VIDEO, PHOTOS: Bedderi erupts as Wildwood’s historic season continues after home playoff shutout

Posted: November 5th 2024

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

WILDWOOD – The historic season for the Wildwood High School boys soccer team continues.

The Warriors extended some team and individual program records in a 5-0 thrashing of Maple Shade in a first-round South Jersey Group I playoff game Tuesday afternoon.

Gavin Burns opened the scoring a little less than midway through the first half, before the Warriors took complete control with a pair of goals in the final 10 minutes of the opening stanza. Noureddine Bedderi blasted a poor clearance into goal before Bedderi slotted inside the left post off a pass from Tyler Brown to give seventh-seeded Wildwood a 3-0 lead at the break.

“The boys just didn’t lay off the gas pedal. They smelled blood in the water,” Wildwood coach Sal Zampirri said. “We came out very hot. We had a lot of support here from the school and the town and that got the boys nice and juiced up. They were flying and they took advantage of the half going our way.”

In the second half, Bedderi finished inside the right post from the left flank after collecting a ball from Burns, before Burns again fed Bedderi at the top of the penalty area before the Algerian native made three wonderful touches and used the help of a deflection by a Maple Shade back to hit the upper right corner goal.

Bedderi, already Wildwood’s single-season goals leader, increased his total to 36 to go with 10 assists.

“He always finds his way,” Zampirri said. “We knew today they were going to try to take him out of the game so we told him to try to wait one or two more passes for things to open up for him and he executed to perfection. Then in the latter end of the game when things got a little sloppy, he was able to pick up the ball early like he usually does and the rest is history with him.”

The win improved Wildwood to 15-3-1, adding to the program record total for wins in a season. And Wildwood senior goalkeeper Broc Denke, already the program’s leader in career goalkeeping wins, set a new program record for goalkeeping wins in a season. The shutout was his sixth of the season.

Denke got help from defenders Ahmed Djellal, Tyler Brown and Burke Fitzsimons and center defensive midfielder Kelan Miller on the clean sheet, not an easy task against a Maple Shade side that features a 32-goal scorer in Jose Vivas Roque.

In addition, the result gave Wildwood its first home state playoff victory. Last season’s Wildwood team won the program’s first state playoff game, but that was away from home at Buena.

Wildwood advances to play No. 2 seed Woodstown, which was a 6-1 winner over No. 15 Clayton in its tournament opener. That game will be played Friday.

Woodstown edged Wildwood, 2-0, in the second round of last year’s tournament.

“That’s a best-case scenario for us because it’s someone we’ve seen in the past,” Zampirri said. “They’re a much bigger school than we are, they have a strong program with a great coach and great players, but I know our boys are extra hungry to play that game.”