BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP — The St. Augustine Prep soccer team scored three goals in the first 19 minutes of its home opener Tuesday.
After that, the Hermits’ game against Ocean City was almost even, and the Red Raiders attacked more in the second half.
The Hermits’ fast start proved essential.
Mike Coluzzi, Luke Whelan and Matt Mateja each scored to lead St. Augustine to a 3-1 victory in a Cape-Atlantic League American Division game at Fr. Stephen J. LaRosa Field.
The Hermits (5-0) are the top-ranked team in The Press Elite 11. Joey Goodman scored in the 52nd minute for the Red Raiders (3-2).
“What we preach is that we want to win the first five minutes, and that’s what we did. We got off to a hot start,” Coluzzi said. “Once we get started, you can’t stop us. And it showed in that first half. We got three (goals) right away. We played beautiful soccer and got off to a big lead.”
Coluzzi scored in the seventh minute to give the Hermits a 1-0 lead. Whelan extended the lead to 2-0 with his goal in the 10th minute. Mateja’s goal came in the 19th minute to make it 3-0.
Both teams battled the rest of the way, but Ocean City’s defense prevented St. Augustine from adding another goal. The Red Raiders’ Eddie Fuller made eight saves. Ocean City almost scored in the 60th minute, but the Hermits’ Matt Carr made a difficult save on an uncontested shot. Carr finished with three saves.
“Huge save by Matt there to keep us in the game,” said Coluzzi, who leads the Hermits with six goals. “We had a slow start in the second half. Ocean City came out those first few minutes, they wanted it. They still had hope.
“We just had to control ourselves and stay disciplined. After that first goal, we locked it down. We played very well. Ocean City is a tough opponent, and we knew that.”
St. Augustine started its season with four straight road games, so “it was nice to be at home, in front of our crowd, on our field and, it’s always nice to get the win,” coach Justin Abbey said.
“Our goal is to come out and play our game, regardless of our opponent,” Abbey added. “The challenge I lay out to the guys is to always come out with our top level. Starting the game fast is something we always want to do, but I am sure every team wants to start fast.
“But I felt we were able to get into our rhythm pretty quick today and start moving the ball the way we want to move it around, so the goals will come. We were a little unlucky in the second half to not get more, but their keeper (Fuller) played very well. Hats off to him.”
When Ocean City was down 3-0, the Red Raiders had to sift gears and play more offense, and the visito definitely applied pressure. Goodman’s goal was the first St. Augustine allowed this season and the first in 371 minutes, dating to last season.
“That’s obviously a good team with experience,” Ocean City first-year coach Kevin Nuss said. “I think earlier, we were working our way into the game and allowed them to take control of the way the game was played. “But once we settled in and tried to take back the game, in terms of dictating the tempo, we were much better.”
St. Augustine has a 34-game unbeaten streak against CAL opponents.
“We were a little frustrated with (allowing the first goal this season), but our defense is elite,” Abbey said. “I think we have some of the best players in the state playing back there. With the way we play together as a unit, we will be tough to score in every game. … Defense wins championships.”
Nuss said playing St. Augustine “was a good experience, but ultimately you play the opponent in front of you, and now it’s time to move to Vineland and continue to make our steps forward toward the end of the season.”
Last season, the Hermits‘ only two losses came in two ties in penalty kicks in the South Jersey Soccer Coaches Association Cup and the South Jersey Non-Public A semifinals.
“The goal is to get back to that,” Abbey said. “We have high standards here. We expect to win. That’s kind of where our guys are. They are confident. They are playing well. We love the competition. We love to battle. That’s what we are up for.”
Contact Patrick Mulranen: 609-272-7217
PMulranen@pressofac.com
Twitter @ACPressMulranen
Can’t get enough High School sports? Get the latest scores, game highlights and analysis delivered to your inbox each week
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Get in the game with our Prep Sports Newsletter
Sent weekly directly to your inbox!
* I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Patrick Mulranen
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
Your notification has been saved.
There was a problem saving your notification.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Followed notifications
Please log in to use this feature
Log In
Don’t have an account? Sign Up Today