West Deptford Girls' Soccer Ready For Haddonfield In Semifinal

Even when the players and coaches were being diplomatic at the start of the playoffs, it was clear see that there was one matchup in particular the girls’ soccer team wanted.

And after Thursday’s victory, there is no need to dance around the subject anymore: West Deptford is getting Haddonfield in the semifinals.

The No. 4 Eagles earned that right with a coast-to-coast 4-0 victory over Pemberton Thursday at Weber Field in .

The Eagles dominated possession and were rarely threatened in a victory that sets them up for a showdown at the rival Bulldawgs on Monday at 2 p.m.

Haddonfield won both regular season meetings by one goal, helping it earn the Colonial Conference Liberty Division title. The Eagles are confident things will be different this time around.

“We need to come out with the confidence we have had these last couple of games and really just bring it to them early,” said senior midfielder Megan Kirschling.

“I think we played well against Haddonfield the first game and the second half of the second game, there was just a total lack of intensity in the second half (of the second game,” said West Deptford coach Veronca McGinniss. “I think player for player we match them for talent, and I don’t foresee it being a problem. But we have to come to play and play with heart, because that’s what determines those big games like that.”

On Thursday, West Deptford overwhelmed Pemberton with its midfield play, controlling possession throughout the game. West Deptford came out in a 3-5-2 that stuffed the midfield with more bodies than many teams are accustomed to seeing.

“I think with the formation that we are playing, it exposes some teams because it’s not traditionally a high school formation that many teams play,” said McGinniss. “I think that we have some strength there and it usually leaves us with some people open and leaves opponents confused.”

Pemberton players expressed frustrations when being subbed out of the game and the on field chatter turned negative for portions of the game with the Hornets unable to stop the Eagles’ passing attack.

“We can usually get some give-and-goes going because we can find an open girl in the middle, so if they don’t pick up on that it is nice for us to be able to make triangles and pass around them,” Kirschling said.

Pemberton head coach Brighid Marquess, a Haddonfield graduate, left impressed.

“They really use the space well,” said Marquess. “They do have some strong players in the midfield and even when we were doing a good job of marking in the center they still seemed to have a lot of openings and were able to control it. They had a lot more height and strength in the center as well which is something that gave them more control of the ball.”

West Deptford wasted no time getting on the board, as Payton McGinniss headed home a cross from Kirschling to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead three minutes, 30 seconds into the game. The score stayed that way until Kirschling volleyed home a corner kick sent in by Paige Paratore 3:49 into the second half.

Regina Kelly put the game away with a direct kick goal from about 25 yards away that left the Pemberton keeper with no chance. She added a second goal with 11:33 left to cap the scoring.

“It’s really nice to have those set pieces, because they're next to impossible to stop,” Kirschling said. “I mean, you can’t really stop that.”

The task gets much harder on Monday, but the Eagles appear ready and eager for the challenge.

After watching her Hornets get outplayed for 80 minutes, even Marquess, who was an All-South Jersey player for the Bulldawgs, admitted Haddonfield will be in for a fight.

Said Marquess: “I think we played a really tough team today, and I think they are going to give Haddonfield a run for their money on Monday.”