Hermits, Chiefs dominate All-S.J. first team

State champions St. Augustine and Cherokee each have two representatives on The Inquirer's first-team all-South Jersey boys' soccer team.

The dangerous scoring tandem of senior Dave Schlatter and junior Mike Ryan represents the Chiefs, the state Group 4 champions.

Joining player of the year Connor Hurff of Non-Public A champion St. Augustine is teammate and fellow senior Sam Vessels, a defender.

Schlatter, among the best players in the air in South Jersey, had 18 goals and 13 assists. He scored in the Chiefs' 1-0 victory over Hunterdon Central in the state Group 4 final. Schlatter is a University of New Hampshire recruit.

Ryan had 24 goals and seven assists. He scored all three goals in a 3-2 South Jersey Group 4 quarterfinal win over Toms River North.

The other first-team forwards are seniors George Gans of Haddon Heights and Cinnaminson's Max DiLeo.

Gans set a single-season school record with 31 goals for a Heights team that won its first South Jersey Group 2 title since 1975. Among the fastest players with the ball, Gans also contributed eight assists.

Gans says that Stockton, Duke, Villanova, St. Joseph's, and Delaware are among the schools he is considering.

DiLeo, the master of the flip throw-in, had dynamic one-on-one moves, but was as dangerous feeding his teammates as scoring. This season, he had 15 goals and 13 assists. Also a basketball standout, he is open to playing basketball or soccer in college, according to coach Bill Dent.

Hurff, who played midfield in the state tournament, is joined in the midfield by three seniors: Delran's Jackson Machado, Rancocas Valley's Bobby Spracklin, and Clearview's Kevin Calloway.

Machado was the lone returning full-time starter from Delran's 2009 state-title team. Very dangerous in the air, he had nine goals and three assists in helping Delran win the Burlington County Liberty Division title and advance to the South Jersey Group 2 final. Stockton, Montclair State University, Rowan, and Rutgers-Camden are among the colleges with which he has been in contact.

Spracklin contributed nine goals and four assists and scored one goal in each of Rancocas Valley's four Coaches Tournament games as the team advanced to the final before falling to St. Augustine. New Jersey Institute of Technology, Montclair, and St. Joseph's are among the schools he is considering.

Clearview's Calloway had seven goals and seven assists for the Tri-County Royal Division champions. A four-year starter, Calloway showed great field vision and the confidence and ability to hold the ball until teammates were able to get open. Stevens Tech, Massachusetts, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute are among the schools he is considering.

St. Augustine's Vessels is joined on the backline by Eastern senior Kwasi Archeampong.

Vessels was the sweeper for The Inquirer's No. 1 ranked team, helping the Hermits record 19 shutouts. He scored one goal. Vessels will continue his soccer career and education at the Naval Academy.

Eastern's Archeampong had the task of marking the opponent's top scorer. He might have been the most tenacious man-marker in South Jersey. Archeampong helped Eastern win the Olympic Conference American Division, recording eight shutouts. An honor student, he is looking to play in college but isn't close to picking a school.

Bishop Eustace's Tyler Miller is the first-team goalie for the second year in a row. Despite playing most of the season with a groin injury, Miller helped the team record five shutouts and remain competitive in virtually all games. Among his best efforts was when Miller made 14 saves in a key 2-1 win over Cherokee. Miller has accepted a scholarship to Northwestern, and is a member of the under-18 national-team pool.