Rancocas Valley No. 1 in soccer
The Rancocas Valley boys' soccer team began the preseason as The Inquirer's No. 1 South Jersey team and never moved off that perch.
The Rancocas Valley boys' soccer team began the preseason as The Inquirer's No. 1 South Jersey team and never moved off that perch.
The Red Devils finished as the top team after beating Clifton, 2-0, in the state Group 4 championship.
Rancocas Valley (23-1-1) outscored its opponents by 69-15 and, led by goalie Wesley Richards, recorded 14 shutouts.
In five state tournament games, Rancocas Valley outscored its opponents by 12-1. Blake Fink had a team high of 27 goals, while Ryan Finley, who had both goals in the state-title win, ended with 19.
Sweeper Emmanuel Payton was the defensive leader along with Richards.
The Red Devils were 8-1 against teams that finished in the top 10, with the only loss coming to Moorestown, against which Rancocas Valley was 2-1. (The tie was with Bordentown.)
Coach Damon Petras' Rancocas Valley team also beat St. Benedict's, 2-0, when the Newark school was ranked second nationally.
Besides beating Clifton, Rancocas Valley defeated two talented teams from outside the area to reach the state final. The Red Devils defeated Toms River East, 1-0, in the South Jersey Group 4 championship and North Brunswick, 1-0, in the state semifinals.
Moorestown, (22-4-1) the South Jersey Group 3 champion and state finalist, finished second in the top 10. The Quakers' best win was its 4-3 victory over Rancocas Valley in the title game of the South Jersey Coaches Tournament.
Moorestown was 2-0 against Delran, an eventual state Group 2 cochampion. The Quakers beat third-ranked Ocean City, 2-1, to win the South Jersey Group 3 title.
Ocean City (17-2-3) lost to Rancocas Valley and Moorestown. The Red Raiders were 1-0-1 against St. Augustine, the South Jersey Non-Public A champion, and had a scoreless tie with fourth-ranked Eastern. Ocean City also beat ninth-ranked Middle Township, 2-0.
Eastern (15-3-4) won its first Olympic Conference American Division championship since 1985. The Vikings also beat fifth-ranked Cherry Hill West, 3-2, in the regular season.
Eastern was eliminated by Moorestown, 4-3, in the South Jersey Coaches Tournament and lost a penalty-kick shoot-out to Williamstown in a South Jersey Group 4 quarterfinal.
Cherry Hill West (20-3-0), ranked fifth, captured the Olympic Conference Patriot Division title. Two of the losses were to Rancocas Valley and the third to Eastern.
Sixth-ranked Delran (16-4-2) played in the area's most difficult division, the Burlco Liberty, and lost two games to both Rancocas Valley and Moorestown there. The Bears were 1-0-1 against Cinnaminson, a South Jersey Group 2 finalist.
Delran beat ninth-ranked Middle Township, 4-2, in a state Group 2 semifinal and ended the year sharing the Group 2 title after a 2-2 tie with talented Cliffside Park.
Williamstown (16-4-1), ranked seventh, was a tri-champion in the Tri-County Royal Division with Cumberland and Clearview.
The Braves beat Sacred Heart, the Non-Public B state champion, by 3-0 in the South Jersey Coaches Tournament and picked up their best win of the season by besting Eastern on penalty kicks in the South Jersey Group 4 tournament
Besides losing to Williamstown, eighth-ranked Sacred Heart (19-2-0) was topped by Wildwood Catholic, with which it split. The Lions beat ninth-ranked Middle Township, 2-1, and were an underdog before beating Gill St. Bernard's, 1-0, in the state Non-Public B final.
Middle Township (20-4-0), ranked ninth, won the South Jersey Group 2 title by beating Cinnaminson, 4-1, in the championship game. All the Panthers' losses were to top 10 teams: Sacred Heart, Ocean City, Rancocas Valley and Delran.
The Panthers also beat St. Augustine, the South Jersey Non-Public A champion.
Tenth-ranked West Deptford (18-3-1) beat Cumberland, a Trico Royal tri-champion, by 3-0 in a Group 3 quarterfinal before being eliminated by Moorestown, 4-1, in the semifinals.
The Eagles finished first in the Colonial Conference Liberty Division, capturing their first division soccer title since 1985.
Boys' Soccer
FINAL BOYS' SOCCER
Team Record
1.
Rancocas Valley 23-1-1
2.
Moorestown 22-4-1
3.
Ocean City 17-2-3
4.
Eastern 15-3-4
5.
Cherry Hill West 20-3-0
6.
Delran 16-4-2
7.
Williamstown 16-4-1
8.
Sacred Heart 19-2-0
9.
Middle Township 20-4-0
10.
West Deptford 18-3-1
- Marc Narducci