The Jackson High School boys soccer team suffered a 1-0 loss last week to Rancocas Valley in the quarterfinals of the NJSIAA Central. In a game that featured a called-back goal and one that appeared to cross the goal but wasn’t recognized, Rancocas Valley managed to slip in a shot in the final minute of play to escape with a 1-0 victory.
“I thought that we played pretty well,” Jackson coach Steve Bado said. “We were aggressive and controlled a lot of the play. We failed to cash in on some opportunities and that came back to get us.”
The controversial plays occurred in the opening half. Jackson, however, shook off the misfortune and continued to dominate most of the play. Of course, Bado feels if one of the goals had been recognized, the outcome could have been different. Yet he doesn’t use it as an excuse for not coming out on top.
“Sure, my guys were upset temporarily, but I told them at halftime we needed to shake it off and get back to playing our game,” Bado said. “Nothing was going to change. I thought we did a good job of staying focused. We had some tough breaks and we came out on the wrong side.”
Both teams played an even second half, until the final minute of the game. Rancocas Valley managed to score with 47 seconds to seal the win.
Jackson finishes its season with an overall mark of 15-5-2.
“It was a good year,” Bado said. “Of course the seniors on the team are going to be upset. They didn’t want their season to end. We thought we had a very good chance of advancing to the next round.”
In other local action, Point Beach High School knocked off New Egypt in the seventh round of penalty kicks, 5-4, last Thursday to advance to the next round of the NJSIAA South Jersey Group I tournament.
It was a tough way for the Warriors to close out its best season in recent memory.
“We accomplished a lot of things this year,” coach Sam Palumbo said. “We won the Freedom Division title for the first time in school history and set the mark for most wins in a single season. These guys have nothing to hang their heads about. It was a fantastic year.”
Palumbo said the two teams were evenly matched.
“We were the mirror image of each other,” Palumbo said. “I had scouted them and knew this was going to be a very close game. They play a style that is extremely similar to our own. It really came down to which team was going to get luckier in the penalty kicks. They were one better.”
New Egypt ends the season with a 14- 5-1 record. The Warriors’ 14 victories set a new mark for most wins in a single season. New Egypt’s previous high was 12 victories in both 2003 and 2005.
Jorge Banuelos led the team in scoring with 15 goals and eight assists. Matt Van Norman and Rob Brown each tallied six goals.