High School Soccer: Sterling Surprises Pitman in Regular Season Finale Wednesday, October 27, 2004 By Jerome Michaels SJSports Special Correspondent Back and forth these teams went for most of the game looking for the right moment and opportunity to score that first goal of the game. For the Panthers from Pitman, they have been successful finding ways to win games and it shows as they have secured a position in the upcoming South Jersey Group 1 playoffs. The Knights has been coming up on the short end this season but it didn’t show in this non-league game at Sterling. With the game entering its final minutes, Mark Thompson placed a shot into the net for the only goal of the game. It was the last game on the regular season schedule for both teams but that didn’t mean that after this game there would be no more soccer played. For the Panthers, it was a nice game to win before beginning their push to advance far into the group playoffs. Sterling would play like contenders today as they played evenly with their opponent for more most of this game. With time winding down, Thompson was able to get his shot past Dan Howey for the eventual game winner. Keeper Brian Reagle earned the shutout for the Knights. Photos by Frank Crescenti