PHOTOS: Middle’s magical playoff run as a No. 12 seed comes to an end at hands of top-seeded Delsea

Posted: November 10th 2026

Middle Township's Izzy Miller tries to maneuver through the Delsea defense in the first half of Tuesday's girls soccer playoff game.

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

FRANKLINVILLE – The clock finally struck midnight for the local high school girls soccer team playing the role of Cinderella in this season’s state playoffs.

Middle Township, which reached the South Jersey Group II semifinal round as a No. 12 seed, finally ran into a playoff opponent it couldn’t solve as top-seeded Delsea rolled to a 5-1 victory Tuesday afternoon.

Delsea (18-3) moves on to host No. 3 Haddonfield in the sectional championship game on Friday.

Middle (8-11) started the game brightly, getting the ball into the penalty area on a couple of occasions. Senior striker Izzy Miller was denied a goal when Delsea goalkeeper Ava Blose alertly charged off her line to deflect Miller’s shot from eight yards out. Middle senior Gabby Oliver also had a couple of shots from distance that Blose had to properly handle.

Delsea’s quality eventually came to the forefront, however. Sierra Cairone blasted a shot inside the left post for the first goal before Kionni Johnson, Susie Young and Adelyn McDonnell later added tallies as Delsea ran out to a 4-0 lead at halftime.

“Coming in as the 12 seed playing against a No. 1, we were a little nervous about what to expect,” Middle coach Mark Scarpa said. “But I thought we opened the first 10 to 15 minutes playing really, really well. For the first 10 or 15 minutes, I felt like we had more chances than they did. At that point, it seemed like a game we could somehow grab.

“But they’re obviously an incredible team. There’s a reason why they’re the No. 1 seed. We knew this was going to be a tough fight for us. When they got the first one, I thought we were still able to respond well. But that second one deflated us to a degree and from there we were on our heels and we couldn't get back on the front foot.”

Oliver prevented a shutout for the Lady Panthers with a goal with a minute to go, an impressive strike from the top of the penalty area.

Middle’s players, especially the seniors, were emotional at the final whistle. But a few minutes later, there were also some smiles as they thought about dramatic road victories over fifth-seeded Deptford and No. 4 Cedar Creek that allowed them to extend their playoff run into a second week.

The team beat Deptford on Oliver’s goal in extra time and then got past Cedar Creek by scoring both of the game’s goals through Miller and Zoe Super in the final seven minutes of regulation.

“None of us expected to make it this far,” senior defender Parker Milstead said. “The farthest we’ve gotten (in the state playoffs) since I’ve been here is the second game. This was a really big deal for us to make it here.”

Milstead is one of eight senior starters and nine seniors overall on the roster.

“It’s definitely really upsetting that the season’s over,” Milstead said. “We’re all upset about our high school careers being over. But I think all the seniors set a good standard.”

Middle’s playoff success was no doubt born through an extremely difficult schedule as a Group II school competing against many renowned Group III and IV programs in the Cape-Atlantic American Conference.

“We definitely played a really tough schedule,” Milstead said. “Those first- and second-(round playoff games) could have been so much harder but since we play such hard teams all season long, that really prepared us.”

Middle’s two earlier playoff victories marked the first time in at least nearly two decades that the program won two state playoff games away from home in the same season. It was the first time Middle won two state playoff games in the same season home or away since 2016.

“After we won the first two games, people would see me at Wawa or the gas station or wherever and they were offering me congratulations and saying good luck,” Scarpa said. “My response has been that this run has been completely built upon our seniors’ desire to see this thing continue. They just didn’t want to see this ride end. I think that’s how we pulled off two upset wins on the road. It was the sheer will of them not wanting their high school soccer careers to end. Unfortunately, we just didn’t have enough today against a really, really good team.”