Editor’s note: After winning in the opening round, the Mainland Regional boys soccer team was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the South Jersey Group III sectionals by top seed Moorestown, 2-1. Jaxon Serra scored the lone goal for the Mustangs.
LINWOOD — “Until we get knocked out, we’re going to try to play the right way and play an attractive-looking style of soccer. You know, for better or worse, I think that’s kind of our identity and we hope to put on a show every time we play,” head coach Alex Weidman said following his team’s victory Nov. 5.
The Mainland Regional High School boys soccer team defeated Deptford High School 3-1 in the first round of the NJSIAA South Jersey Group III playoffs.
The eighth-seeded Mustangs advanced to play top-seeded Moorestown High School on Nov. 7 in the quarterfinal round.
Mainland got goals from three different players, opening the scoring just 6 minutes into the contest.
Senior Cooper Brookbank got deep down the right side and sent a cross in that sailed over the goaltender’s head, bouncing to Jaxon Serra. The junior took a shot that was deflected right to junior Cole Stefano, the Mustangs’ leader scorer now with 10.
“I just got open, I saw two people on the backside and I just hit it,” Brookbank said.
Mainland opened the game on the offensive, with Brookbank stealing the ball early and generating a chance that fizzled out.
But the Spartans struck back less than 6 minutes later, leveling the match when sophomore Jayden Duke received a pass in open space in front of net.
Mustang goaltender Brandon Dionicio was caught between staying on his line or going after the ball, and when he chose the latter Duke lofted it over his head and into the net.
“I just saw it coming, so I just thought I had to run and get it but I didn’t want him to hit a low hit and it just made me not go for it,” Dionicio said.
The Spartans had a strong breeze at their backs and senior goaltender Mason Henry was consistently sending goal kicks and punts across the midfield line, while Dionicio struggled to clear his half of the field.
“The wind was tricky. We played them even in that first half, which was our goal, and then when we got it in the second half, we kind of got into a rhythm and settled in a little bit,” Weidman said.
Deptford had a great chance off a corner kick with just less than 7 minutes to go in the opening stanza and, after being able to keep the ball in the attacking half, the Spartans’ leading scorer Kenny Cockerill (25 goals) got an open look at the net and hit the left post about 30 seconds later.
The Mustangs opened the second half with the wind and a lot of energy. Stefano quickly stole the ball from a Deptford defender and took a quality shot just 30 seconds in but it was turned away.
Mainland followed that up with a corner kick and another good chance less than 5 minutes later.
With the scored still tied, the Mustangs drew a corner kick. Senior James Breitinger lined up the kick and fired it into the mixer, where it rebounded right to him for a clean shot to the top right and a second lead of the game at 28:44.
“We all want to score, you know. We know what it takes to score and throwing ourselves at the ball and then I just was a lucky recipient of the opportunity,” Breitinger said.
Senior David O’Donnell did not get on the score sheet but played a big part in the game with strong midfield play and solid free kicks.
The Spartans continued to play long ball, sending shots downfield to Cockerill and freshman Joel Kissi, but could not connect and gave the ball back to the Mustangs.
About 12 minutes later, Breitinger charged toward net and took a shot that was defected by the goaltender right to Brookbank, who fired it home to complete the scoring.
“The ball was loose and I knew I would get to it first, so I just tapped it right in,” Brookbank said.
The Mustangs had an up-and-down season, winning its first two games then losing the next two, winning the fifth and then losing the sixth to go 3-3 before going on a four-game winning streak.
That was halted by cross-bay rival Ocean City, starting a four-game skid in which the Mustangs picked up just two points from back-to-back ties.
They shook that off with a 6-0 win followed by a 4-1 victory before falling to Haddonfield 1-0 in the final game of the regular season.
Weidman said it’s been somewhat of a difficult year for the Mustangs.
“Some of these games in a tough battle like this haven’t gone our way this season, and I’m just really, really proud of the way they fought, and the way they fought for each other and against a really tough, difficult team,” he said. “I’m proud of us for showing our heart and determination to get the job done.”
Deptford coach Kevin Sherry was verbally abusive to the referees throughout the match, showing his leadership by example when one of his bench players got a yellow card for dissent. There also was an altercation among the supporters that required intervention by the Mainland coaching staff.
– STORY By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
