For the last five seasons, the Minutemen have been one of the state’s most successful boys soccer teams.

In each of those seasons, the Minutemen dominated play through the regular season en route to winning the South Jersey Group 4 title. They went on to capture back-to-back state championships in 2014 and 2015 and capped last year with their third crown.

Their reign came to an end this fall, falling to Egg Harbor Township 1-0 in the semifinal round of the sectional tournament. Nevertheless, the team made strides as the season progressed and will take those experiences into the 2020 season looking to return to the top of the Olympic Conference American Division as well as South Jersey Group 4.

“This season was a great success,” coach Shane Snyder said. “After losing a ton of talent and leadership to graduation, this group banded together and formed a special bond.

“They competed very hard in practice and in games. They played together as a team and were very selfless. They embodied everything we try to teach – teamwork, commitment, hard work, drive, and toughness while having a lot of fun along the way.”

The Minutemen finished 13-7-2 overall, winning five of their last six games prior to the sectional semifinals.

“Last year’s guys were great. We tried not to compare ourselves to the team that went 25-1 a year ago because we are a different team,” said J.R. Cima ‘21. “We’ve had guys step up in situations where you wouldn’t expect those guys to come through for the team like that, but that’s what this year was about – grinding out wins.”

“The coaching has been great. Every year is a new team and Coach Snyder has been great this year trying to figure out our strengths and weaknesses, different lineups just to find the right matchup where we can put the best product on the field. He always keeps things positive as well. You’ll never see him down in the dumps because every day is a new day and another game to look forward to.”

Prior to the start of the state tournament, the Minutemen earned the No. 11 seed in the South Jersey Coaches Tournament. They defeated then-unbeaten Haddon Township in the first round and bounced Egg Harbor Township in the quarterfinals.

The run came to an end in the semifinals as the Minutemen fell to Clearview in the penalty kicks after finishing overtime tied at 2-2.

Qualifying as the No. 6 seed in South Jersey Group 4, the Minutemen went right to work. In the first round, Justin Bautista ‘20 scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Olympic American rival Cherokee.

In the quarterfinals against Kingsway, Mason Regan ‘20 scored the only goal.

The season came to an end in the semifinals, falling to the same Egg Harbor Township team they defeated in the Coaches Tournament.

“The team was led by a very strong senior class that will be greatly missed,” Snyder said.

“The key to our success was really everyone pulling the rope. If one guy doesn’t pull then everyone falls over,” Cima said. “Everyone has a part on this team and it’s not about one individual, especially this season where we’ve needed help from every aspect of the team.

“Our leadership came from everywhere. Our captains – Luca Lockhart ‘20, Justin Bautista and Ryan Cleary ‘20 – obviously played a big role, but everyone pushes each other and it’s really been a group effort. The team atmosphere was always positive. We liked to keep it light, but when we needed to get to work we got that done, too.”