Moorestown falls in boys' soccer

EWING, N.J. - The state-title hopes of the Moorestown boys' soccer team were dashed by an opponent that put relentless pressure from the opening tap.

Millburn, with its attacking style that never enabled Moorestown to settle in, defeated the Quakers, 3-0, in last night's state Group 3 championship at the College of New Jersey.

The loss concluded a season in which Moorestown went 22-4-1, doubling its win total from the previous season.

"They just had too much for us," coach Mike Sutcliffe said.

Moorestown senior Kevin Kirsch, who scored a team-leading 19 goals, played only about 15 minutes and was hindered by a hamstring injury sustained in the Quakers' 2-1 semifinal win over West Windsor-Plainsboro North on Tuesday.

"Without Kevin to clamp things down up top, we lose a lot. But that is no excuse, because the better team won," Sutcliffe said.

Kirsch said he was about 80 percent healthy going into the game.

"I did what I could, but I was hurting the team more than helping, so I took myself out," he said.

Millburn (23-2) was explosive with the ball and more than willing to break down Moorestown's defenders one-on-one, frequently winning those duels.

From the start, Millburn began attacking, and it didn't take the Millers long to get on the scoreboard. Just 6 minutes, 30 seconds into the game, Josh Plump was at an extreme angle on the left side and sent a shot from about 8 yards out that looked more like a pass to the far post.

Moorestown didn't react, and the ball found its way into the net for Plump's team-leading 26th goal of the season.

Plump was fast on the dribble, showing blazing speed and impeccable ball control, a difficult combination to defend.

"They were a good team, a very disciplined, hardworking team. But we knew we had the better skill," Plump said. "We thought we were the better team and proved it tonight."

In the second half, Plump kept creating chances and forced Moorestown goalie Andrew Berry into making a nice diving save on a 15-yard shot early in the second half.

Millburn put the game away by scoring twice within two minutes, and Plump was the catalyst, setting up one goal and scoring the other.

He sent a cross that the Moorestown defense failed to clear, and teammate James Raytsin tapped it in.

Soon after, Plump blew by the defense and scored from close range to increase the lead to 3-0 with 21:35 left.

Late in the game, Moorestown started successfully attacking, with the best chance coming after Jacob Miller fed Brigham Shipley, whose shot hit off a Millburn defender and deflected off the post. That play was symbolic of the game for Moorestown.

In short, the Quakers had no answers to the speed and ball control of Plump. But the entire Millburn team was on its game in an impressive final showing.

Millburn 1 2 - 3

Moorestown 0 0 - 0

Goals: Mill–Josh Plump 2, James Raytsin.

Saves: Mill–Peter Daniels 5; Moor–Andrew Berry 9.