By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
SOMERDALE — The Sterling High boys soccer team went through a midseason stretch that saw the Silver Knights win just one game between Sept. 11 and Oct. 15. There were four ties and four losses sandwiching a blowout win over Woodbury.
Knights coach Pete Marlys explained that he had to find a way to navigate through the schedule while dealing with several injuries that left Sterling well short of full strength.
Well, the Silver Knights are back to full strength now, and brimming with confidence after taking down Cedar Creek, 2-0, in a well-played match in the opening round of the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 2 tournament.
Fourth-seeded Sterling did anything but overlook the No. 13 Pirates, and it showed. The Knights dominated possession, created a good amount of scoring chances, and looked cool, calm and collected starting in the back and continuing through the midfield. Even though they only held a 1-0 lead for much of the second half, the game never really seemed that close because of how efficiently the Knights were moving the ball around the field and making Cedar Creek chase the pace of play.
“We did not overlook this team at all,” Marlys said. “We have a lot of respect for them. I knew they were under-seeded, I knew they would be a really quality team, so we spent a lot of time preparing for this game. Credit to the boys, they really executed (our game plan). It allowed us to be pretty calm and composed throughout.”
There was a decided wind and sun advantage, and Sterling (9-5-5, 6-2-2 Colonial Liberty) chose to have that advantage in the first half after winning the coin toss. The Knights knew they needed a goal in the first 40 minutes to make that choice worth it, and they got it off the head of a freshman.
In the 33rd minute, a long ball was put into the box and off a bounce, Rafael Sanchez-Bautista headed a shot into the upper right corner for a 1-0 Sterling lead.
“Coach told me if we won the coin toss we were going to take the wind (in the first half). An early goal to put us ahead is always important, so I was glad we were able to get one in,” said senior Jason Camardo. “It’s great to be ahead (in the second half) but we went out there with the mindset that it was 0-0 and we needed to score. We were glad we were able to score that second one.”
“He’s a great kid, a quiet kid — I haven’t heard him talk all year, but he’s not afraid to put the ball into the back of the net,” added senior defender Dean Collins. “It was great to see him score. Our coach said at halftime, ‘compliments to him, but it’s kind of a diss to the seniors because you guys are supposed to be scoring.’ But, hey, whatever it takes.”
Said coach Marlys, “I was disappointed for a while that we weren’t taking advantage of (the wind and sun) and testing their goalie. We were able to get a fortunate bounce and we made the most of it.”
The Silver Knights salted the game away when Camardo scored in the 68th minute. The keeper for Cedar Creek (5-14, 3-9 Cape-Atlantic League American) came out to contest a loose ball and Camardo was Johnny-on-the-spot for the rebound, drilling a shot into a wide-open net.
“I saw my teammate, Connor Maenner, go up and win the header. The goalie came out, and I was going to hit it on the one-time volley (on the rebound) but I knew that would have been a hard shot,” Camardo explained. “So I took a touch — I didn’t even look up at the net, I just shot it, and thankfully it went in. I was a little nervous, but thankfully I was able to control the ball and finish it.”
Sterling goalie Travis Schmid needed to make just two saves the entire game, showing just how well the defense in front of him played.
“It all starts with the strikers, getting heads down. We have one of the best midfielders I’ve ever seen in Jesus Blanco; he gets heads down, Ethan Weitzel gets heads down, it makes it easy for us. We just have to be strong in the air and when balls get through we have to be strong,” Collins said. “I’m trying to make the bet of every day, every practice with my boys. We come from a small town and we’ve grown up together. We’re so confident. We’ve seen the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds this season, and they are great teams, but we’re very confident right now.”
Sterling is on the same side of the bracket as No. 1 West Deptford, and they’ll see the Eagles if they can get past No. 12 Barnegat on Friday. Second-seeded Haddon Heights is through to the quarterfinals, as is No. 3 Manchester. West Deptford and Haddon Heights combined for 12 goals in their first-round wins. Sterling is 0-3-1 against those two teams this season.
“We started lifting last year, 6 a.m. workouts, so we’re ready. We’re ready to win,” Camardo said. “Every game is a championship game for us, and hopefully we’re able to get the job done and win a sectional championship. There are always things to improve on. We have to play quicker and smarter, but ultimately we just need to keep that attitude that we’re a great team. Every game, like I said, is a championship game for us.”
“I’m confident we can go all the way, I don’t care who they throw at us. We have great competition in Group 2, but anyone they throw at us, I think we can handle it,” Collins added. “We’ve gotten a lot of experience (in close games) this year. We’ve had five ties, we’ve won overtime games, lost overtime games. It would mean the world to me (to keep winning). I play baseball, too, but soccer has really grown on me. These boys, we’ve been playing since youth league, since we were playing on the pug nets, so it’s great to be at the high school level and playing with those same guys.”
“We’re a senior-heavy team and they are a great group of high-character athletes and they are not going to go down without a fight. We’ve had a believe all year. We fell short of some of our goals, so we’re hoping that motivates us to put it all together here at the end. We were dealing with a lot of injuries and kind of prioritizing conference play. We were taking a slightly different approach in the middle of the year and trying to get guys healthy. In most years, that would have been a really low point and hard to manage, but because of the character of these seniors, it never felt as bad as it looked, record-wise,” coach Marlys said. “Group 2 is always tough. We’re familiar with a lot of the teams and we know it’s going to be a tough road, so we have to take it one game at a time. I’ve seen teams make runs, and I’m a believer in it, so why not us?”
WHAT’S NEXT: No. 12 Barnegat at No. 4 Sterling, Friday, time TBD. Cedar Creek’s season is complete.
Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com
