Rain wrecked havoc on a very light schedule last week, so not much movement in this week's Open Mike rankings.
The fourth annual Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex tournament commenced on Saturday with a pair of pigtail round games. In a bit of a stunner, as much as there can be when winless teams meet, Lenape Valley scored a 1-0 win over North Hunterdon. Sparta earned a 3-2 decision over North Warren in the other matchup.
I really thought caliber of competition would benefit North Hunterdon, which played a Lenape Valley squad that had scored just one goal in its previous eight games. Coach Stacy Ditze's Lions (0-8-1-) have just two goals this season.
In a big one on Saturday, Voorhees dropped a 3-0 decision to West Essex in an independent matchup. Kudos to the Vikings for making that one happen. It will only benefit second-year coach Taylor Webb's team down the road.
On another Voorhees note, longtime assistant coach Heidi Hintz is not with the team this season while she cares for her mother, who recently had a stroke. My best wishes to both. You won't find better people anywhere and I will miss seeing Heidi on the sideline this season.
On to the rankings:
1. Warren Hills (8-1) -- Blue Streaks went 2-0 last week, beating No. 6 Hackettstown, 6-1, before another tight win over Montgomery, 1-0, on Thursday. Senior forward/midfielder Niki Miller scored a goal and added four assists in the win over the Tigers to claim the overall points lead in the tri-county area. Junior forward Shannon Zignoli scored a goal in both victories -- her fourth and fifth of the season.
Up next: No. 10 Delaware Valley at home on Tuesday; No. 4 Phillipsburg at home on Thursday; Lenape Valley at home on Saturday in the HWS tournament.
2. Hunterdon Central (6-3) -- Red Devils followed up a 2-0 win over No. 4 Phillipsburg with a 2-1 win at Hillsborough on Thursday. Leading scorer Nicole Barrett scored in the win over the Raiders, as Central drew the No. 2 seed in the Hunterdon-Warren bracket for the HWS tournament.
Up next: Ridge at home on Thursday; Sparta at home on Saturday in the HWS tournament.
3. Voorhees (5-2-1) -- After three straight shutout victories, the Vikings were blanked in a 3-0 loss to state power West Essex at home on Saturday. Voorhees earned a 2-0 win over rival North Hunterdon -- its 26 straight over the Lions in their series -- and posted a 2-0 win over Phillipsburg on Thursday. Junior forward Ashley Kerekgyarto scored goals in three straight wins, while freshman swing player Kathryn Roncoroni has become a go-to player on the offensive end with three goals in the last six games.
Up next: Montgomery at home on Tuesday; at Somerville on Thursday; Kittatinny at home on Saturday in the HWS tournament.
4. Phillipsburg (5-5) -- Stateliners got hosed in the HWS seedings as a No. 6 in the H-W bracket. More on this in a future blog. Coach Jen Paulus' team took a pair of tough losses -- both 2-0 -- to No. 2 Hunterdon Central and No. 3 Voorhees last week. The 'Liners are now 0-4 against the top three in our rankings. They'll meet No. 1 Warren Hills for a second time this week. In between, P'burg scored a 1-0 win over No. 10 Delaware Valley last Tuesday. Senior forward Katie Decker had the decisive goal.
Up next: Somerville at home on Tuesday; at No. 1 Warren Hills on Thursday; at No. 9 Newton on Saturday in the HWS tournament.
5. High Point (6-1-1) -- Wildcats rebounded from their first loss with a big 1-0 win over previously-unbeaten Morris Knolls, which curiously made an appearance in a state poll last week, on Thursday. Sophomore Alexis Ambrosino had the game-winner off an assist from senior midfielder Darby Smith. Coach Bev Keur's team as expected drew the No. 1 seed in the Sussex bracket as it seeks a second straight trip the HWS title game.
Up next: Vernon at home on Wednesday; Belvidere at home on Saturday in the HWS tournament.
6. Hackettstown (6-3) -- Tigers rebounded from a blowout loss to No. 1 Warren Hills with a 7-0 pasting of Union in an independent clash at home on Thursday. Senior forward Stefania Swider (team-high 9 goals) continued her scoring streak with three goals in the two games, including a pair against Union, and has at least one goal in five straight contests entering the week. Good one coming up on Saturday as the Tigers travel to Pope John for an HWS matchup. Pope John is led by former Hackettstown coach Gina DiMaio, who you know wants this one bad.
Up next: No. 9 Newton at home on Tuesday; Jefferson at home on Thursday; at Pope John on Saturday in the HWS tournament.
7. South Hunterdon (5-3-1) -- Eagles have cooled off a bit with two losses and a tie in their last three outings. South took a 3-0 loss to Bernards on Thursday in a battle of the top two teams in the Skyland Conference Valley Division. The Eagles prevailed, 2-1 in overtime, in their first meeting this season on Sept. 6. As we've noted, South is the No. 4 seed in the H-W bracket.
Up next: Stuart Day at home on Monday; at Franklin on Tuesday; at Belvidere on Thursday; Vernon at home on Saturday in the HWS tournament.
8. Wallkill Valley (5-2-1) -- Rangers scored a 1-0 win over Lenape Valley last Monday and were idle the remainder of the week. Offense continues to struggle with six goals on the season. Junior foward Casey Pustelniak scored off an assist from senior Andreanna Nordland in the win over the Patriots. Senior goalie Emily Stukenborg posted her fifth shutout, so when she keep the opposition off the board, Wallkill wins.
Up next: Blair Academy at home on Monday; Kittatinny at home on Tuesday; at Parsippany on Thursday; No. 10 Delaware Valley at home on Saturday in the HWS tournament.
9. Newton (5-4) -- Braves have dropped three in a row entering the week, coming off a 3-1 loss to Roxbury last Tuesday. Junior midfielder Katherine Kellenberger has picked up some of the slack on offense with back-to-back one goal games, including one in a 2-1 loss at Jefferson. We'll see moving forward if the offense can pick it up without senior Melanie Rudio (out for the season).
Up next: at No. 6 Hackettstown on Tuesday; at Lenape Valley on Thursday; No. 4 Phillipsburg at home on Saturday in the HWS tournament.
10. Delaware Valley (4-4) -- Terriers went 1-1 last week, dropping a 1-0 decision to No. 4 Phillipsburg before a 2-0 win over Somerville in a pair of Skyland Conference Raritan Division clashes. Senior back Caitlyn Slusser and junior forward Tess Apgar scored in the win over the Pioneers.
Up next: at No. 1 Warren Hills on Tuesday; Montgomery at home on Thursday; at Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg (Pa.) on Friday; at No. 8 Wallkill Valley on Saturday in the HWS tournament.
On the bubble -- Pope John (4-3-2); Belvidere (5-3-1).
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