VIDEO, PHOTOS: Crusaders come out on top as island rivals finally face off in girls soccer

Posted: October 3rd 2024

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

STONE HARBOR – When the sports rivalry between Wildwood High School and Wildwood Catholic Academy was renewed last year, the girls soccer players from both schools didn’t get the chance to play.

That’s because Wildwood didn’t field a team in 2023 due to low numbers.

Needless to say, the players were awfully excited when they finally got to face each other Wednesday at the 80th Street Field.

“I know they have a lot of freshmen and it’s nice to see them get their program back,” first-year Wildwood Catholic coach Bob Mannino said. “That also gives their older kids an opportunity to play. Our kids were definitely looking forward to it, too.”

Not surprisingly, the contest was one-sided as a more experienced and older Wildwood Catholic team rolled to an 8-0 win over a Wildwood team that features mostly freshmen and sophomores.

Wildwood was strong defensively against immense pressure early in the contest, but the Crusaders broke through for the first time about 15 minutes into the contest and wound up putting five shots into the net in the first half before adding three more after the break.

Seven different players scored for the Crusaders, with Megan Feketics leading the way with two goals. Other scorers included Maeve Farrell, Stella Quinn, Reagan Flickinger, Dani Daley, Reese Manni and Lily King.

Wildwood Catholic improved to 5-4 with the win.

Wildwood Catholic honored its seniors prior to the game and also included some recognition to Wildwood’s seniors.

“The fact that this was our Senior Day and that we were able to include Wildwood in those things was nice,” Mannino said. “This was really good.”

Mannino landed at Wildwood Catholic after a long career coaching at Triton and later a short stint at Schalick. The South Jersey Hall of Famer currently has 298 career victories in his 25th season of coaching overall.

He said he’s enjoyed himself immensely so far at Wildwood Catholic.

“This has been fantastic,” Mannino said. “I mentioned to the parents before the game that it’s been such a pleasure working with their children and helping them further learn the sport. I’ve been coaching for many years and they really welcomed me here as coach. It’s been great helping them learn a little bit about life and a little bit about sport.” 

Addison Troiano made 14 saves in goal for Wildwood (2-8), a program that seemingly has much better days ahead considering as many as seven freshmen are in the starting lineup on a regular basis.