BORDENTOWN — Seedings did not matter when the Allentown and Bordentown High varsity boys’ soccer teams got together Friday night in the second round of the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group II Tournament.
Play was as even as it could be, and head coach Justin Schmid’s visiting Redbirds looked like they were going to get the victory when senior forward Joe Barber struck a splendid shot that skimmed off the crossbar two minutes into overtime.
But when that did not happen, the two locals headed to a penalty-kick shootout after 100 minutes of scoreless play.
That’s when the Scotties’ goalkeeping tandem of starter Liam Mellor and backup Christian Matamoros took the game in hand to help head coach Mike Brennan’s B’town bunch advance by surviving a 5-4 shootout.
That will allow the top-seeded Scotties (16-3-2) to host Tuesday’s sectional semifinal against fourth-seeded Robbinsville, most likely at 6 p.m. Head coach Jeff Fisher’s 14-7-1 Ravens advanced by getting past fifth-seeded Holmdel, 1-0.
“I really wish it had,” Barber said of his near miss in extra time. “We were just unlucky. We had a lot of good opportunities. This didn’t seem like a No. 1 against a No. 8 matchup. It felt a lot closer.”
Yet, A’town, which ended its season after a 12-8-2 campaign, was actually the eighth seed.
Like a chess match, the teams went at each other until the dreaded penalty-kick round was needed.
Yet, that was something for which sophomore Mellor and senior Matamoros were ready.
The pair, who practice pks against each other, had very individual roles.
Mellor, who had just matched Redbirds’ junior goalkeeper Dan Ciodyk with 11 saves apiece in regulation, went into penalty kicks believing that he could stop a shot.
“I’m made for them,” Mellor said. “I love getting in the other players’ heads. Everyone had worked so hard to get to this point, so I believed, ‘Now I’ve got to do my part,’ especially for a guy like Cam Toth, a senior back I’ve played with for a while who had to miss the game with a concussion.”
Mellor and Ciodyk each waited for their chance. As the first three kicks went in, the Redbirds’ goalie had seemed to come closer. Yet, it was Mellor who got one on Allentown’s fourth try
Even though Everett Hosszu-Barrett connected to give the home team a 4-3 edge, Redbirds junior Cade Pagano kept the pressure on when he also converted with the first kick of the fifth round.
That’s where Matamoros came in.
“I did ask Coach to let me take a kick,” Matamoros said. “This is my senior year, so I always grab a ball to practice penalty kicks against Liam. Even though I didn’t play at all, I got a chance to help the team, and it felt great!”
Matamoros’ try was just as hard as anything the other shooters or goalkeepers had already faced because he went last. Getting past the pressure, he put his kick past Ciodyk to keep his team alive in the tournament.
Allentown (12-8-2) 0 0 0 0 — 0
Bordentown(16-3-2) 0 0 0 0 — 0
[Bordentown advances on pks, 5-4]
Shots: 12 (A), 12 (B); Saves: Ciodyk 11 (A), Mellor 11 (B).
