Youth/High School Soccer
Keepers shine as Kingsway plays Shawnee to scoreless draw
Senior goalkeepers for both Kingsway and Shawnee were key in keeping a tightly played match to a scoreless draw, particularly through two overtime periods where each had to make a big stop to prevent a golden goal in a match played on grass Friday afternoon.
For Shawnee the clean sheet behind senior goalkeeper Antonio Ramos (credited with 7 saves on the day) was their second of the season following a 2-0 win over Cherry Hill East to start their campaign. Dragons keeper Connor Brown was called into action on the day with 9 saves.
Both teams came into the season with many new faces stepping into starting roles.
“We’ve got a lot of younger guys, a lot of guys who don’t have a lot of varsity experience,” said Kingsway head coach Derrick Brewer, who has been happy with how they’ve played getting draws against tough opponents in Haddonfield and Shawnee. “Results like this prove to themselves that they can compete with anyone, and that’s what we want right now. It’s gaining a lot of momentum early in the season, so just building off that.
For Shawnee, coming off a magical season that included a South Jersey Coaches Cup title and a state championship, the early part of the season is about finding an identity and seeing what players are going to step up. South Jersey Coaches Association Defender of the Year Darrin Doyle is back to lead the back line but 55 of the 70 goals the team scored last season were scored by seniors who graduated.
“We have a lot of fresh faces here, guys who got some experience last year coming off the bench, but didn’t have to play big roles, and now have roles in different positions,” Shawnee head coach Ryan Franks said. “To some degree, I think we’re still figuring that out.”
Cooper Adinolfi, who had 7 goals for the Renegades last year, was one of the more threatening players going forward on the day, creating chances off the dribble and with his pace cutting through the defense. Kingsway sophomore forward Gavin Wiggins had some promising moments in the attack and senior winger Connor Thompson and senior midfielder Will Warner put in solid shifts while Olamide Ojediran had a number of key interventions in the box.
“We’ve been using everybody and it’s basically been a who’s up situation,” Brewer said. “I think they’re really embracing it and they value it and are pushing their teammates in competition for minutes. It’s all about team first with them.”
Kingsway posted a 13-7-1 record last season and were knocked out of the Coaches Cup by Shawnee in the second round and Cherokee in the second round of the sectional playoffs. They lost 4-1 and 3-1 to Shawnee last year on turf but had a chance to play on their home grass on Friday.
Kingsway will be back at home on Monday with a rivalry game against Clearview while Shawnee will be back home to host Washington Township on Monday afternoon.
