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By Mike Ballard CAMDEN - The Alvernia College Crusaders captured the championship of the Sixth Annual Cialella Soccer Classic here Saturday by posting a 5-0 victory over Delaware Valley College in the opening game of the night. Wesley College, which also had a shot at the title entering the night in the mixer format, tied host Rutgers-Camden, 1-1, in the nightcap to finish second. Alvernia posted a 2-0 record over the two-day event, while Wesley went 1-0-1. Rutgers-Camden (0-1-1) finished third and Delaware Valley (0-2) was fourth. The Crusaders placed four players on the all-tournament team, including Offensive MVP Zach Naylon (Shillington, PA/Governor Mifflin, DE) and Defensive MVP Mike Allegra (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan). Alvernia’s other all-tournament team members were Cody Gambler (Mohrsville, PA/Schuylkill Valley) and Tim Marcinek (Philadelphia, PA/LaSalle). The title marked the first Cialella Soccer Classic championship for Alvernia, which finished as the runnerup in 2004 to Rutgers-Camden. Rutgers-Camden returns to action Tuesday when the Scarlet Raptors host Albright College at 7 p.m. Alvernia 5, Delaware Valley College 0 The Crusaders raced to a 3-0 halftime lead and went on to outshoot the Aggies, 21-1. Sophomore Tyler Absalom (Fleetwood, PA/Fleetwood) scored the lone goal Alvernia needed on a penalty kick at 6:24. His shot followed a takedown in the box. Junior Cory Lush (Reading, PA/Reading) and sophomore David Schaeffer (Pottstown, PA/Pottstown) scored first-half goals at 17:28 and 36:12, respectively, for the Crusaders, assisted by Marcinek and freshman Adam Lush (Reading, PA/Muhlenburg). Alvernia added unassisted second-half goals by junior Nathan Pletscher (Oley, PA/Oley Valley) and Marcinek. Alvernia improved to 2-1-1 overall, while Delaware Valley fell to 0-4. Rutgers-Camden 1, Wesley 1 In the nightcap, Wesley and Rutgers-Camden scored their goals within 27 seconds of each other late in the second half and played to a 1-1 tie. Rutgers-Camden held a slim 21-19 advantage in shots and had a 7-3 edge in corner kicks. For the Wolverines, senior Joey Spino (Pennsauken, NJ/Camden Catholic) collected a loose ball in the box and broke a 0-0 tie with only 1:56 remaining in regulation. Had the Wolverines held onto that lead, they would have won the title on the tie-breaker of fewest goals allowed in the tournament. Moments later, however, the Scarlet Raptors notched the tying goal when junior Rodney Guishard (Mays Landing, NJ/Oakcrest) headed home a drive into the box by senior Michael Reed (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East). Guishard scored his team-leading third goal of the season with 1:29 remaining in regulation. Rutgers-Camden senior goalie David Cunningham (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern) made seven saves, while Wesley senior Edward Hunt (Collegeville, PA/Perkiomen Valley) had eight saves. Wesley stands at 2-0-1 overall, while Rutgers-Camden is 1-2-1. Rutgers-Camden returns to action Tuesday when the Scarlet Raptors host Albright College at 7 p.m. Photos by Hugh Tsung
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