Cherry Hill East's boys soccer postseason lasted four days and two penalty shootouts.

The sixth-seeded Cougars rallied twice to beat 11th-seeded Absegami 3-2 in penalty kicks in the South Jersey Coaches Cup first round on Friday, Oct. 23. Three days later, third-seeded Sterling ended East's run with a 2-1 quarterfinal victory, also decided in PKs, on Monday, Oct. 26.

The Absegami comeback

East (10-5-1 entering the tournament) hosted Absegami (15-3) in a first-round matchup that swung back and forth. Absegami's Owen Torres scored the opening goal, and the visitors carried a 1-0 lead into halftime, according to Eastside, the Cherry Hill East student newspaper.

Mikah Wright tied it in the second half. Eastside reported that Jesse Bierig set up Wright's equalizer, though NJ.com's recap credited both Wright and Bierig with goals without noting an assist.

Absegami captain Steven Deviney restored the visitors' lead late in the second half, making it 2-1 with fewer than 10 minutes left in regulation. East needed an answer. Dylan Zane delivered the pass, and Bierig sent the ball over the defense and into the top-left corner to force overtime, Eastside reported.

Two scoreless 10-minute overtime periods sent the game to penalties.

Captain and goalkeeper Alex Miller, who recorded seven saves through regulation and overtime, blocked Absegami's third and fifth penalty attempts. Shawn Tishey, Charlie Lloyd and Yaroslav Pop converted for East. Artsiom Rasolka buried the clincher to send the Cougars through, 4-3 in the shootout.

Sterling ends the run

East traveled to Somerdale on Oct. 26 to face Sterling (13-2-2), the tournament's third seed. Sterling had advanced by beating 14th-seeded Rancocas Valley 2-1 in overtime in its own first-round game, NJ.com reported.

The quarterfinal followed a familiar script. Sterling senior forward Connor Maenner scored his 14th goal of the season in regulation, and junior goalkeeper Tyler Lucier made three saves in the shootout as Sterling won 3-2 in penalty kicks, NJ.com reported.

Wright scored East's lone goal. Miller made eight saves in the loss.

East dropped to 10-6-1 on the season. The Cougars had won both previous Coaches Cup meetings with Sterling since 2022, according to NJ.com.