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Schools

Eagles Ready for Showdown with Bulldawgs

West Deptford faces Haddonfield in the quarterfinals of the Group 2 playoffs Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Once they saw the schedule, West Deptford High School boys’ soccer team knew if they were going to make a run in the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 2 playoffs, it would have to do so by getting past a familiar foe.

That opportunity arrives tomorrow.

No. 8 West Deptford will look to overcome its recent woes against Haddonfield when it travels to Scout Field to take on the No. 1 Bulldawgs, at 2:30 p.m. Haddonfield won both games this season (2-1, 3-2) and has beaten the Eagles in five straight games, dating back to 2010.

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West Deptford has been close in every game, but with its playoff life on the line, close won’t be good enough to keep the season going.

“One thing we will have to do is control the physicality of the game,” West Deptford coach Steve Jakubowski said. “Haddonfield is good at is being the tougher team.”

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The Eagles enter the game playing some of their best soccer of the season, particularly on the defensive side. In their 1-0 first-round playoff win over Lower Cape May, the Eagles controlled the possession and limited their opponent to just two shots on goal, which were easily handled by goalie Brendan Gill.

Joey Mingrino scored the only goal the Eagles needed.

“We were all over them, we just couldn’t drop the hammer,” Jakubowski said. “Overall, it was a pretty good showing for our first playoff game.”

The shutout was the fifth-straight for the Eagles, who have gone 4-0-1 in that span. The clean sheets did not come against weak competition either, with West Deptford blanking Haddon Township, Gateway and Haddon
Heights. The Gators boast the conference’s top scorer, while the Garnets and Hawks are the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively, in the Group 1 playoffs.

“We haven’t given up a goal in awhile and that has been while playing against good teams,” Jakubowski said. “The defense has done a great job staying in form and limiting opportunities.”

Like just about every other team in South Jersey, the Eagles have had to deal with an extended layoff due to Superstorm Sandy. The good news is that the Eagles were able to get outside to practice on Tuesday and Wednesday. Jakubowski said he has been trying to keep practices light in an effort to keep everyone in a fun spirit during their biggest gap between games all season.

“I told the guys in the beginning of the week it will be a mini preseason,” Jakubowski said. “It’s a pretty good group of upper- and underclassmen so they do a good job of keeping lose and at the same time maintaining focus day in and day out.”

As long as the lull has been for the Eagles, it has been far longer for the Bulldawgs. Haddonfield’s last game was played on Oct. 23, meaning it will have been almost two weeks since they have played when the Bulldawgs take the field tomorrow.

As for the key to the game, Jakubowski stressed getting out to a quick start to put the Bulldawgs on their heels. If his team can do that, Jakubowski believes the skid against Haddonfield can come to an end in grand fashion.

“We have to keep our momentum going, score first and stay on them,” he said. “If we can do that I think we will get a good result.”

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