HAMMONTON — The Caper Tiger boys soccer team tied St. Joseph of Hammonton when the teams met in Erma in mid-September. Until Wednesday, Oct. 8, the Lower Cape May Regional High School team hadn’t lost to anyone, racking up nine wins and two ties.
In that time, the Caper Tigers didn’t allow a goal in eight of the games and gave up only a single goal in the other three games.
The second time against St. Joseph wasn’t the charm.
The Wildcats put up two goals each in the first and second halves to win 4-0 at their home field in Hammonton. It was enough to nudge the Lower Cape May Regional High School boys down just a notch in the United Division.
Both St. Joseph and LCMR are 9-1-2 overall, but in the division, St. Joseph has the edge now with a 9-0-2 record while the Caper Tigers are 9-1-2.
Head coach Cristian Valencia believes his team, which has made a huge about-face after a losing record last year, wasn’t prepared for the weight of the Oct. 8 match.
“I don’t think our boys were ready for that pressure. If you look at the stats, that was pretty much the division (title) game. That was the make-it-or-break-it game that was us winning the division or us losing the division,” Valencia said.
Now the team is waiting to see how the Wildcats fare against Atlantic City and Wildwood, two of the other good teams in the division.
The coach said they scouted the Wildcats and vice versa, but St. Joseph was able to execute better and at times his players were nervous and at times “kind of panicky” because of what was at stake.
Senior Chris Duley has led the attack for the Caper Tigers this season, scoring 11 goals and adding two assists through the St. Joseph game.
Valencia chalked up Duley’s goal-scoring to his grit.
“He works nonstop until he gets what he needs to get, which is the ball in the back of the net,” the coach said. “Our play is not really for an individual player, it’s made for the team. He’s just in the right place at the right time or he’ll get the ball and create something for himself.
“We want the ball at this feet because he’s hot right now,” Valencia said.
The team has other scorers as well, but it’s more spread out. Freshmen Darin Dyakov and Evan Volpe and senior Adam Marshall have four goals each and junior Stephen Lutjen and freshman Domenek Garcia had three goals each. Lutjen, Volpe and sophomore John Sharp have three assists apiece.
The coach noted his other players are often scoring in set pieces.
The Caper Tigers have scored 37 goals but allowed only seven scores against them. Junior goalie Liam Grimes has made 61 saves.
They shut out Buena 6-0, Cape May Tech 4-0 and 5-0, Holy Spirit 3-0 and 6-0, and had the scoreless draws against St. Joseph and Wildwood. They beat Buena 7-1 the second time around, and topped Atlantic City and Wildwood Catholic 2-1.
“Our defenders know their role,” Valencia said. Senior Gavin Ridgway and sophomore Cooper Turner have been with the coach since he took over the program.
“I have been lucky to really hammer the philosophy I have when it comes to us defending. Their understanding of that philosophy is what has given us success in the back end.”
For now, Valencia is looking at preparing his players for the rest of the regular season and the postseason and what he hopes would be the sixth home playoff game in the program’s history. “That would be pretty cool for them to have,” he said.
“Now we’re looking forward to getting seeded in states,” he said. “I see us winning the rest of the games if the kids execute everything how they’re supposed to execute it.”
Valencia credits a number of factors to the team’s turnaround from last year, not least of which is “all the hard work they’ve been putting in. That’s where their success is coming from. It’s the hard work during the summer, the hard work during the season. Some kids are playing through some injuries. They’re a tough bunch. They’re getting the results they deserve.”
The coach also noted the attack is getting a boost from the two freshmen, Dyakov and Garcia. “Darin and Domenek have given us more ability to do things in the center of the field,” he add.
The hard work that has brought LCMR to the 9-1-2 record continues unabated. The team is doing drills to repair weaknesses and improve set pieces, and just did a double workout session Friday.
On Monday, the Caper Tigers were scheduled to be at Wildwood — the other team they battled to a scoreless tie — and then go to Cedar Creek at 4 p.m. today (Oct. 14. Their next home game is 6 p.m. Friday hosting Wildwood Catholic.) They travel to Middle Township at 4 p.m. Oct. 20, then return home for games at 4 p.m. Oct. 22 and 23 against Oakcrest and then Gloucester.
Sectional tournament seeds are Oct. 28 with the first round Nov. 4. The Caper Tigers are currently fifth in Power Points in South Jersey Group II.
By DAVID NAHAN/Cape May Star and Wave
