NJSIAA: Central's loss doesn't spoil fantastic run

Hunterdon Central's field hockey team wasn't pleased with the outcome on Thursday, but the Red Devils are proud of a season that ended with a championship during one of the greatest comeback stories.

Senior right inner Rebecca Jaeger pulled Central within one goal late in the first half, but it wasn't enough to fuel what would have been an improbable comeback in a 4-1 loss to Bridgewater-Raritan in a Group 4 semifinal contest at Governor Livingston High School in Berkeley Heights.

Central (14-10), a No. 6 seed, claimed the North 2 sectional title, the program's first since 2007, just three days earlier to set up a third meeting with Skyland Conference nemesis Bridgewater-Raritan (21-3), who had beaten the Red Devils, 7-1 and 4-1, in regular season meetings.

Coach Kathie DeBonis and the Panthers advance to meet 12-time defending champion Eastern for a seventh straight year in the Group 4 final on Sunday at Toms River East. Bridgewater-Raritan, the North 1 sectional champion, has now won 10 straight over Hunterdon Central dating to 2007. Central's last win was 1-0 on Sept. 10 in a regular season meeting that year, which ended with a 2-1 loss to Bridgewater-Raritan in the Group 4 semis. The Devils have also been outscored, 44-6, in those 10 losses.

"Hunterdon Central, for me personally, when I started coaching, they were the team I aspired to be," said DeBonis, whose teams have won seven straight sectional titles dating to 2005. "Going back to [former coach] Sandy Chronic, they were what we tried to emulate. I have an amazing respect for that program. If you want to be the best you study the best. This program wouldn't be where it is if it wasn't for [Central] beating us all those years."

The Hunterdon County school got back onto the state map this season, following back-to-back losing campaigns in 2009 and '10. A year ago, Central coach Jenn Sponzo's team went 3-12-1 and scored a total of 11 goals.

"It's a humble feeling to go [3-12-1]," said Sponzo, the program's winningest coach who captured her sixth sectional title this season. "Going into this season the girls worked hard every day and worked to get that respect [for the program] back."

The Red Devils trailed 2-0 early after junior forward Rachel Yaney popped in one off the pads of Central goalie Fran Orella for her team-leading 25th goal with 19:54 left before halftime. The Panthers got their first off a corner -- a rocket shot into the right corner by Taylor Mygatt -- just under 8 minutes into the contest.

But Central hung tough the rest of the way and made it a one-goal game when Jaeger redirected a ball from senior forward Kim Engelhart inside the right post with 6:27 to go before the break. Suddenly, the Red Devils had the momentum.

But Bridgewater-Raritan got it back early in the second half. Senior midfielder Kayla Sullivan, who played a fantastic game, all but sealed it when she converted a penalty stroke with 23:14 left in the game. The stroke was awarded when a Central defender stopped a shot with her body near the goal line.

Mackenzie Knouse put the finishing touches on the win with an unassisted goal near the six-minute mark.

"Until the stroke I thought we kept it very respectable," Sponzo said.

Central just couldn't quite duplicate it's solid play from the last 10 minutes of the first half in the final 30 minutes.

"After halftime we realized that this is it and we've got to put two goals in to win," Jaeger said. "Maybe we were trying to focus more on putting the ball [in the cage] than working more as a team."

Jaeger was inspired by her team's comeback this season to get within one game of playing for a Group 4 title after a pair of rare down years at the Flemington-based school.

"I could've only dreamed it after last season," she said. "I'm absolutely proud of how far we've come from last year. We all had the teamwork and desire to be here. Everybody here wants to win. It's what helped us get this far."

Hunterdon Central (14-10)               1                   0             --   1
Bridgewater-Raritan (21-3)              2                   2             --   4

Scoring

First half -- BR, Taylor Mygatt, 11th, (Kayla Sullivan), 22:17; BR, Rachel Yaney, 25th, 19:54; HC, Rebecca Jaeger, 4th, (Kim Engelhart), 6:27.

Second half -- BR, Sullivan, 6th, (penalty stroke), 23:14; BR, Mackenzie Knouse, 2nd, 6:09.

Shots -- Hunterdon Central 5; Bridgewater-Raritan 12.

Saves -- Fran Orella 7, Emily Zengel 1 (defensive) (HC); Christen Piersanti 2, Emily Howart 1 (defensive), Nicole Braun 1 (defensive), (BR).

Penalty corners -- Hunterdon Central 8; Bridgewater-Raritan 19.