By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
MAYS LANDING — Want to get ready for state playoff soccer? Take on a tough team from the Olympic Conference in conditions that would even have Londoners longing for the summer sun.
The Oakcrest High boys soccer team is enjoying one of its best seasons in the past 20 years, but there haven’t been a lot of heavyweights on the schedule, which made Tuesday’s matchup against Camden Catholic all the more important. Falcons coach Scott Meile said he wanted his team to get a feel for what state playoff soccer is going to be like.
His players responded to the challenge, grinding out a tough 1-0 win over the Irish in a game played mostly in a cold, sideways rain. The game’s only goal came in the 34 th minute as Oakcrest senior midfielder Cole Sanders knocked home a rebound into a wide-open net. Nick Poretto had the initial shot, which was saved, but Sanders was left unmarked on the far side for the easy tally.
“Nick came down the wing, he got a good shot off, it bounced around a bit and I was just there to tap it in. It was so easy for me,” Sanders said. “I was nervous (in the second half). We just had to lock down on defense, and we did. This is huge. It gets our mindset right for how good the teams in the playoffs are going to be. (Camden Catholic) is a pretty good team, we were just able to overcome everything. We’re playing good soccer. In the second half of the season, something switched on and we’ve been playing well.”
“We’ve had a few opportunities (to play tough teams) in the Cape-Atlantic League schedule. With Atlantic City we had a couple tight games and we had a chance to play against Wildwood Catholic, which was a physical game, just like this. When you get past the cutoff date you have to start getting ready. We’re going to be on the road at Middle Township (to start the playoffs). We have a game tomorrow against Holy Cross, today with Camden Catholic — we’re just trying to get the kids exposed to a little bit higher level soccer,” Meile said.
“That’s kind of how we’ve been living the last three or four weeks,” Meile added, referring to another tight, one-goal game. “There have been a lot of games where we get into situations — the games I mentioned against Wildwood Catholic and Atlantic City — games where it’s about making yourself mentally sharp so that you don’t make the big mistake, and when the other team does you’re ready to pounce on it. Defensively, all season, you can put us up against anybody in the CAL. Against Cedar Creek in the CAL Tournament game we were even for 65 minutes. We were right there, we just have to make sure we execute on restarts and set plays.”
After getting the first-half lead, Oakcrest went to work defensively in the second half, and the Falcons weren’t really tested save for a few set pieces. That’s a testament to how good Oakcrest was at keeping the ball out of harms way through possession instead of just kicking the ball down the field. That’s a recipe for success the Falcons hope they can carry into next week’s state playoffs.
“It’s just going to take dedication and not being scared of the next opponent. That’s really all,” Sanders said. “We want to see better passing. Our passing hasn’t been that great, we’ve just been playing kick ball and knocking the ball down the field. I think we connected on a couple (today) and that was working to get the ball down the field.”
“We talked about keeping our heads and playing well. We had to make sure we played well together,” added fellow senior captain Bruce Bellace. “We wanted to make sure the weather didn’t affect us because it was rainy and cold. It was something we just had to work through and keep our heads in the game. We had to keep the pace of play up.”
Camden Catholic (7-10, 1-4 Olympic National) presented a good challenge for Oakcrest, as the Irish came into the game having scored 51 goals in 16 games, an average of more than three goals per game. But Oakcrest (13-2-2, 10-0-2 Cape-Atlantic League United) rose to the occasion.
“We have a lot of juniors and about seven seniors. Our junior class is where a lot of our kids are, so we have to get them ready for that next level of soccer. We’re lucky in the sense that we have guys like Cole and Bruce — and especially Bruce, he came with us to Delran when he was a freshman and we gave him the toughest mark any freshman could ever ask for (against Drew Roskos). We put him on that kid and he hung in there, and that guy was a two-time state player of the year,” Meile said. “It’s the same thing we’ve had here the entire 16 years I’ve been here, just really mentally tough kids. Physically they compete and they battle. They may not have the best soccer skill, but they have that competitive side. When you talk about kids from Oakcrest, you’re talking about kids who are super competitive.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Oakcrest hosts Holy Cross Prep on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Camden Catholic hosts Moorestown on Thursday at 4 p.m.
