Balance, defense carry the Bulldogs

By Keith Pompey, Inquirer Suburban Staff

Posted: November 10, 2005

The Haddonfield boys' soccer team takes pride in the fact that its leading goal scorer, Geoff Dreher, has scored eight goals.

The Bulldogs are even prouder that opposing teams have scored six goals.

Having the leading scorer tally eight of your team's 68 goals is a sign of team balance. Giving up just six goals shows defensive dominance. And dominating opponents is what Haddonfield has done this season.

The Bulldogs (17-1-3) recorded their sixth consecutive and 16th overall shutout in Tuesday's 3-0 South Jersey Group 2 semifinal victory over Schalick. "From the defensive side, we seem to be in every game," said coach Joe Falana, whose Bulldogs face Delran in today's South Jersey Group 2 final.

Having a solid defense to rely on is a good thing. If not, Haddonfield probably would not have advanced this far.

"We struggled to score since we played Rancocas Valley three weeks ago," Falana said.

Haddonfield followed that 2-1 setback up with a 3-0 victory over Gateway on Oct. 24. The Bulldogs then ended the regular season with scoreless ties against Gateway and Northern Burlington.

Afterward, Haddonfield needed double-overtime scores to defeat West Deptford and Gateway in the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Bulldogs took 1-0 victories in both matches before breaking out of their scoring slump against Schalick's Cougars.

Even if Haddonfield is able to penetrate Delran's defense, another solid defensive performance is a must for the Bulldogs. Especially against the two-time Group 2 state-champion Bears.

And Haddonfield believes it is up to the task.

"We," Falana said, "take a lot of pride in our defense."