Voorhees' field hockey team has enjoyed plenty of postseason success over the years. Unfortunately, the Vikings have also endured some heartbreaking moments along the way.
Fourth-seeded Voorhees came up a little short in Saturday night's 1-0 loss to top-seeded Johnson in the North 2, Group 2 semifinals in Clark. The Vikes (14-4) had their five-game win streak snapped with the loss, their second to Johnson (18-4) in the last two years.
Voorhees dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to Johnson in last year's sectional final played over two days due to poor weather and field conditions. First-year coach Taylor Webb's team was seeking the Hunterdon County school's first championship since 2006 when the Vikes went to the Group 3 final.
Senior forward Amanda Wnorowski scored the winning goal for Johnson off a penalty corner with 11 minutes left before halftime. Senior forward Nicole Imbriaco assisted on the game-winner, just like she did a year ago in the title game.
Voorhees goalie Kimmie Pianucci recorded 14 saves in her final high school game. The outstanding keeper recorded nine shutouts this season and held opposing teams to one goal or fewer in 17 of the team's 18 games. Only Bernards, which lost 4-3 to Voorhees in the semifinals, scored more than one goal against the Vikes.
Johnson, which won its only two sectional titles in 2008 and 2010, will host third-seeded Rumson in Tuesday's championship game. Voorhees was trying to give the Skyland Conference five teams in sectional finals, joining Bridgewater-Raritan, Hunterdon Central, Montgomery and Warren Hills.
Voorhees (14-4) 0 0 -- 0
Johnson (18-4) 1 0 -- 1
Scoring
First half -- J, Amanda Wnorowski, 14th, (Nicole Imbriaco).
Shots -- Voorhees 4; Johnson 15.
Saves -- Kimmie Pianucci 14 (V); Becky Brattole 4 (J).
Taking down Johnson is no easy task.
ReplyDelete15-4 shots says it all.