Sempervive’s hat trick powers New Egypt
NEW EGYPT >> Chase Sempervive gives the New Egypt High varsity boys soccer team something all of its opponents wish they had — a proven scorer.
The senior striker is destined to go down as the Warriors’ best scorer of all time.
His hat trick Monday not only helped New Egypt defeat Burlington County Scholastic League Freedom Division foe Westampton Tech, 4-2, but it also moved Sempervive into a secondplace tie with Nick Sample for second place on the school’s all-time boys’ scoring list.
With five more goals, the prolific scorer will surpass all-time boys’ leader Travis Ward, who is currently playing professionally with the Greenville (S.C.) Triumph.
And once Sempervive scores his 78th goal, he will become the school’s all-time overall leader, surpassing girls’ top scorer Casey McKenzie, who had 77 goals in her career.
“I’d really like to hit 100,” Sempervive said when pressed for an ultimate scoring goal. “At least, then I’d be the first one.”
Seven games into the 2019 season, that may not be so far fetched because Sempervive puts up points like few others.
When not scoring, he’s often assisting on Warriors’ goals. He entered the season with 28 career assists and added on another versus the Panthers, giving him 31.
“Chase’s biggest area of improvement has been his leadership,” New Egypt’s fifth-year head coach Matt Carroll said. “He’s making the players around him better, and that’s really helping.”
Each game Sempervive has his own areas he aims to improve. Against Westampton, he decided to sharpen his free kicking. When his team got an opportunity with 22:02 left in the first half, he took the restart and put it behind Panthers goalkeeper Brendan Gindhart.
“I hadn’t been doing as well as I would like on free kicks. I was probably thinking about it too much,” Sempervive said. “So, on that one, I was just trying to do my thing. Strike it and not think about it.”
That took the pressure off everyone on his team as seen five-and-a-half minutes later when Sempervive deflected a ball, which his classmate Connor McKenzie was able to knock in for a 2-0 lead.
Then, just before halftime, McKenzie, the younger brother of Casey, returned the favor, leading Sempervive on his 70th career goal.
Things got a little tighter in the second half when Westampton Tech’s Kristofer Torres put a pass from his teammate, Jerdell Thibou, behind Warriors senior goalkeeper Daniel Blomgren with 27:29 left.
But Sempervive had the answer when he knocked a ball off a defender and made a dart to go to complete his hat trick by tucking a shot inside the far post with 21:50 left.
“I’m just trying for one goal at a time,” Sempervive said. “I’m doing what I can to help the team and adapting to what I have to be.”
That is clearly an offensive threat who can help his younger teammates learn from their mistakes through the skill he displays whenever he gets the ball.
It was enough to make up for the penalty kick Torres added with 5:05 left and more than enough to help New Egypt improve to 5-1-1. WestamptonT.(3-6) 0 2 — 2 NewEgypt (5-1-1) 3 1 — 4
Goals: KTorres 2 (WT), Sempervive 3, McKenzie (NE); Assists: Thibou (WT), McKenzie, Sempervive (NE). Shots: 6 (WT), 13 (NE); Saves: Gindhart 8 (WT), Blomgren 4 (NE).