"To watch these two feeding the ball to each other like that - they're actually helping each other out - it just shows so much character," said Timber Creek coach Sean Ortzman.
Wait.
Character? For passing the ball to your own teammate?
On its face, it's a puzzling assessment. And if are puzzled, DeLuca and Morgan are right with you.
The goal was the 53d of DeLuca's high school career, tying the Timber Creek record for most career goals. Minutes later, Morgan netted his 53d career goal, creating a three-way tie very likely to be broken by at least one of the two seniors.
But so what, right?
"I'm honestly not worried about who is scoring more goals," DeLuca said. "We've been playing soccer together almost our whole lives. We want to win this final."
"Of course it would be nice to hold the record. It would mean a lot to both of us," Morgan said. "But we want this championship so badly right now the record doesn't even seem to matter. We just want to win."
It's rare enough to have two goal scorers of this caliber. But Timber Creek (17-3-2) is just as stacked all over the field, including one of the best goalkeepers in South Jersey, Andrew Garcia, a senior who is often overlooked among so much offensive firepower.
"Andrew is our anchor," Ortzman said.
Even more rare than having so much talent is to see all of it come together, to peak at the most important point of a season. But Timber Creek is doing just that.
Both record-tying goals were scored in the Chargers' authoritative 4-0 win over rival Seneca in the sectional semifinals.
It was the third time the teams had met this season. The Chargers won both regular-season meetings, but a talented Seneca pushed Timber Creek to the brink Oct. 12 in a game Timber Creek won in overtime.
But this third matchup wasn't even close, with the Chargers' talent and chemistry overwhelming Seneca.
"We definitely have advanced since last year and since the beginning of this season, and it shows on the field," Garcia said. "It's just awesome to be a part of this right now."
As the Chargers enter Friday's championship match, they will do so with vivid memories of losing the 2010 sectional final to Hammonton, 1-0.
"Last year, we came out way too soft," DeLuca said. "And this year, the way we've been playing in the second half shows how we've learned from that and how well-developed we've become as a team as a whole."
Contact Chris Melchiorre
at rallysports@phillynews.com
