EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — The Egg Harbor Township High School boys soccer team lost its season opener Sept. 3.
It was a tight battle against South Jersey and Cape-Atlantic League power St. Augustine Prep, which is the top-ranked team in The Press Elite 11.
Since then, the Eagles are unbeaten.
Lucas Cross scored two goals and assisted on another, and Gio Bongiorno finished with a goal and an assist to lead EHT to a 4-1 victory over Millville in a CAL American Division game Wednesday. Cross and Bongiorno are senior captains.
The Eagles (5-1-1) tied Vineland in their second game of the season and have since won five straight. Millville (1-4-1) scored the first goal of the game Wednesday.
“Our unbeaten streak, it’s a great start to the season. Obviously, not the best start. We started on a loss,” said Cross, 17. “Coming into the season, we knew it was going to be a great season. We have a great senior class. Just a great mesh for the program.”
EHT allowed just three goals and recorded three shutouts during the streak.
“We are just putting in the work,” added the 17-year-old Bongiorno.
The Eagles went 8-10 last season under Mark Jamieson, who had just taken over the program. EHT went 10-10 in 2023 and 14-5-1 in 2022 under longtime coach Pete Lambert, who now coaches the girls team.
This year’s scheduled included a 2-0 loss to the Prep, a 2-0 win over Ocean and a 2-1 victory over Hackettstown, which made the North Jersey Section II, Group II championship last season.
“We take everything game-by-game,” Jamieson said. “We respect the CAL American greatly, and our out-of-conference games and the tough talent we try to bring in to raise the level of the game for our team so we have some preparation going into the Group IV playoffs.
“We are happy to be where we are at, but we understand there is still a lot of growth that needs to take place and we still need to continue to work hard to achieve any goals that we have for ourselves. … What we are really pleased with is the intensity this team plays with. We still have a lot of growth, but we look to find that and continue to be successful down the road.”
Cross and Bongiorno said the Eagles are special this season.
“Just putting in the effort. Coming out every day and just giving all our effort. Every time we are on this field, we put our hearts into it and get the results every time,” Bongiorno said about his team’s success so far this season.
Cross said the Eagles have a different pride this year that he hasn’t felt the last few seasons.
“It’s playing a huge role in our season,” he added. “We are making a run, for sure, this year. We are going to keep tearing it up.”
EHT returned a handful of talent this season, including Cross and Bongiorno, who were second-team Press All-Stars last fall.
Jamieson said a major reason his players are finding success is “because they are playing with a purpose and playing for each other.”
“As a coach, you can always coach tactics and impress upon them game plans, but they have to get on the field and perform. They have to do it with a drive that is bigger than themselves,” Jamieson said. “I think they are starting to find that chemistry and, if we can continue on that road, great things could happen to this team.”
The Eagles are currently one of the higher ranked teams in the S.J. Group IV enrollment group, Cross said.
“And we hope to keep it that way. … We are looking to make a good run this year, for sure,” he added.
EHT hosts Lenape at Noon on Saturday.
“We just have to keep making our results every game,” Bongiorno said.
EHT responds fast
The game started with a light rain, which eventually stopped until the second half.
Ruiz Morian scored off an assist from Drew Finch in the fourth minute to give a 1-0 lead.
Cross scored seconds later off an assist from Bongiorno to tie the game at 1-1.
“Coming out in warmups, you knew this was going to be a good (CAL) game. Every CAL game is a big matchup, and you got to get the results, no matter who you are playing against,” Cross said.
Allowing the first goal is never easy.
“But you have to come out and get the result,” Bongiorno said.
Cross scored off an assist from Noah Heritage in the 23rd minute to give EHT a 2-1. Lenart Redzepi and Bongiorno scored in the 26th and 33 minutes, respectively, to extend the lead to 4-1 at halftime.
Johnathan Espichan and Marko Markoski scored off assists from Chase Barnhart in the second half to cap the scoring.
The Eagles showed they can “regain their composure” after allowing the first goal, Jamieson said.
“There is definitely some resiliency in this team. They are pretty tough-nosed,” Jamieson said. “Starting the game in the rain, Millville had a great opportunity and took advantage of it. Being able to show that we can bounce back and answer just showed this team is focused on understanding that both teams have a chance to score and the ball can bounce anyway.”
Millville had a breakaway when it trailed 2-1, but EHT goalkeeper Jack Carroll made a great save. He finished with two saves, Millville’s Zach Bentivegna 10.
“We are just making little mistakes here and there, and when you play a quality team like a team like this, they make you pay,” Millville coach Christian Varga said. “We played with them at times.But, again, you can’t make mistakes against a team like this or they’ll make you pay, and that’s what they did.
Contact Patrick Mulranen: 609-272-7217
PMulranen@pressofac.com
Twitter @ACPressMulranen
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