Men's and Women's soccer off to strong start in 2023

VINELAND- Both soccer programs for RCSJ-Cumberland have kicked off the 2023 season and have got off to a good start. As it stands today, the women's program led by Head Coach Jason Hearn sit with a record of 1-1 with a 6-0 victory over Union College and a 1-0 close defeat to #6 Ocean County College. Meanwhile, the men have won 2 of their first 3 games and hold a 2-1 record. Head Coach John McClain has the Dukes over .500 for the first time since 2019. In 2019, the RCSJ-Cumberland Dukes would earn a spot in the Region 19 Championship game.

In the 1st game of the season for Dukes women's soccer, Kam Chisolm found the back of the net twice while teammate Jocelyn Rodriguez also scored two goals. Freshman duo Summer Nasatka and Taryn Richie would also score goals en route to a 6-0 win. Charisma Wilke also turned in a shutout performance. The Dukes would fall to Ocean County 1-0 in a hard fought matchup. Cumberland would put themselves in many positions to score but could not get a goal on the board.

After dropping the season opener to Ocean County, the Dukes men's team would win their next 2 games vs. Bucks County and Delaware County. Brandon Hoos and Ethan Spinnato scored the goals in the Dukes 2-1 win over Bucks County. Cumberland would have to come from behind to defeat Delaware County after falling behind 3-1. They would go on to outscore the Phantoms 4-0. Ty Powell would have a career game with 3 goals while Hoos and Jesse MacFarland also scored. The final score would end 5-3 in favor of the Dukes. 

Cumberland women's team will play at home this Sunday (9-10) at 1:30PM while the men travel to Raritan Valley on Saturday (9/9) at 12PM. . For all updates on Dukes soccer and all other athletic programs, follow us on all social media platforms (GoRCDukes).