CHS Boys Advance to State Championship with a Thrilling 2-1 OT Victory

The scoreboard says it all. The final overtime score of the Group 2 state semifinal finished with Cinnaminson defeating Governor Livingston High School, 2-1 at 5:58 of the first overtime.

Megan Morris, Editor-in-Chief

For the first time since 2007, the Cinnaminson High School boy’s soccer team is going to the State Group II Championship game after a heart-pounding 2-1 overtime victory over Governor Livingston last night at St. Augustine Prep High School in Richland, NJ.

It wasn’t an easy game to get to the State Championship game, however.

The score of the semifinal State Championship game was stuck at a 1-0 deficit in Governor Livingston’s favor from the 31st minute to the 78th. The goal was barely worthy of the word since Cinnaminson goalie Mike Deal mistakenly lifted his hands up before he had the ball and Governor Livingston’s Josh Quinn quickly tapped in a miscue on the part of the Pirates.

Head Coach Jay Meile rallies the boys for the second half with a pep talk.
Head Coach Jay Meile rallies the boys for the second half with a pep talk.

As the two minute warning rolled around, the Pirates and their fans were beginning to lament “what if” as the anxious moments ticked away on the clock.  Senior Nick Patel had an opportunity to tie the game, but he hit the crossbar 15 minutes into the second half and the players had to feel anxious heading into the final moments of the game.  For many of the seniors, this would have been their last high school soccer game.

Senior Mark Staudenmayer explains that “a lot of other people would have panicked but we remained calm and didn’t give up.”

Clearly, their attitude paid off. Senior Allen Barret finally put the Pirates on the score board after a beautiful corner kick from fellow senior Darnell Brown just after the 78th minute, getting the ball past junior goalie Jake Topor.

Head Coach Jay Meile’s “switch in the formation” after halftime also affected the outcome of the game. “In practice we agreed that if we were losing, we would switch up the formation,” he said. Evidently, this different and new formation benefited the Pirates.

The rest of the time dwindled down and the 80 minutes were up but the score was still tied 1-1.

Two ten-minute periods of overtime was all the boys had to break this tie before the game came down to penalty kicks. And sure enough, senior captain, Mark Staudenmayer scored the winning goal at the 6-minute mark in overtime. “Yes, yes, yes! Finally,” were the only words running through Mark’s head after he made his kick.

The Pirates, excited that their season wasn’t over and that they were advancing onto the New Jersey Group 2 State Championship game, stormed the field and celebrated this win.

Governor Livingston, despite their 13th seed, was a tough opponent. After the sectional championship win over Audubon, Coach Meile said “any team that we play now can call themselves a sectional champion,” so they have to be talented. Governor Livingston was the 13th seed and underdog in every one of their games and had already knocked off top-seeded Point Pleasant Boro in their bracket and perennial power Holmdel.

In the beginning of Governor Livingston’s season, they lost nine of their first eleven games.  But, the team rebounded to go on an incredible run in the playoffs, outscoring their opponents 5-2 in very tight contests.

On the contrary, the Pirates outscored their opponent 12-1 leading into last night’s game.

Now the Pirates focus on the NJ State Championship game where they will be seeking their first outright state championship in their third trip to the game. In 2007, they lost against Ramsey 3-1. They also made it to the State Group II Championship game in 1991 where they tied 1-1 and became co-champions with Harrison.  They will play a fellow third seed from the North 2 section, Hackettstown, who has outscored their opponents 10-2 in their five playoff games.

The two teams look incredibly close on paper and the final power points of the season say that the teams are just that close. Hackettstown (22-1-1) ended with 286.5 points while Cinnaminson (19-4-2) ended the season with 285.5 points.

The game will kick off at 5:30PM on Sunday, November 23rd at Kean Unviersity  in Union, NJ.

Staudenmayer and Meile put it best by saying “our goal wasn’t to make it to the State Championship game; it is to win the State Championship game.”