NJSIAA North Jersey sectional preview

The cutoff date for the upcoming NJSIAA sectional field hockey playoffs came and went on Wednesday, Oct. 19. Here is a look at the sections involving teams in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex areas. Official pairings and seeds will be announced in the next few days.

Teams with sub-.500 records may be added to sections that do not have at least eight teams with .500 records or better.

Preliminary rounds schedule is as follows: Wednesday, Oct. 26 (Group 4); Thursday, Oct. 27 (Group 1); Friday, Oct. 28 (Group 2) and Saturday, Oct. 29 (Group 3).

Second-round action is scheduled for: Monday, Oct. 31 (Group 4); Tuesday, Nov. 1 (Group 1); Wednesday, Nov. 2 (Group 2) and Thursday, Nov. 3 (Group 3). The semifinals are slated for Friday, Nov. 4 (Groups 1 and 4) and Saturday, Nov. 5 (Groups 2 and 3).

The championship games in all sections will be played Monday, Nov. 7 (Groups 1 and 4) and Tuesday, Nov. 8 (Groups 2 and 3). The state semifinals are Thursday, Nov. 10 and the Group finals will be contested on Sunday, Nov. 13 at Toms River East.

Records are as of the cutoff.

North 1

Group 4

Contenders: 1-Bridgewater-Raritan (14-3); 2-Montclair (7-3-3).

Rest of the field: 3-Westfield (8-5-1); 4-Randolph (8-6-1). 

On the bubble: Phillipsburg (6-7); Roxbury (6-7-1); Ridge (6-9-1).

Breakdown: Bridgewater-Raritan is the heavy favorite to claim its seventh straight sectional championship under coach Kathie DeBonis. Montclair, which has played both Oak Knoll and West Essex in recent days, won the title last year. Bridgewater-Raritan claimed the North 2 title. Phillipsburg reached the semifinals last year and beat Vernon, 8-1, but the Stateliners were disqualified from the title game because of playing too many games.

Group 3

Contenders: 1-High Point (15-0); 2-West Milford (14-1); 3-Wayne Hills (13-3-1); 4-Northern Highlands (13-3-1).

Rest of the field: 5-Vernon (13-3); 6-Lakeland (11-5); 7-Passaic Valley (9-6-2); 8-Montville (7-5).

Breakdown: High Point will be the top seed and is seeking the program’s sixth sectional title and first since 2002. Coach Bev Keur’s Wildcats lost, 4-3 in overtime, to West Morris in last year’s title game. Wayne Hills, under coach Jen Badami, beat High Point in the 2009 quarterfinals. Vernon is looking for its Sussex County record ninth title and first since 1996, after a trip to the 2010 finals in Group 4.

Group 2

Contenders: 1-West Essex (15-1); 2-Ramsey (14-2-1); 3-Chatham (12-3-1).

Rest of the field: 4-Wallkill Valley (12-3); 5-Madison (10-3); 6-Jefferson (9-3-1); 7-Newton (7-5-1); 8-Parsippany (8-6).

On the bubble: Pope John (6-8); River Dell (5-7-2).

Breakdown: West Essex has won a staggering 29 sectional crowns and 14 state titles in the program’s illustrious history. Coach Jill Cosse’s Knights are the overwhelming favorites this year. Madison defeated Wallkill Valley, 4-0, on Sept. 16. Chatham beat Newton, 5-1, on the same day. Wallkill, the last Sussex County school to win a sectional title in 2006, owns a pair of 1-0 overtime wins over Newton, which has won eight sectional titles and none since 1986.

Group 1

Contenders: 1-Belvidere (12-3); 2-Mountain Lakes (11-4); 3-Pequannock (9-3-3).

Rest of the field: 4-Boonton (9-5); 5-Whippany Park (8-7); 6-Morristown-Beard (7-6).

On the bubble: Pompton Lakes (7-9); Montclair Kimberley (6-8); Glen Ridge (5-8); North Warren (5-8-1).

Breakdown: Belvidere has a real good chance to claim its first sectional title since 1996. Coach Kristin Gaitan’s County Seaters fell, 2-1 on strokes, to Montclair Kimberley a year ago and 2-1 to Mountain Lakes in 2009. Mountain Lakes will be a tough out as well, as evidenced by a 2-1 win over Group 3 favorite High Point on Sept. 23.

North 2

Group 4

Contenders: 1-Montgomery (12-2-1); 2-East Brunswick (12-4); 3-West Windsor-North (10-2).

Rest of the field: 4-South Brunswick (10-6); 5-Middletown North (6-4-1); 6-Hunterdon Central (9-7); 7-Sayreville (8-7); 8-Manalapan (6-6-2).

Breakdown: Montgomery has had a solid season, including wins over Voorhees, 1-0 in overtime, on Sept. 26. Hunterdon Central is back in the postseason after a disappointing three-win campaign in 2010. Coach Jenn Sponzo’s teams have captured five of the program’s 11 sectional titles, the last in 2007. West Windsor-North was a runner-up in 2010. East Brunswick, which has never won a sectional title, beat South Brunswick, 1-0, in the Greater Middlesex semifinals on Tuesday.

Group 3

Contenders: 1-Freehold Boro (15-0); 2-Hopewell Valley (12-0); 3-Warren Hills (15-1); 4-West Morris (13-1).

Rest of the field: 5-South Plainfield (14-2); 6-Princeton (9-4); 7-Cranford (7-6); 8-Middletown South (6-6).

On the bubble: Millburn (5-6-1); Morristown (6-7-1); Ocean Township (6-8).

Breakdown: Loaded section with defending section and Group 3 champion Freehold, led by all-world center midfielder Emily Wold (35 goals in 2011). Warren Hills knows Wold well, having defeated Freehold, 1-0 in overtime, to win the title in 2009 when she was a sophomore. The Blue Streaks were derailed in a bid to repeat with a 4-3 overtime loss on strokes to Hopewell Valley in last year’s semifinals. Hopewell Valley then lost, 1-0, to Freehold in the title game. West Morris shifts over from North 1 where it defeated High Point for the championship in 2010.

Group 2

Contenders: 1-Johnson (13-2); 2-Holmdel (11-2); 3-Rumson-Fair Haven (11-3); 4-Voorhees (10-3).

Rest of the field: 5-Bernards (10-4); 6-Red Bank Catholic (9-6-2); 7-St. John Vianney (8-6-1); 8-Summit (7-6-1); 9-Matawan (7-7).

Breakdown: Always a strong section with defending champion Johnson as the favorite. Coach Katrina Anderson’s squad upset Voorhees, 2-1 in double-overtime, in last year’s title game played over two days due to poor weather and field conditions. Voorhees is bidding for its seventh sectional crown and first since 2006. Bernards is closing in on another Skyland Conference Valley Division title. Coach Sarah Falzarano’s squad reached the semis in 2010.

Group 1

Contenders: 1-Shore (15-0); 2-Oak Knoll (14-0).

Rest of the field: 3-Florence (12-3); 4-Kent Place (11-3-1); 5-Pingry (11-4); 6-South Hunterdon (10-5); 7-Bordentown (10-6); 8-Saint Rose (7-5-1); 9-Ranney (6-5-1); 10-Metuchen (8-8).

Breakdown: Strong section with defending TOC champion Oak Knoll, the state’s top team, and 2009 Group 1 champion Shore. Oak Knoll beat Pingry, 3-2, for the 2010 championship. Kent Place, Pingry and Florence, which features the state’s leading scorer in Lexie Smith (46 goals), are also strong teams this season. South Hunterdon has won 14 sectional titles in its fine history, none since 2002.