Perfection Achieved: Shawnee girls’ season for the ages ends with state title

From the devastation of losing a state final on penalties to the exhilarating joy of an unbeaten season capped by a state final win, the Shawnee girls soccer program had a season for the ages that was capped with a 3-0 state final win over Northern Highlands last Saturday.

25-0. South Jersey Coaches Cup, South Jersey Group 3 Championship, State Championship. The Renegades won it all and only conceded seven goals in the process.

“We knew going into the season teams really wanted to beat us,” senior goalkeeper Mackenzie Borbi said. “We couldn’t think we were the best team out there and we couldn’t underestimate any team. We needed to show it and we did in the end.”

Borbi made a pair of saves in last year’s state final but it still wasn’t enough to bring home the biggest prize, one that had eluded the Shawnee girls up to that point. Borbi, who is going to Syracuse to play lacrosse, ended her soccer career leading a team that recorded clean sheets in 19 of their 25 games. They outscored opponents 24-0 in seven state tournament games.

“We really tried to take it one game at a time and the wins started stacking up,” said head coach Drew Wagner. “It was just amazing to see this group of girls with expectations so high come through time and time again and not have that letdown game.”

Wagner said the experience of making a run to the final in 2023 helped better prepare the team for this season. Last year’s team lost only twice and had two draws and outscored opponents 20-2 in the state playoffs to get to the final against Chatham, which ended in a 1-1 draw and PK shootout defeat.

“Last year it was a big deal that we got there,” Wagner said. “This year they expected to win after getting a taste of it.”

Wagner is a Shawnee grad who has been at the helm of the program since 2003. Prior to that he was an assistant coach on the boys team that won the state final in 2001. One of the captains of that 2001 team – Ryan Franks – coached the Shawnee boys to their 8th state title on Sunday, a day after the girls.

“Two years ago we both faced Cherry Hill West in the sectional finals, we lost and then the boys lost,” Borbi said. “So it’s a good redemption. We had a feeling they were going to win it all. We all celebrated together.”

Both teams also won the South Jersey Coaches Cup, a feat that hadn’t been accomplished since both Shawnee teams won it in 2003. Shawnee’s perfect record is the first for a team from South Jersey since Lenape went 25-0 in 2008.

Where the 2023 final was close throughout – Shawnee scored a penalty to tie things up at 1-1 with under 5 minutes in regulation – this year’s final was pretty one-sided in favor of the Renegades.

Junior striker and leading goal-scorer Madelynn Sadusky opened the scoring in the first half of the final with her 20th goal of the season and senior Eva Matesich put the game away with two second half goals.

“We just shut them down defensively,” Wagner said. “We didn’t give them any clean looks on goal and then we were able to capitalize on our chances.”