PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jack Dugan is a name that will be synonymous for soccer success at Haddonfield for quite some time.
The senior forward is leaving the school as its all-time leading scorer with 72 career goals. He broke a 39-year record previously held by 1977 graduate Rich Sexton, who left the program with 64 career goals.
After Dugan broke the record, Sexton paid him a visit to give him some congratulations.
"He congratulated me and said this was well deserved," Dugan said. "He told me that his first two years he played at goalie and then he was moved up top. For him to go out of his way to come congratulate me just shows how much of a great person he is and how classy and honorable the Haddonfield soccer club is with everyone that runs through the program."
READ: Jack Dugan breaks Haddonfield's scoring record
Dugan may not have spent two years playing between the pipes, but much like Sexton he was willing to play anywhere on the field for Haddonfield. When he was done tearing defenses apart up top, Haddonfield coach Ryan Nixon often moved Dugan to the back, where he spent about 1/3 of his minutes.
Scoring may have been Dugan's forte, but he is a dangerous playmaker as well. He finished the 2017 season with 20 helpers, to go along with his 24 goals, and has 54 in his career.
"Jack is one of the few players that I've been around, as a player and as a coach, that I would call great," Nixon said. "He's been a joy to watch. He's really grown as a player in the four years that I've been coaching him. He's grown as a person too. He's such a humble kid and has worked extremely hard."
While Dugan has a long list of accolades on his resume - Haddonfield's all-time leading scorer, four-time All-Conference selection, third team All-State to name a few - it is going to be the simple things that Dugan will remember about playing at Haddonfield.
"I think that 20 years from now, 30 years from now, I'm going to look back at all the great things we did senior year," Dugan said. "This season I'll always remember scoring the historic goal that set the all-time record. Looking back on this season, I"m just going to remember going out there everyday with my friends, giving it everything we had and making great memories together."
COACH OF THE YEAR: Over 10 years ago, Sterling boys soccer was a middle of the pack soccer program. Since then head coach Pete Marlys has turned this program into a serious contender year-in and year-out.
This season was no different.
Sterling went 14-6-2, with a 11-2-2 conference record, and outscored opponents 68-18.
It picked up two keys wins over Haddon Heights, tied Haddonfield and battled Haddonfield and Shawnee tough in one-goal games. Its loss to Shawnee came in the SJSCA first round. In the South Jersey, Group 2 tournament, it fell to eventual sectional champion Delran, 3-1.
Bryan Andrade led Sterling with 22 goals and 19 assists, while Justin Hofacker (13 g., 5 a.) and Simon Reng Thlang (11 g., 9 a.) both reached double-digits in goals as well. Between the pipes, Paul Ganiel had 108 saves and 11 shutouts.
TEAM OF THE YEAR: Haddonfield continued to be a force in the Colonial Conference this season. It finished the year 21-3-1, going 12-1-1 against conference opponents in the process. Haddonfield advanced to SJSCA Tournament semifinals, where it fell to Rancocas Valley, and advanced to the South Jersey, Group 2 final, where it lost to Delran.
While Jack Dugan was the catalyst for Haddonfield's offense, this team had some serious offensive threats beyond just the senior standout. He had a great compliment in fellow senior Sam DeCencio, who was fantastic this season with 10 goals and a team-high 25 assists.
"Sam for me was every bit as valuable as Jack on the team we had this year," Haddonfield coach Ryan Nixon said. "He's probably one of the best left-footed players that I've ever seen at this level."
Steve DiTomaso also helped round out the offense with 15 goals and five assists, while Luke Baxter (9 g.), Will Bond (5 g., 5 a.), Tommy Mollis (4 g., 6 a.), Geno Mariano (5 g., 1 a.) and Will Sabia (4 g., 5 a.) were all key contributors as well.
While the offense averaged 3.56 goals per game, Haddonfield's backline was as tough to beat as anybody in the state. Haddonfield allowed 13 goals in 25 games and had 18 shutouts. Will Bond, Max Green, Mike Schroeter, Mike Gallo, Cole Roddyand Luke Baxter made up Haddonfield's defense in front of senior goalkeeper Finn Miller.
"Finn was tremendous," Nixon said. "He really picked up his game during the second half of our season. The shutouts were really a product of the six guys that we had in rotation in playing our back four. Finn performed at a very high level obviously, but our defense in general has been a staple of Haddonfield soccer over the years."
OTHER SUCCESSFUL TEAMS
Haddon Heights (9-8-4) had a nice state tournament run in it. It took down Gateway and Haddon Township to advance to the South Jersey, Group 1 semifinal, where it fell to eventual sectional champion Glassboro, 2-0. John Taylor led Haddon Heights with 11 goals and five assists, while Chris Snyder had six goals and five assists. Connor Rink made 121 saves and eight shutouts.
Haddon Township (13-7) went a perfect 10-0 against Colonial Conference Patriot Division teams. It advanced to the South Jersey, Group 1 quarterfinals, but fell to Haddon Heights. Collin Madden led Haddon Township with 13 goals, while Owen Vermette had seven goals and four assists.
West Deptford (16-4-2) went 10-2-2 against Colonial Conference opponents. It made the SJSCA Tournament, but fell to Rancocas Valley 1-0 in the first round. In states it knocked off Cedar Creek and Barnegat before falling to eventual champ Haddonfield in the South Jersey, Group 2 semifinals. Kyle Whitehouse led West Deptford with 15 goals and seven assists, while Maguire Lyons had eight goals and as many assists. Jackson Clark made 91 saves and had nine shutouts.
ALL COLONIAL CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
Selected by the Colonial Conference
Liberty Division
First Team
Jack Dugan, Forward, Haddonfield, Sr.
Kyle Whitehouse, Forward, West Deptford, Sr.
Simon Ring Thlang, Forward, Sterling, So.
John Taylor, Forward, Haddon Heights, Sr.
Sam DeCencio, Midfield, Haddonfield, Sr.
Bryan Andrade, Midfield, Sterling, Jr.
Connor Gill, Midfield, West Deptford, Sr.
Adrian Trejo, Midfield, Collingswood, Jr.
Justin Hofacker, Midfield, Sterling, Sr.
Jared Schultes, Defense, West Deptford, Sr.
Max Green, Defense, Haddonfield, Sr.
Jake Scully, Defense, Sterling, Jr.
Chris Snyder, Defense, Haddon Heights, Sr.
Finn Miller, Goalkeeper, Haddonfield, Sr.
Second Team
Dom Pinto, Overbrook, Jr.
Omar Saifo, Collingswood, Sr.
Kevin Kolaski, Haddon Heights, Sr.?Rothang Lion, Sterling, Sr.
Steve DiTomaso, Haddonfield, Jr.
Jackson Clark, West Deptford, Sr.
Patriot Division
First Team
Collin Madden, Forward, Haddon Township, Sr.
Ezequiel Estrada, Forward, Lindenwold, Fr.
Andrew Gifford, Forward, Audubon, Jr.
Jared Green, Midfield, Haddon Township, Sr.
Dominic DeGeorge, Midfield, Gateway, Sr.
Dylan Trow, Midfield, Audubon, Jr.
Christian Bonilla, Midfield, Lindenwold, So.
Brian Burns, Defense, Haddon Township, Jr.
Samuel Oni, Defense, Woodbury, Sr.
Patrick Eife, Defense, Haddon Township, So.
Steven Lindenmuth, Defense, Audubon, Jr.
Henry Gomez, Defense, Lindenwold, Jr.
Ryan Coyle, Goalkeeper, Audubon, Jr.
Brett Hintz, Goalkeeper, Haddon Township, So.
Second Team
Chris Rubena, Gateway, Jr.
Dimas Orellana, Lindenwold, Sr.
Demetrius Day, Paulsboro, Sr.
Owen Vermette, Haddon Township, Sr.
Charles McCormick, Gateway, So.
Sean Colbert, Audubon, So.