So Moehlmann, who often speaks softly, raised the decibel considerably in giving his team an early-season tongue-lashing.

"I said that we had rankinitis," said Moehlmann, using a word that won't be found in Webster's dictionary but means a team that basically is full of itself due to a high ranking.

"We weren't playing to that level," Moehlmann said.

And an East team that occupied a high place in a few early-season South Jersey rankings, including The Inquirer's, didn't have that problem too long for one simple reason - too many losses.

After winning its first three games, East went 0-3-1 in the next four. This was a humbling time for a team with high expectations.

At that point, Moehlmann, one of the best tactical coaches in South Jersey, made some changes on the field and the players made an attitude adjustment.

Since that forgettable four-game stretch, the Cougars have gone 8-0-1, including yesterday's 3-0 win over Shawnee in a South Jersey Group 4 opening-round playoff game.

With defending state Group 4 champion Rancocas Valley moving from South to Central Jersey, the southern portion of the bracket is wide open.

And East, which faces Lenape in Friday's quarterfinal, has as good a chance of winning the bracket as any other team.

"I was really upset with them earlier this season because I felt we had an attitude problem concerning the rankings," Moehlmann said. "Now things are coming along."

That's an understatement.

East, led by one of South Jersey's top keepers in Michael Randall, has allowed two goals in its last 10 games, going 8-0-2 during that span.

One of the key moves was switching Brian Reynolds from a central defender to a center midfielder. Reynolds has brought some much-appreciated punch to the offense.

He was the catalyst yesterday, setting up the first goal when he was taken down inside the penalty area just 27 seconds into the game. Kevin Hansen converted the penalty kick, and the Cougars never looked back.

Reynolds scored the second goal, and the way the Cougars have been playing defense, the 2-0 halftime lead appeared to be safe.

It might be too easy to say that the Cougars, who had an all-senior starting lineup yesterday, had started to feel a sense of urgency during the losing times, but that is exactly what happened.

"I hope to play in college, but if not, I realized that time was slipping away," Reynolds said.

His classmates realized the same thing, so the players decided to forget about the rankings and concentrate on playing soccer.

And it's an interesting style. East is big, physical, and quick, with a short passing game that is well suited for its turf field.

This appears to be a team of interchangeable parts. No one is very flashy, and everyone seems to contribute. Brian Thompson, among the biggest and most physical members of the squad, has nine goals to lead the team.

"We don't have the superstars that a team like RV [Rancocas Valley] has, but we have a lot of solid players and we have been playing well together," Reynolds said.

Shawnee, which played without top scoring threat Greg Biggiani, who had been ill for several days, finished 9-9-1.

"I think that Karl did a good job," Shawnee coach Brian Gibney said about his coaching counterpart. "That team was ready to go."

It's been ready, ever since that early-season bout of rankinitis was cured.

Shawnee 0 0 - 0

Cherry Hill East 2 1 - 3

Goals: C-Kevin Hansen (PK), Brian Reynolds, Ben Gerstein.

Saves: S-Mike Hartmann 5, Chris Miller 2; C-Michael Randall 4.