The Moorestown Friends School Boys Soccer Team was crowned NJSIAA Non-Public B South Champions after defeating Wardlaw-Hartridge 4-1 at Wardlaw-Hartridge on November 7. 

The Foxes quickly managed to quiet any doubters after a goal from team captain Evan Schlotterbeck (’21) started a run that included fellow captain Matt D’Ottavi’s back-to-back goals to give MFS a 3-0 lead in just 12 minutes of play.

After a quick offensive start, the Foxes defense held strong and allowed Wardlaw-Hartridge’s only goal to come on a penalty kick in the second half.

The Foxes’ final goal to secure their win came towards the end of the second half when D’Ottavi set up a perfectly placed ball for Astin Galanis (’21) to tap into the net. 

These fast starts and dominant defensive performances are exactly what has been allowing this team to dominate throughout the tournament and get them to the NJSIAA Non-Public B Championship. The key to these performances, however, is the strong team chemistry among all of the players.

“There’s a lot of good moments within the team and I think it’s brought us all together collectively for this moment and for [the state championship],” D’Ottavi said when asked about how the team has bonded so well together. 

Like all of the other moments that D’Ottavi said has brought the team together throughout the season, there was something extra special for the team about this game. Not only was November 7 the sectional title game, but it was also Mikey Paznokas’s (’21) birthday.  

The team’s goalkeeper, Paznokas is an integral part of the Foxes’ success this season, recording 119 saves on the season, and his fellow teammates made sure that his birthday was a part of their win, as they sang happy birthday to him on the field after the game.

“Winning a championship anyways feels great. On my birthday is just a bonus,” said Paznokas. 

Bringing another title back to MFS has been the main goal for the Foxes all season.  Paznokas explained, “This is what we’ve been working for all season. This game proved that we can do anything.” 

“It’s amazing man,” said D’Ottavi. “It’s great for our seniors, it’s great for everyone on the team. Been working since August 12 for this and to cap it off with a championship is great.”

For seniors like Team Captain Cory Dennis (’20) who were able to capture a title in their final season with MFS, “It feels like nothing I can ever describe. It’s just amazing knowing I led a team to a championship, didn’t let down my team, my school, my family, my friends, anything like that. It’s just a great experience.”

As someone who has worked for all four years of his high school career to get to this point, Dennis’s message to underclassmen is to “just keep working. It’s all about having fun and it’ll come. Just keep working as hard as you can.” 

For Head Coach Mike Schlotterbeck, this is his third sectional title in the last five years for MFS. When asked about how it feels to be back in this position again, Schlotterbeck said, “It feels great. It’s a special group of guys. Every year’s a different journey, so the guys really deserve it and I’m really happy they were able to bring home a trophy.”

In what has been a historic season for the Foxes, Schlotterbeck said that what makes this team so great is that “a lot of them have known each other for a really long time, so there is great chemistry, and I think we’ve gotten better and better as a soccer team as the year’s gone on. We also played a really difficult schedule so I think our strength of schedule has really helped in big games like this.  I think we’re ready, and that’s a credit to the guys.”

As the Foxes look to close out their historic season with the school’s second state title, the first coming back in the 1979 season, they travel to Kean University on November 10 to take on Gill St. Bernard’s in the NJSIAA Non-Public B Championship at 5:30 p.m.