NJSIAA Preview: Southern Looks to Run It Back vs. Cherry Hill East
NJSIAA South Jersey Group IV Championship
Friday, Nov. 14, 2025
At Cherry Hill East High School
No. 5 Southern at No. 3 Cherry Hill East, 6 p.m.
Southern at a Glance
Head Coach: John Nacarlo
Record: 15-6-2
Last Sectional Championship: 2024
Last Sectional Final Appearance: 2024
Road to the Final
First Round: Senior Nick Leiriao scored two of Southern’s three goals in the second half and also finished with two assists to help the Rams pull away with a 5-2 win over No. 12 Williamstown after entering the second half in a 2-2 deadlock. Senior Brody Nacarlo scored both of Southern’s goals in the first half and Leiriao assisted a goal by senior Caden Schweigart – who also assisted both goals by Leiriao – to cap the scoring.
Quarterfinals: Nacarlo was again the spark for Southern, scoring two goals in the second half off assists from Schweigart to lead the Rams to a 2-0 road win over No. 4 Egg Harbor.
Semifinals: Leiriao capped an epic overtime battle by knocking in a corner kick from Nacarlo in the 15th minute of overtime, sending Southern to the sectional final with a 5-4 win at No. 1 Washington Township. The top-seeded Minutemen tied the game on a free kick with two seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime after Southern erased a 3-1 deficit in the second half with three unanswered goals. Schweigart scored the first Southern goal of the game off a corner kick by Nacarlo and the two teams went into halftime tied, 1-1. Schweigart scored again to cut the deficit to 3-2, then set up Leiriao’s first goal to tie the game, 3-3. Senior Tyler Houghton gave Southern the lead back with a diving header in the 70th minute.
Players to Watch
Brody Nacarlo, Sr., Midfield
Caden Schweigart, Sr., Forward
Nick Leiriao, Sr., Midfield
Colton Davis, Sr., Midfield
Nick Staiger, Sr., Defense
Tyler Houghton, Sr., Midfield
Jon Mandell, Sr., Defense
Michael King, Fr., Midfield
Kyle Schoepfer, Sr., Defense
David Reyes, Jr., Defense
Kyle Sininsky, Jr., Goalkeeper
Cherry Hill East at a Glance
Head Coach: Mike Melograna
Record: 15-5-1
Last Sectional Championship: 1998
Last Sectional Final Appearance: 2020
Road to the Final
First Round: Mason Fowler posted a hat trick and Cherry Hill East exploded for five goals in the second half to erase a two-goal halftime deficit and notch a 5-2 win over No. 14 Rancocas Valley. Felipe Kanacri added a goal and two assists in the win.
Quarterfinals: Cruz Candray scored the game-winning goal in the final two minutes and the Cougars pulled out a 2-1 win over No. 11 Lenape. Candray also assisted a first-half goal by Shawn Tishey.
Semifinals: Tishey headed in the golden goal in overtime and Cherry Hill East outlasted No. 7 Eastern, 2-1, to reach the sectional final for the first time since the modified 2020 postseason. Nolan Perry got the Cougars on the scoreboard with the game’s first goal in the first half before Colin Fredericks tied the game with an Eastern equalizer, setting up the winning by Tishey.
Southern junior Brody Nacarlo during the Freehold Township vs. Southern Shore Conference Soccer Match at Freehold Township HS in Freehold, NJ. 9/4/24 Photo Credit: Tom Smith | tspsportsimages.com
A year after snapping into top form just in time for the NJSIAA Tournament, Southern is back at it in 2025. The Rams did not enter this season with the proven firepower that last year’s senior-led team had and the first part of the season was a process in finding the combination that works with the handful of returning starters combined with the new wave of talent.
Near the midway point of the season, the Rams found the formula, most notably with a move from center back to striker for senior Caden Schweigart, who has been Southern’s most dangerous scoring threat since the positional switch. During the state tournament, Schweigart has become adept at setting up goal, as he has racked up five assists in three tournament wins after ending the tournament with just two assists in Southern’s previous 20 games.
Schweigart has also scored three goals, while senior midfielders Brody Nacarlo and Nick Leiriao have each converted four goals during the tournament, including back-to-back braces by Nacarlo in the first two rounds and a huge two-goal performance by Leiriao in the semifinal win at No. 1 Washington Township.
The trio of Nacarlo, Leiriao and Schweigart has carried the scoring for Southern this season after all three were starters on last year’s team in different role. Nacarlo was part of the attack led by Shore Sports Insider Player of the Year Aiden Donnelly, while both Leiriao and Schweigart played on the back line.
Just as those three were role players on Southern’s first ever Group IV championship team a year ago, the Rams have benefitted from unsung contributors in 2025. Senior Colton Davis has controlled the middle of the field, Tyler Houghton scored a go-ahead goal at Washington Township and has been a secondary scorer throughout the season, and Nick Staiger, David Reyes, Kyle Schoepfer and Jon Mandell have led the defensive effort in front of goalkeeper Kyl Sininsky, who played the best game of his season in the 2-0 quarterfinal win at Egg Harbor Township, according to Rams coach John Nacarlo.
One difference between last year’s championship team and this year’s group is something over which neither team had any control. Last year, the bracket fell into place for Southern, which did not have to leave its home field until the Group IV final at Franklin High School despite being a No. 4 seed in the bracket. This year, the Rams are seeded just one spot worse, but have taken to the road in two of the first three rounds and will again be on the road Friday.
Their opponent will be a team that has two sectional championships in Group IV to its credit, but has not won one since 1998. Cherry Hill East has been lost in the shuffle in a South Jersey Group IV bracket dominated by the likes of Washington Township, Toms River North, Cherokee, Rancocas Valley and others over the last two decades. This year, however, the Cougars have been riding a similar wave to the one Southern rode last year. Cherry Hill East has played all of its games at home, with No. 7 Eastern upsetting its way to the semifinal and giving the Cougars a home game, which they won, 2-1, in overtime.
The two teams have had similar seasons, with Cherry Hill East owning the homefield edge and Southern owning the edge in championship experience from a year ago. The 5-4 win at Washington Township was one of the performances of the year by any Shore Conference team and is a shining example of why Southern will be so hard to bury over the next 24 hours to eight days.
The Pick: Southern, 2-1
