"We were all confident today, and it was a total team effort," said Ryan, whose goal with 14 minutes left in the first half propelled Cherokee to a state-championship showdown with Bridgewater-Raritan at 8 p.m. Thursday at the College of New Jersey.
The game was a battle of undefeated teams as Cherokee improved to 24-0-2 and East Brunswick finished at 20-1-2.
Though Cherokee controlled most of the first half, the Chiefs played on their heels for most of the second half.
"I think [East Brunswick's] legs were just energized in the second half," Cherokee coach Anthony Gallo said. "They knew this could have been the last half of their season, and they were bringing as much as they could."
East Brunswick was almost constantly threatening in the second half, but was held scoreless thanks largely to a strong performance by senior keeper Barry Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald managed eight saves in the game.
"It was one shot after another in the second half," Fitzgerald said. "But we just kept picking each other up. It really showed our character. If someone made a mistake, there was always someone else there to pick them up."
Twice, the ball managed to get behind Fitzgerald. Nine minutes into the second half, there was a scramble in front of the net and a ball rolled past Fitzgerald, nearly going into the net before a Cherokee defender pushed it away.
"It got right behind me - I don't even know how," Fitzgerald said. "I don't know how it didn't go in the net. But Jon Tarzy was there to hit it away and save my life. I owe him everything."
East Brunswick's next best chance came with less than 20 seconds remaining in regulation when it nearly headed home a corner kick.
"This is our first shutout since the quarterfinals of the playoffs," Fitzgerald said. "It's been a while so it feels pretty good - especially against an undefeated team."
Cherokee 1 0 – 1
East Brunswick 0 0 – 0
Goal: C-Mike Ryan.
Saves: C-Barry Fitzgerald 8; EB-Emilio Rodriguez 3, Grant Korten 3.
Contact Chris Melchiorre at rallysports@phillynews.com.
