the senior setter tallied 400 assists. She also chipped in 58 kills, 100 digs, 137 service points and 37 aces. u Samantha Dangler, ACIT: Still just a junior, Dangler has been one of the top setters in the league the past couple of years, and this fall was no different. She piled up 298 assists and also was outstanding on the service line, recording 86 aces for a team that went 17-8.
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Glory Days FIELD HOCKEY Player of the Year TARA McNALLY u OCEAN CITY
Carrying on family tradition O.C.’s McNally following in sisters’ footsteps By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer n early October, the Ocean City field hockey team was coming off a tough 3-2 loss to Middle Township and found itself down, 2-0 on the road at Egg Harbor Township. This wasn’t the time of year to be faltering, especially for a team that had aspirations of winning a South Jersey championship, and third-year coach Kelsey Mitchell needed somebody to step up in the second half. She had a pretty good idea of who it was going to be. Tara McNally, a junior and Glory Days Magazine’s Field Hockey Player of the Year, had a hand in all three second half goals (1 goal, 2 assists) as the Red Raiders rallied for a 3-2 victory that sparked a six-game winning streak that only ended with a 2-0 loss to Clearview in the South Jersey Group 3 championship game. “She’s earned every accolade this year that she could have. She was the catalyst for us. NJ.com named her the CAL Player of the Year and she was named third-team All-State — we really went this year as she went. She was our leading scorer with 24 goals and 16 assists, and she can just change a game. She has that second or third level, whatever you want to say, where she can just dominate by herself. But she’s also unselfishly able to do that. She can find her shot, but also find a teammate and have her finish,” Mitchell said. “She’s a really special player. She was a junior captain this year and
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Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Junior Tara McNally was the heart and soul of the Ocean City field hockey team this season, scoring 24 goals, leading her team to the South Jersey Group 3 championship game, and earning thirdteam All-State honors. we’re super excited to have her back again next year. I named her our team MVP at our banquet and when I was speaking about her I said the biggest game that came to mind for Tara was our game at EHT. We were down 2-0 at halftime and in the second half Tara just put us on her back. She was strong on corners, getting passes off left and right — she was getting tackled to the ground and still putting a good shot on goal, and we came back and won, 3-2.”
“We wanted to win the CAL, which is something we want to do every year, and go farther than we did last year (in the state playoffs). Losing Reese (Bloomstead, to graduation), I knew I was going to have to step up, and I think I was ready. Once the summer ended I got pretty comfortable being in that captain’s role,” McNally said. “We gained a lot of confidence (in our nonconference games). We only lost to Shore, 1-0, and they are one of the top
teams in the state, and beating Bishop Eustace was another confidence booster for us.” McNally was one of the few players in the Cape-Atlantic League who could change a game all by herself, and force opposing coaches to game plan specifically to stop her. Players such as Jorja Hibschman and Casey Etter of Millville were among those types of elite
See McNally, page 17
Dec. 19, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 17 McNally, from page 16 players as well. McNally was at her best in the state playoffs, as she accounted for nearly half of Ocean City’s goals in the three games the Red Raiders played. She scored seven goals and added an assist in the two victories, 9-0 over Absegami and 8-3 over rival Mainland. “Freshman year she played majority midfield for us, a couple games we dropped her back to the defensive line, then her sophomore she played primarily midfield, but this year she played midfield and forward. She can do it all,” Mitchell said. “She’s our primary corner striker — having lost Reese last year — and Tara is a great shooter.” It should come as no surprise that McNally is an outstanding athlete. Her father, George, is the former boys basketball coach at EHT and older sisters Danielle and Lauren both were star field hockey players at Ocean City before going on to careers at Indiana University and Penn State, respectively. “Her oldest sister, Danielle, was in my grade and she was a star at Ocean City when I was playing at Eastern, and we were on the same club team. Danielle went to Indiana and I went to Iowa, so we would still see each other at Big Ten games. It’s funny, because I remember Tara at tournaments Danielle and I would be playing in when Tara was 4 years old,” Mitchell said. “I didn’t think there was any pressure on me, but
Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Tara is the third McNally sister to play for Ocean City, as Danielle and Lauren both were stars of the team during their time in the red and white. I always wanted to prove that I’m as good as my sisters,” McNally said. “I learned how to be a good player from them, where to pass the ball and how to look for good passes. I kind of followed in their footsteps and tried to do what they did to help my team out.” McNally used to play lacrosse as well, but said she has given up that sport in favor of concentrating on field hockey, and she’ll have one more season to prove herself to potential college recruiters. Being a
scholar athlete with a better than 4.5 grade-point average certainly will help her case. “I just need to become more of a vocal leader because we will be losing three captains, so I’ll have to become that person who everyone can come to,” McNally said. “I want to win a state championship with this team, and just bond with my team and make next season the best it can be.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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Other FIELD HOCKEY Player of the Year Nominees u Molly Reardon, Ocean City: A Salisbury State recruit and another of the Red Raiders’ captains, Reardon scored 18 goals and helped lead Ocean City to a tie for the Cape-Atlantic League American Conference title with Millville, and another berth in the South Jersey Group 3 championship game. u Morgan Pizagno, Ocean City: One of the best defensive midfielders in South Jersey, Pizagno helped shut down opposing offenses while leading the Red Raiders to 17 wins. u Casey Etter, Millville: One of the most dynamic players in the CAL, Etter racked up 38 goals, tying a single season school record, and also added 11 assists as the Thunderbolts tied Ocean City for the CAL American Conference championship. u Jorja Hibschman, Millville: Part of a dynamic duo along with Etter, the Millville senior was one of the toughest players in the league and finished with 17 goals, capping her career with 68 tallies. u Casey Murray, Mainland Regional: The Mustangs’ best scoring option, Murray finished with 23 goals and 13 assists while helping Mainland to 10 victories and a spot in the state playoffs. u Jette Trumbauer, Egg Harbor
Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Senior Casey Etter was one of the top players in South Jersey this season, racking up 38 goals while leading Millville to one of its best seasons ever. Township: Trumbauer was just as good distributing as she was scoring, as she finished with 17 goals and 16 assists for a resurgent Eagles team.
u Katie Master, Atlantic City: A softball star who will continue her career on the diamond at Central Connecticut State next fall, Master finished off an outstanding field
hockey career as one of the top scorers in the league, and helped the Vikings reach the state playoffs.
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Glory Days GIRLS SOCCER Player of the Year FAITH SLIMMER u OCEAN CITY
UNSTOPPABLE Raiders’ Slimmer put up 35 goals and 28 assists despite facing intense pressure from every opposing defense By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer pposing defenses had a strategy this fall when it came to trying to slow down Ocean City’s star junior striker, Faith Slimmer. Throw double- and triple-team coverage at her, rough her up as much as possible, shove her, kick at her shins, throw a few elbows in there for good measure — anything to disrupt her timing and mesmerizing foot skills. Slimmer’s response? How does 35 and 28 sound? Glory Days Magazine’s Girls Soccer Player of the Year was simply brilliant this fall, racking up a team high (and single season school record) 35 goals while also adding a mind-bending 28 assists. And she just happened to lead her team to a 24-1-1 record and the first state championship in program history. How does one player put up those kinds of numbers even with every defense focusing most of their efforts on stopping exactly what she was able to do? Even coach Kelly Halliday struggled to find an explanation for what she saw for three months. Although she was not reserved when it came to heaping praise on her first-team All-State performer. “She’s a really good player and if I was playing against her I’d mark her up, too, but you can’t deny those numbers. They are unbelievable. Her footwork is so skilled that if a defender tries to win the ball they are going to
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Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Junior Faith Slimmer was an All-State selection this season after putting up 35 goals and 28 assists while leading Ocean City to its first state championship. get smoked, and if they try to contain she can score from pretty far out. You can try to contain her all you want, but she’s going to do something with the ball. She’s either going to put it on net or put it at somebody’s feet. Some of her passes — it’s easy to take for granted how good of a ball she has,” Halliday said. “It’s mind boggling especially because everyone knows who she is, and for her to still make that big of an impact for our team — she was just like, ‘yeah, that’s my job,’ but to put up those numbers is unbelievable. She was double- and triple-teamed a lot, and it shows she was man-marked a lot because her assists were so much more because she had to play a little bit different role this year. She honestly has changed the expectations of our
program. She makes everyone around her better. Everybody wants to be on her team in practice, nobody wants to give her a bad pass because she never gives bad passes — she just elevates everyone’s play. “She’s very personable, very positive and very competitive, all those things that make her very special.” To her credit, Slimmer knew what she would be up against based on her performance during her freshman and sophomore seasons. She just had to fight through all the traffic surrounding her every game to continue to make positive plays. “I came to the realization that’s just part of the game. I wouldn’t be able to change it, so I had to overcome it and play even better than I had in previous
years,” Slimmer said. “That came with having such a supportive cast around me. I feel like I came into this season knowing my team had my back no matter what, and that gave me the confidence to step up and do my part. I’m blessed to be part of such a special team. Not every player can say they have such a strong surrounding cast in high school soccer. It was humbling to know that I was part of a team that had that, and that’s why we accomplished what we did this year.” The Red Raiders ripped through the state playoffs, not allowing a single goal in six games while players like Slimmer, her younger sister, Hope, Carly Reighard, Summer Reimet,
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Dec. 19, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 21 Slimmer, from page 20 Paige Panico and Hannah Keane had their way offensively. Faith Slimmer had three goals and three assists during a dominating win over Mainland in the sectional final, then recorded a pair of assists in the state championship win over Ramapo. “I knew coming in we had a special team, we just had to show up every game and play our best. It was exciting to see the results,” she said. “I never really paid attention to (the stats) during the season, I didn’t want to get in my own head. I just played my best every game, and our team played very well throughout the season and that’s why I was able to get those kinds of numbers. When everyone else plays well, all I have to do is put the ball in the back of the net or make a good pass, and the numbers follow. “We all felt that we had made it that far so we had to put it all out there on the field,” Slimmer added. “We just wanted it that much more, and it was very exciting to win. There’s nothing like it.”
did you know? u Slimmer scored nearly 30 percent of Ocean City’s goals this season, and had a hand in 52 percent of the Red Raiders’ tallies. u Rancocas Valley and Hopewell Valley were the only two teams to hold Slimmer without a goal or an assist this season. u Slimmer had at least one goal AND one assist in 10 of Ocean City’s 26 games. Perhaps Slimmer’s biggest improvement since her freshman year has been on the mental side of the game. She understands now exactly how teams are trying to defend her and where the open teammate is when the defense collapses around her. “We talk a lot about her mental game. She’s been around the game for a long time and can read it really well, and
she’s really coachable. At halftime she wants to know what I see and how she can make a bigger impact in the second half. She welcomes feedback, she’ll tell me what she sees on the field and what we can do better. She’s open to do anything she can to help the team and that’s one of the best attitudes you can have,” Halliday said. “Her leadership and soccer maturity has changed. She can read teams better, and that makes our team better. Strategically she has grown up so much in the last three years. She’s fast and strong, and she’s going to get bigger, faster and stronger every year. She gets knocked around quite a bit, but she gets up every time. She does have some pretty nasty bruises on her, I can tell you that. But she’s so adaptable and we talk all the time, so she knows what to do, when to do it and how to do it.” Despite all her success so far, Slimmer — a Rutgers University commit — knows there will be plenty to work on this offseason. “Every aspect of my game can improve,” she said. “There’s always room for improvement, that’s how I view it,
so I just need to keep working hard in club season and in preseason next summer. I have to step up even more as a leader next year as a senior. I’m just really excited and we’re ready to face whatever challenges next season brings. We’re losing some great seniors, but if we play as a team, like we did this year, we’ll be able to overcome anything we face.” But before the offseason workouts really begin to heat up, Slimmer said she’s taking a little time to bask in the glow of winning a state championship, the goal of every high school athlete. “I honestly don’t know how to feel. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever felt. Not many people can say they won a state championship in high school, so it’s very humbling to be part of such a successful season for Ocean City,” Slimmer said. “None of it would have been possible without such a great team and coaching staff. It feels awesome. I’ve been smiling for weeks. It’s hard to explain how you feel in that moment.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
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Other GIRLS SOCCER Player of the Year Nominees u Summer Reimet, Ocean City: She’s still just a sophomore, folks. A great compliment to Faith Slimmer up top, Reimet had a breakout season for the Group 3 state champion Red Raiders, notching 35 goals. She and Slimmer now share the school record for single-season goals scored, and Reimet came up big in the state playoffs, scoring a pair of goals in the state championship victory over Ramapo. u Abbey Fenton, Ocean City: THE best goalkeeper in South Jersey, and maybe the entire state despite getting snubbed for All-State consideration. Fenton allowed just nine goals the entire season, including six straight shutouts in the postseason. u Delaney Lappin, Ocean City: Her consistency on the back line led maybe the best defense in the state, as the Red Raiders lost just one game and allowed single-digit goals. u Carly Reighard, Ocean City: Reighard was masterful in the center-midfielder position and was a big reason why Reimet and Slimmer were able to combine for 70 goals this season. u Rylee Getter, Absegami: Getter has been an outstanding player throughout her career, and she showed how valuable she was this year after fellow senior Allie Tierney went down with an ACL injury early on. Getter scored 13 goals and kept the Braves in the hunt for a state playoff berth all year. u Courtney Gaston, Absegami: Gaston quietly put together one of the best defensive midfield careers we’ve seen in the Cape-Atlantic League in some time. She helped the Braves finish with 10 wins and in third place in a very
Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Ocean City senior goalie Abbey Fenton was one of the best goalies in the state this season, allowing just nine goals the entire campaign. competitive CAL National Conference race. u Casey Biglan, Egg Harbor Township: The Eagles notched a program-record 11 shutouts this season, and Biglan’s play on the back line was a big reason why. u Cameron Dirkes, Mainland Regional: It’s hard to believe she’s still just a sophomore, as she already has a basketball state championship under her belt, and she followed up a
breakout freshman year on the pitch with another solid campaign that included 23 goals and seven assists for a Mainland team that made a run to the sectional championship game. u Hailey Gould, ACIT: The RedHawks struggled to find wins, but Gould did all she could to spark the offense, finishing with 23 goals and 14 assists.
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Glory Days BOYS SOCCER PlayerS of the Year GABE PAZ u OAKCREST
AHMAD BROCK u EHT
game changers Oakcrest’s Paz, EHT’s Brock were a matchup nightmare for any opposing defense and scored more than 50 goals combined By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Staff Writer hen it came to Cape-Atlantic League boys soccer this season, there were two players who stood out above the rest. Players who, even with other teams designing game plans specifically to stop them, went out and led their respective teams to perhaps the greatest seasons in school history. Glory Days Magazine’s Boys Soccer Players of the Year, Gabe Paz of Oakcrest and Ahmad Brock of Egg Harbor Township, were simply dominant all year long and were the lynchpins for success for the Falcons and Eagles. Oakcrest went 18-4-1, set a single-season program record for wins, won its first Cape-Atlantic League Tournament championship and advanced to the South Jersey Group 2 title game. EHT was just as impressive, going 18-6 and finish-
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ing second to St. Augustine Prep in the CAL American Conference while advancing to the South Jersey Group 4 championship game for the first time since the 1990s. Similarly, both Paz, a senior, and Brock, a junior, were poised for breakout seasons after teasing area fans last year with their toolboxes full of talents. “My expectation this year, after my sophomore year, was that I felt like I could have a breakout season this year, maybe 20 goals. I didn’t really know if I would hit 20, but once we got into the flow of the season and I started racking up some goals I was thinking, ‘wow, maybe I can get a couple goals here,’” said Brock, who finished with 27 goals and 15 assists in 24 games. “It just happened to turn out the way it did with as many goals as I scored. But I was mainly focused on not only scoring, but also contributing with assists and creating options for my teammates to get them on the board as well.” Paz was simply downright dominant. After suffering a sprained ACL as a junior, he came back strong this year and racked up 27 goals and 16 assists. There were only three games all year in which he didn’t record either a goal or an assist, and he had both goals — including a dazzling strike in overtime — to help the Falcons beat St. Augustine Prep in the CAL
Tournament championship game. He also scored on a blistering direct kick in the first half that gave Oakcrest a 1-0 lead. “Especially coming off his injury last year, I knew he was hungry, and, wow, did he ever perform. Really, it was just getting everybody on the same page and it was a balance of letting him do his thing but making sure everybody else was, too. It was like a well-oiled machine this year. You give him the freedom to let him do what he can do, and you put it inside a system, and it all worked,” said Oakcrest coach Joe Seaman. “That direct that he took in the first half — wow, what a shot. He just buried it. I knew (Prep) was going to be the toughest opponent we played, but I thought we had enough weapons that if they double- or triple-teamed Gabe it would leave openings for other people. I knew we were good enough where we could score in other places with Mason (Stokes), and Asembo (Augo) put one off the right post toward the end of the first half — so I knew it wasn’t ALL on Gabe’s shoulders, but we knew he’d have to play well. “When Shawn (McCourt) took that kick off the foul I said to my assistant, ‘man, he left it short.’ But then
See Game, page 26
Page 26 w Glory Days Magazine w Dec. 19, 2019 Game, from page 24 it was headed another 10 yards, it bounces another 10 feet and ended up at Gabe’s feet, and we just knew. Gabe has the ball inside the 18, we know it’s over.” What contributed to both players’ incredible success, of course, was playing on really good teams and having all sorts of capable teammates surrounding them. “One of the main things I worked on after last year was that I knew I needed to get stronger and I needed to have more confidence in myself. My sophomore year, I felt like I lacked confidence in critical areas, with finishing, and I thought if I got my opportunities this year I needed to finish them,” Brock said. “Having my teammates was a gift, E.J., Burak, all of them, they made it really easy for me to score goals this year, and they made it easier for teams not to mark me because they were all dangerous players. It was a great run and I had a lot of fun playing with my best friends. Those seniors will be moving on to bigger things, so I made sure I really enjoyed my last few games with them.” Seaman said it is going to be extremely difficult for the Falcons to replace a player like Paz next year, even with the talent the Falcons are returning. “His passing is so precise. Sometimes he puts it in a place where only one of his teammates can get it. There’s no way a defender can get the ball where he puts it sometimes and it’s a gorgeous thing to
“Especially coming off his injury last year, I knew he was hungry, and, wow, did he ever perform. Really, it was just getting everybody on the same page and it was a balance of letting him do his thing but making sure everybody else was, too. It was like a well-oiled machine this year. You give him the freedom to let him do what he can do, and you put it inside a system, and it all worked.” Joe Seaman, Oakcrest boys soccer coach (on senior striker Gabe Paz) watch. He’s one of the top five players in school history. We’ve had a couple of Division I players come through, so it will be interesting to see how his career continues in college, and even beyond. I think he’s talented enough to play soccer as a career. He’s a tremendous player,” Seaman said. “It was really tough on him last year with the injury, and when he came off the injury he wanted to do more than his body would allow. As a coaching staff, we didn’t want him to make it worse. But he was ready to go in August, and he lived up to everybody’s expectations. Coming into this year there was a lot of pressure on him, but the pressure never got to him. He was always calm, cool and collected, and a great leader for this team. We’re going to miss him, and that whole offense. He had 27 goals, Mason had double-digit goals and assists, Nick Cacopardo had double-digit goals, so those three seniors across the top are going to be tough to replace.” Brock, meanwhile, still has one year remaining,
and plans to make the most of it. “It was really my goal to have a breakout season this year and I thought I could take advantage of this opportunity. I was young my first two years but I feel like I have the experience now. I took advantage of opportunities more and it was just a better season all around than my first two years. I tried to keep my team energized the whole season. It’s easy when a team scores on you for everyone to put their heads down, so if we got scored on I made sure our team was positive, kept their heads up and was ready to move on,” he said. “I think I still have more improvement on my finishing to work on, and I think I can always get stronger and improve on my technical abilities, my footwork and my touch. We lost this year in the sectional championship, so I think we need to go out and win one next year.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
Dec. 19, 2019 w Glory Days Magazine w Page 27
Other BOYS SOCCER Player of the Year Nominees u Cole Gordon, Egg Harbor Township: He didn’t have a ton of goals or assists, but Gordon was a huge part of the Eagles’ run to the South Jersey Group 4 championship game. He played a defensive midfield position and in most games marked the opposing team’s most dangerous offensive player. u Mason Stokes, Oakcrest: A senior captain, Stokes helped the Falcons to one of their best seasons ever and a berth in the South Jersey Group 2 championship game by scoring 12 goals and adding 13 assists. He was a matchup nightmare on set pieces in the box. u Kevin Witkowski, St. Augustine Prep: Witkowski was a ball hawk in the middle of the field and the engine that made the Hermits go offensively. He racked up 17 goals and helped Prep win its first Non-Public A South championship in nine years. u Melvin Casco-Quintanilla, Pleasantville: The Greyhounds won 12 games and the Cape-Atlantic League United Conference title thanks in large part to Casco-Quintanilla, one of the most talented players in the league. He finished with 24 goals and 23 assists. u Owen Kitch, St. Augustine Prep: Kitch was one of the tallest and best defenders in South Jersey and helped lead the Hermits to 19 wins and a berth in the CAL Tournament final. u Shawn McCourt, Oakcrest: There’s a reason the Falcons won 18 games, the CAL National Conference and CAL Tournament titles, and advanced to the sectional final, and it’s because they had one of the best defenses in the state, led by McCourt.
Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
Oakcrest allowed just 25 goals in 23 games and a big reason for that success was the play of Shawn McCourt on the back line.
snapshots
Glory Days photo/Dave O’Sullivan
One of the enduring images of the 2019 soccer season is Ocean City senior Paige Panico embracing Red Raiders head coach Kelly Halliday during he final minute of the state championship victory over Ramapo. The Red Raiders went 6-0 in the state playoffs and were not scored upon, defeating a very good Ramapo team 3-0 in the title game to capture the program’s first state championship.