By CLYDE HUGHES/Special to the Sentinel
LINWOOD – Bret Bathoie scored twice, once in each half, to lift the Mainland Regional boys soccer team to a 2-0 home victory over Highland in the South West D Group III first round playoff game Saturday.
The victory lifted Mainland to 9-3 on the season and advanced them to the second round. The Mustangs played at home Tuesday against Timber Creek, the No. 12-seed that upset No. 5-seed Seneca on penalty kicks last Saturday. The Tartans finished their season 3-10.
It was the third straight win and sixth in their last seven games going into Tuesday’s second round game against Timber Creek. It was played after the Sentinel went to press.
“We weren’t sure if we were going to have the playoff atmosphere here, but here we are and we’re still playing,” Mainland coach Alex Weidman said after Saturday’s win. “We’re going to just ride this wave.”
Mainland pulled off Saturday’s win with a hard-nosed defense and allowed just one shot on goal. Highland, though, played an equally determined defense, but that might have been expected being coached for former Ocean City soccer standout Patrick Tolomeo.
Tolomeo, part of Ocean City’s 2005 state championship team, uniquely knew the challenge ahead of him and urged the Tartans to stay aggressive against the Mustangs.
“For me and our program, as long as we’re competing every match, that means a lot,” Tolomeo said. “We may not be the most talented team, but we firmly believe that hard work can be better than talent on any given day, so I’m pleased with the effort. They left it all out here, particularly our seniors.”
Even Tolomeo admitted, though, there was little his squad could do to prevent Mainland’s first – and game-winning – goal that came with 28:22 left in the first half. In what looked like it came from the soccer clinic, Austin Padula raced down the right sideline before launching a near perfect crossing pass to Bathoie just as he found an open space in front of the Highland goal.
In one motion, Bathoie punched the ball into the left corner of the net to give the Mustangs a lead they would not relinquish.
“It felt great to get the goals, but it wasn’t a solo effort,” Bathoie said, eager to give praise to the players who set him up. “I got two beautiful assists, but I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
“Austin worked hard along the line and got it through. The second one was a nice combination on the end line and sneaked it past the goalie.”
Padula said the goal was a team effort and a goal they felt it needed to grab the game’s momentum.
“I had an amazing right back out there in Christian Rodgers,” Padula said. “He fed me a great ball and it was just repetition. I just needed to get it to him so he could put it away. That’s all you could ask for.”
Tolomeo said he knew that goal would be tough to come back from the way both teams were playing defense.
“We work a lot defensive shape and trying to win our individual battles,” Tolomeo said. “I don’t know if (Bathoie) hit it the way he wanted to, but it turned out to be a perfect finish and that just happened in soccer sometimes.”
Weidman said the goal helped Mainland establish the advantage in the tense soccer match.
“That was a beautiful goal,” he said. “Highland was playing tough defense. To break them down, you have to come up with something special. That’s what happened there. It was a moment of brilliance for Bret to come up with the great finish.”
The second goal, that came at the 27:30 mark of the second half, when Thomas Napoli found Bathoie again in the middle of the penalty box while dribbling on the right side of the baseline. The second goal came as a big relief for Mainland as Highland started to press offensively in an effort to get more scoring opportunities in the second half.
“That was the halftime talk, that anything could happen in the second half,” Bathoie said. “We had to come out in the second half and get the job done until it was finished. We were in control of the game but we needed to get one more in the back of the net.”
Weidman said despite Highland’s record, he knew Mainland would be in for a battle and praised the Tartans for their game plan.
“We knew he was going to throw something at us that we may not have seen this year,” Weidman said. “It’s tough to play against a team when you don’t know what they are going to throw at you. Give credit to Highland because they played hard today and forced us to play equally as hard. Luckily, it went our way this time.”
In the strangest of high school soccer seasons, where games and schedules are literally up in the air for days because of the coronavirus pandemic and how it affects different schools and sports teams, the Mustangs said they are just happy to get one more game at a time.
“In the summer, we weren’t sure if we were going to even get a season, so being in the playoffs now and winning is awesome,” Bathoie said.
Padula said the Mustangs will stay focused until the end.
“It’s been hard but our leaders have helped keep everything focused on what’s most important,” Padula said. “Right now, what’s most important is the playoffs and moving on. We’ll keep our heads in this and just focus on the next round now.”
If Mainland defeats Timber Creek Tuesday, they will play the winner of No. 1 Triton vs. No. 9 Hammonton on Thursday. The sectional final is set for Saturday. Because of pandemic restrictions, the sectional final will end the soccer season.
Girls soccer
The Mainland girls soccer team earned a bye in the first round of the South East B sectional tournament and are scheduled to play at 2 p.m. today, Nov. 18. The No. 3 Mustangs host the No. 6 Hammonton Blue Devils.
If they win, they will play the winner of No. 2 Ocean City vs. No. 7 Vineland on Friday in the semifinals. The sectional final is Sunday. Millville is the No. 1 seed and is on the other side of the bracket, having earned two byes to go directly to the semifinals against the winner of No. 4 Absegami vs. No. 5 Egg Harbor Township.