It has been a while, but it must have been worth the wait for the boy’s soccer team from Audubon. In first round South Jersey Group II tournament, the eighth seeded Green Wave were hosting the ninth seeded Wolverines from Woodstown. The Wolverines had qualified last year for a run at the sectional title, but Audubon were left out at that chance. This year was a different story as Audubon would completely dominate this game from start to finish. Goalie Andrew Rupertus would preserve the 3-0 victory for Audubon.

By the time the regular season ends and the new extend season begins, players and coaches know that a few of those losses during the regular season could have pushed a team into a higher seeding in the playoffs. Both Woodstown and Audubon knew that the number one seed team, Delran, would be resting and waiting for the winner. Neither of these teams could not worry about who was waiting for them in the next round, today’s agenda would be concentrated on their opponent on the field.

Audubon had ended the regular season with a loss to Haddon Heights and were eager to get back that winning feeling. What was more important was that Audubon’s last trip to the sectional tournament was back in 2001 when they were the eleventh seed traveling to Cinnaminson. The results of that game were not in favor of the Wave, but in this game three players made a difference. Marty Malony, Stefano Georges and Jim Rickenbach’s goals gave Audubon the chance to move onto the next round and face the number one seed.

Photos by Frank Crescenti