Cougars Girls' Soccer Makes History in Win Over Haddonfield

Alex Manofu has hit plenty of corner kicks in her life and almost all of them were better than the one she released late Friday afternoon.

Yet none of them felt quite as good.

With three minutes, 14 seconds left in regulation, Manofu hit a low corner kick that bounced off the heel of a defender and into the net for the decisive goal in Cherry Hill High School East’s 1-0 victory over Haddonfield in the opening round of the prestigious South Jersey Coaches Cup.

The win not only kept the No. 11 seeded Cougars alive in the tournament, but also snapped a nine-year, 87-match unbeaten streak for Haddonfield at Scout Field.

The No. 6 Bulldawgs had been 86-0-1 at their home turf, dating back to 2004, before Manofu connected on the most unlikely of goals.

“It was definitely not one of my better kicks,” admitted Manofu. “I thought it was going out and everyone else did too, but it went in and we won.”

In that sense, the kick was a thing of beauty.

“We will take it,” East coach Alex Falat said. “Anything that is going to go in and give us the win, we will take.”

Although the goal could be considered a bit of a fluke, the outcome was not. The Cougars played stride for stride with the Bulldawgs for 80 minutes and had the better of the play over the final 20. East Goalie Nicki Zaso was a rock on the backline, stopping all nine shots she faced.

The win was a nice statement for a East team whose record—6-7-1, with nearly all their losses coming to teams seeded higher in the Coaches Cup tournament—doesn’t reflect its talent level.

“It’s a great accomplishment; we’re excited,” Falat said. “One of the things we have been talking about since the rankings came out is that the Olympic Conference is a powerhouse. We get beat up in it, and it doesn’t show that we are as good as a team as we are.

"In a game like this, to come out and beat a very good team is a great accomplishment and we are very excited about it.”

Although Haddonfield is a smaller school, the East players knew they were in for a test. In addition to the historic home record, the Bulldawgs were 12-0-1 overall this season, playing out of the Colonial Conference.

“We were (aware of the streak), so that’s why it makes it even better that we beat them,” Manofu said.

The Coaches Cup features 16 of the best teams in South Jersey, as voted on by the coaches. Despite its record, East clearly has the respect of the coaches around the region and Friday’s result will only enhance that.

“I think it is just a matter of the hard work,” said Falat. “I think we are used to these high-pressure games, playing in the Olympic Conference. Every game there is a battle and a fight. We are used to the competition and the intensity and they came out and worked hard. It’s a tough field to play on, not what are used to, but they gutted out the win.”

Cherry Hill East will be back on the road for a second-round game against Shawnee, the No. 3 seed.

After making history in their first round game, one could only imagine what the Cougars could accomplish the rest of the way.

“It felt really good (to win) because we haven’t been in this tournament for five years, and the last time we were, we lost in the first round,” Manofu said. “It is awesome to go on in the tournament.”