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4.0 years ago by Ryan Nixon

Haddonfield Fights Off Adversity (NJ.com)

Boys Soccer: Haddonfield fights off adversity to keep unbeaten streak alive in OT win

Geno Mariano (9), pictured in earlier action this season, scored the game-winning goal for Haddonfield Saturday morning.

Al Amrhein | For NJ Advance Media

Geno Mariano (9), pictured in earlier action this season, scored the game-winning goal for Haddonfield Saturday morning.

By Brian Deakyne | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Like a prized fighter, Haddonfield absorbed one major blow after another from Northern Burlington over the final 20 minutes of regulation, but refused to hit the mat.

After a promising first 40 minutes, things went awry for Haddonfield in the second half when a two-goal lead was quickly erased with Northern Burlington knocking on the door late for a game-winning goal.

But it was Haddonfield that delivered the knockout blow after withstanding all that pressure, earning a 3-2 double-overtime win Saturday against Northern Burlington in a big, early-season non-conference game in South Jersey.

Geno Mariano was the hero for Haddonfield, heading down a service from Christian Ball in the 93rd minute to seal the win and send the Bulldogs into a euphoric celebration.

“I knew Christian was going to put a good ball in,” Mariano said. “I was just trying to head it down low and hard and it went in.”

In a tale of two halves, it was Haddonfield that raced out of the gate and took a 2-0 lead on an early goal from Connor Fell in the seventh minute and penalty conversion in the 39th off the foot of Tommy Mollis.

But that script flipped dramatically in the second half when Northern Burlington drew even on the scoring touch of Robby Kokotajlo and Austin Lovenduski.

Northern Burlington drew within a goal in the 43rd minute when Kokotajlo played Lovenduski into space and he sliced a shot inside the left post to make it 2-1.

In the 55th minute, Kokotajlo was taken down from behind inside the box and Lovenduski calmly converted the penalty to equalize.

With momentum promptly on its side, Northern Burlington pinned its ears back and went on the attack over the final 25 minutes of regulation, but the tie-breaking goal never came.

“I think we just came out flat, we weren’t really connecting passes or anything,” Mollis said of Haddonfield’s second-half struggles. “Eventually when they tied it, we brought everyone together and said that we had to start connecting on passes and move the ball.”

Extra time gave Haddonfield a moment to recollect itself, re-establish its play in the middle third and a rejuvenated effort followed. The Bulldogs’ play was crisper throughout, its buildup was connected and that led to the game-winner when Ball was played into the corner and his cross cut through the box and found Mariano in the perfect spot.

“We just came together as a unit,” Mariano said. “We’ve been playing together since we were little kids. As a senior — I’ve talked to some other other leaders on the team, the other seniors — we have to make this last year special. We had to turn it around. It’s been great.”

Since a disappointing 5-2 loss to open the season against Triton, Haddonfield hasn’t lost, producing a 4-0-1 record over its last five games and playing like the true South Jersey, Group 2 title contender that it was expected to be out of the gate.

“We don’t really listen to what other people say," Mollis said. "How we lost to Triton 5-2 in the opener, we don’t really care what the newspapers say about us after that loss. We just had to come out and prove that we’re the team that we know that we are.”

Even when Northern Burlington controlled the possession numbers in the second half and won a majority of the 50/50 balls in the process, Haddonfield was dangerous in the counter attack and getting Mollis and Ball out into open space moving forward.

Fell’s goal, which came early to give Haddonfield the start it desperately wanted after playing to a 2-2 tie with West Deptford two days earlier, was a tap-in goal after Hadi Mohammed pinned a shot off the crossbar. The ball dropped to Fell outside the goal line and he punched it into the netting to put the Bulldogs up. Mollis’ PK late in the half came after he was pulled down in the box.

Northern Burlington fell under .500 with the result, but don’t be fooled: this is a team built for a deep postseason run. The Greyhounds’ other losses came against two top-level programs in the Burlington County Scholastic League: No. 9-ranked Delran and Moorestown. Northern Burlington’s quality level of play in the second half proves it has the ability to play with any team on the schedule this year.

Jake Hentnick made six saves for Northern Burlington and Jacob Strasser turned away five shots for Haddonfield.

Brian Deakyne may be reached at bdeakyne@njadvancemedia.com

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