By Matt Cosentino | For NJ Advance Media
For the previous seven years, every trip the West Deptford boys soccer team took up I-295 to Haddonfield ended with a somber bus ride home.
The Eagles finally made the trek worthwhile on Monday night.
Junior midfielder Gavin Zuzulock scored to break a 1-1 tie late in the first half and West Deptford held on for a 2-1 victory over its biggest rival in Colonial Conference-Liberty Division action. It was the program’s first win at Haddonfield since a 1-0 game all the way back on Oct. 17, 2013.
“This was a really special moment and I’m glad I was able to spend it with my team,” Zuzulock said. “It was a long time coming. We’ve been working so hard for so long. We’ve been trying to get this since my freshman year and even before that. I’m glad we could come together as a team and show that all the hard work, coming in at 5 a.m. on Saturdays and working on and off the field, has paid off.”
Senior captains Nate Schultes and Shane Byrne also played a huge part in the win, as Schultes scored the opening goal for West Deptford and Byrne led a strong defensive effort to help the Eagles improve to 2-0. Christian Ball scored on a penalty kick for the Bulldawgs, who fell to 0-2.
The last time these two teams met, West Deptford ended a 13-game winless streak in the series with a 1-0 overtime victory. That started a six-game winning streak to end the season, capped off by a sectional championship.
As they showed on Monday, the Eagles continue to play with the same confidence as they did at the end of 2020.
“We brought back a large part of our starting lineup and we just thought, let’s put it on them,” Schultes said. “They always put it on us here and then we battle at our place, but they own us here. So we thought, let’s put it on them early and pressure them. We have a bunch of kids who work hard. We put the work in every morning at our lifts and we’re constantly talking about getting better, so we knew this was the year we could it put on them.”
West Deptford was the aggressor from the start and played with energy all night long under the lights in Haddonfield’s football stadium.
“We attacked them early, which is very rare,” Byrne said. “Usually they’re attacking us early. We put the foot on the gas first and came out with the win. This is the first time since 2013 that we’ve won here and it’s very special. I’ve seen many senior captains lose here. We lost to them at the Union’s stadium during me and Nate’s freshman year, and we lost here in the playoffs our sophomore year. A win was well-needed here.”
Schultes got things started in the ninth minute after a Haddonfield goal kick went awry and bounced back toward the net. He hustled past a Bulldawg defender, got to the loose ball first and scored into the far corner for a 1-0 lead.
“That’s what most of my goals are,” he said. “Not really technical or (flashy), just hard work and being physical. That’s what this conference is. You can’t be technical, you’re just going to be fouled and they don’t really call many fouls here. You have to grind it out and be physical. That’s what the weight room is for.”
West Deptford got whistled for taking down a Haddonfield player in the box on a restart later in the half, and Ball converted the PK to even the score. But just about two minutes after the equalizer, Schultes hit the post and the ball bounced out to a wide-open Zuzulock, who unleashed a hard shot to put the Eagles right back on top.
“Once they had that PK it really just ignited something,” Zuzulock said. “The call before that was a little questionable and had everyone upset but we knew the next five minutes were ours and the next goal was ours. We had confidence in ourselves.”
Byrne and the West Deptford defense took over from there, limiting Haddonfield to very few scoring chances in the flow of the game. The Bulldawgs’ best opportunities came on long throw-ins from Auden Yowler and a few restarts, the last of which led to a wide-open look in front of the goal in the final seconds. But the shot went over the net and the Eagles escaped with a win.
“We’ve been unlucky on a few chances like that through the first two games,” Haddonfield coach Ryan Nixon said. “We’re hoping some of those bounces will start to go our way. But you make your own luck in this game.
“You’re going to hamstring yourself if you rely on just trying to produce off a long throw or any sort of restart. We worked endlessly during the run of play trying to create chances and opportunities and then trying to take advantage of those chances. It’s taking some time to find the right combinations in front of goal. We’re a work in progress just like everyone else at this point and I’m confident we’re going to figure it out. … But credit to West Deptford, they came out the aggressive team tonight, which was a little disappointing. We need to do a much better job from the beginning of the game.”
Haddonfield has lost two one-goal games to sectional championship teams from last year, as its opener was a 2-1 overtime defeat against Haddon Township.
“We’re just looking for a spark, especially on the offensive side of the ball,” Nixon said. “We really feel like we have one of the best forwards in the Colonial in Christian Ball and he scored a goal tonight. I thought overall he did a nice job. With the schedule we’ve built and the overall level of the Liberty Division at this point, every game is going to be a test and very, very tough. Tonight was evidence of that.”
While Byrne called Haddonfield’s long throws “scary” and thought the Eagles could have done a better job defending them, West Deptford first-year coach Tim McAndrews was pleased with the effort.
“Haddonfield is so dangerous with those,” he said. “They always seem to have a kid who can throw it 35-40 yards. He did a great job of creating those chances, but Shane in the air is so tough. It’s amazing how many times he wins those.”
West Deptford has now reeled off eight straight victories since its win over Haddonfield last year. The Eagles’ streak will be put to the test with difficult home games Wednesday against Haddon Heights on Friday against Haddon Township.
“Last year we had that overtime goal and we haven’t lost since then,” Schultes said. “That was huge and we’ve just carried it through. We hated to lose the seniors from last year but we brought back a solid core and we said, let’s run it back and do it again. There’s nothing more that I can ask from this team other than to keep working hard. Hopefully that momentum will keep carrying through because we have Haddon Heights and Haddon Township this week too.”
“That’s the thing about this division; it’s not like it used to be,” McAndrew added. “Everybody is a threat. These guys do a really job of enjoying the moment and then it’s on to the next. … It’s the Haddons this week. It’s crazy and nerve-wracking but we’re just taking one at a time.”