Third Time Not a Charm for West Deptford Girls' Soccer

The storyline was all-to-familiar for the West Deptford High School girls' soccer team Monday afternoon.

For the third time in as many games the Eagles went toe-to-toe with Haddonfield, equaling, if not getting the better of possession. And for the third time West Deptford was left on the short end of a one-goal loss.

Katie Johnston converted a first-half penalty kick, and the Bulldawgs used a bunker-style defense to limit the Eagles chances the rest of the way, in a 1-0 victory that advanced Haddonfield to the South Jersey, Group 2 title game for the eighth straight year.

Haddonfield will face No. 2 Middle Township on Thursday.

“Every time we play them, we can never get enough shots, or we get shots and they are too high and over the goal,” senior Taryn Bundy said.

The penalty kick was awarded with two minutes, two seconds left in the first half after a corner kick bounced up on a West Deptford defender and caught her hand.

The goal didn’t demoralize the Eagles, but it did change Haddonfield’s tactical approach. The Bulldawgs kept 10 players behind the ball virtually the entire second half and limited the Eagles to very few offensive chances over the final 42 minutes.

In fact, West Deptford’s best chance to score came all the way back in the 19th minute, when Paige Paratore hit the crossbar on a shot from the top of the 18.

West Deptford head coach Veronica McGinnis said she anticipated Haddonfield going into a defensive shell if it got the early lead, but was disappointed her team was unable to take advantage of the opportunities that were available.

“It’s not anything particular that they do in the midfield or defense–and that’s not taking anything away from Haddonfield–but we have just struggled all year getting off shots outside the 18,” she said

Despite losing both regular season games against their rival, players for West Deptford entered the game confident, feeling they had controlled the better portion of play during the previous 160 minutes. Bundy again felt that the Eagles got the better of the Bulldawgs Monday, but could only shake her head at the result.

“We controlled the game on their half of the field, we just couldn’t pull it out,” Bundy said. “Sometimes the better team doesn’t win.”

Penalty kicks have been a sore subject for West Deptford soccer over the past few days. Last week the boys’ soccer team was eliminated in the quarterfinal matchup with Middle Township on penalty kicks. Monday’s penalty kick came in regulation, and was undisputed, but that didn’t make it any easier to swallow.

“We played well,” McGinniss said. “Unfortunately, we had an unlucky circumstance in the box and they put it away.”

The loss brought the Eagles’ final record to 16-5. Though the seniors left Haddonfield down about what had transpired the previous 80 minutes, Bundy said what the group has accomplished over the last four years will not soon be forgotten.

“Even though we lost here, I am very happy with this team,” Bundy said. “We do well every year, and this team will continue to do good next year when we are gone.”

McGinniss said it will be hard to see such a tight group go.

“I just hope they cherished the experience, because you only get a few years of it,” McGinniss said. “This was a great senior class, athletically-, academically- and personality-wise. It’s a great group of girls who did a lot for this program, and it will be a big loss not having them anymore.”