The Rancocas Valley Red Devils soccer team faced off against the Moorestown Quakers under the lights on Monday. It was their senior night and the fans packed the stadium. The atmosphere was crazy for a Monday night. Many of the fans in the stands were saying it was their first soccer game. The game did not disappoint.

It got off to a fast start when senior Jaylil Melvin scored the first goal of the game giving RV the early lead. Then the play slowed down going back and forth, then with around seven minutes left Moorestown got a penalty kick and scored, tying up the game. This did not halt the fierce gameplay from RV; as the last minute wound down in the first half, the offense found Melvin open again. RV went into the half with a 2-1 lead.

The second half was much quieter with some missed opportunities but a lack of execution. As the game neared the end both teams got more aggressive. With two minutes left Melvin again scored after facing the Moorestown goalie one-on-one. This solidified the lead for RV to 3-1. 

Towards the end of the game, one of the Moorestown players began shoving some RV players, but no RV players took the bait.

“It’s my senior night and I played a great game, scoring three goals” Melvin said following the game. He was arguably the star of the night, scoring a hat-trick of goals.

Fellow senior Bryan Amador felt great after the game he said, “Team played great. Loved the intensity today.” He also gave props to the subs for coming to play when the starters had to rest.

The players and coaches are fired up after two wins to start off the season hopefully showing further success for later on in the season.

“Boys stepped up tonight. It was nice to see a full team effort, “ Coach Petras said after the game. “Jaliyl was a highlight reel, scoring three of his four opportunities. Very excited about the win.”

Unfortunately the team was handed their first loss at Delran on Wednesday. Delran, currently ranked number 14 in the state, has now outscored its first four opponents 13-1, according to NJ.com. 

The team takes on Burlington township tonight at home.