Youth/High School Soccer
Paul VI avenges early season loss in Coaches Cup win over Shawnee
Paul VI and Shawnee have defined success in South Jersey girls soccer over the past two seasons so it was no surprise that the top two seeds and the past two coaches cup winners would face off in Saturday’s final. Or that it would take more than 80 minutes to crown a winner.
A defensive battle through much of the Halloween afternoon match saw the scoreboard stuck on a pair of zeros late into the second half when Maddie Zaun hit a shot from 25 yards out to put the 2024 South Jersey Coaches Cup and NJSIAA state champions in front with under 10 minutes to play. Zaun had scored the lone goal in September in a win for Shawnee over Paul VI that snapped the 32-game unbeaten streak for the 2025 Coaches Cup and 2025 NJSIAA Non-Public A state champions.
Unlike in September, Paul VI had an answer off the foot of Eleanor Lawyer from distance that leveled the score with six minutes to play.
The first overtime period saw a near miss from Carli Fox on a great chance in the box as the teams traded possession and looked for a breakthrough.
Fox, who had a goal in the second half waved off for an offside, would get another chance to have the final say when a shot deflected in the box off a corner kick fell to the feet of the junior, who transferred to Paul VI from Bishop Eustace. This time she didn’t miss, placing a shot through traffic into the top corner of the net to set off scenes of celebration for the Eagles.
“One of the things that’s been strong about this program is our mental focus, our ability to overcome adversity and our ability to just push through when things don’t go our way,” Paul VI head coach Karen Anderson said. “I think that’s exactly what they did today, even to the point where Carli Fox was in on net and kicked it over but then didn’t let that get to her.”
Paul VI rallied from two goals down to beat Shawnee in last year’s final to capture the program’s first South Jersey Coaches Cup. Several of the starters on that team returned this year for their senior years, including attacking midfielder Kylie Berk, a steady presence in the Eagles midfield now for four seasons.
“With our previous loss this season we knew coming into this game it was going to be a hard match, which is was,” Berk said. “But we dug deep and really got the job done and that’s what our team’s all about, digging deep and finishing when we need to.” With their only loss in the past two seasons avenged and the back-to-back cups secured, Paul VI now heads back to the NJSIAA tournament looking for a three-peat.
That quest begins Thursday with the sectional quarterfinal.
