Galloway, N.J. –
Stephanie Allocco has been an assistant softball coach at Stockton for five seasons, but she has been a girls soccer coach at Moorestown High School for over four times that long. The South Jersey Soccer Coaches Association recently honored Allocco, who is fighting a four-year bout with cancer, by renaming its SJSCA Courageous Athlete Award as the
Steph Allocco Courage and Perseverance Award.
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Last week, Elkin Bonilla-Hernandez of Seneca High School and Sarah Patton, fittingly of Moorestown High School, were selected by the SJSCA as the male and female recipients respectively of the newly-named award.
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Allocco has influenced an entire generation of teens in 21 years on the
Moorestown soccer sidelines. "Stuffy (Allocco's nickname) has been a big part of our success over the years. She is not only our freshman coach but a mentor to all of our players and more importantly, a friend," said Moorestown head girls soccer coach Bill Mulvihill.
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Allocco coaches the freshman team and assists with the varsity squad at Moorestown. In addition to her considerable exploits on the softball field, Allocco was a 1999 NJAC First Team and 1997 NJAC Second Team selection as a forward for Rowan University. A four-year letter winner for the Profs, she ranks third in Rowan history in goals (48) and points (113).
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During her time at Moorestown, Allocco, who is an only child, has dealt with the loss of both her parents plus her own cancer diagnosis four years ago. Allocco has immense support from the Moorestown athletic community and the Stockton softball family, with both groups rallying around her as she continues her clash against cancer.
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Allocco joined the Stockton softball coaching staff in 2016 following the hiring of her college teammate
Mavreen Hering as the head coach of the Ospreys. She has helped Stockton to 105 victories in four full seasons plus an abbreviated 2020 campaign in which the Ospreys played just one doubleheader before the remainder of the slate was canceled due to COVID-19.
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In addition to her soccer coaching duties at Moorestown, Allocco also coached softball at the school for 15 years before joining the Stockton staff.
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