After going a combined 8-56-2 the previous four seasons, it seemed a bit of a stretch for Sparta's field hockey team to entertain thoughts of a home playoff game, or any postseason contest for that matter.
But this season, the Spartans are enjoying one of the program's best campaigns. Second-year coach Kristin Savasta's team fell to 8-5 overall with Monday's tough 2-1 loss to Lenape Valley in a Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference cross-divisional matchup in Stanhope.
Nonetheless, Sparta entered the game as the No. 4 seed for the upcoming North 1, Group 3 playoffs that begin at the end of this month. A win over Lenape Valley (10-4-1) would have likely sealed at least one home date for Sparta, but Savasta's squad, which concentrated on the basics like dribbling and passing in her first season, is pleased with how things have unfolded this fall.
"We're proud of how far we've come," said Savasta, who played for coach Irene Chernati at Wallkill Valley from 2002-05.
How far has Sparta come since last year's 5-11 season? A 1-0 loss on Sept. 25 to High Point, which is riding a 49-game win streak in the NJAC American Division, is a good measuring stick. The Spartans also hung tough in a 2-1 loss to Hunterdon Central on Saturday in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex quarterfinals.
"I told them,' If we can play with a team like High Point, we know we're on the right track," Savasta said.
Lenape Valley is another rags-to-riches story this season. Third-year coach Kate Rothman's team won its 10th game on Monday after combining for a total of 12 wins from 2009-12. The Patriots, who went 2-15-1 last season, are securely positioned atop the North 1, Group 1 sectional draw which would give them home-field advantage throughout the sectional playoffs. The Sussex County school's postage-stamp-sized grass field -- with some peaks and valleys -- would definitely give it an edge.
Now onto this week's rankings:
1. Hunterdon Central (13-2) -- Red Devils rolling right now as they enter the week riding a four-game win streak with a big showdown against No. 2 Warren Hills on tap for Tuesday. Coach Jenn Sponzo's team reached the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex semifinals with a 2-1 road win over Sparta on Saturday. Junior forward Kendall Nickel collected a pair of assists in the win. Central also earned victories over North Hunterdon (4-0 on Tuesday) and Pingry (3-1 on Thursday) in Skyland Conference Delaware Division matchups. Nickel had all three goals against Pingry, while junior forward Taylor Barrett had two goals against North.
Up next: at Warren Hills on Tuesday; Watchung Hills at home on Thursday; Hackettstown at home on Saturday in HWS semifinals.
2. Warren Hills (11-3-1) -- Blue Streaks move up a spot following a 2-0 week that ended with a 3-0 win over No. 6 High Point in the HWS quarterfinals. Junior midfielder Nikki Profita connected for a pair of goals and senior midfielder Nikki Schott added a pair of assists as the Warren County school advanced to the semifinals for the fifth time in the tournament's five-year history. Coach Laurie Kerr's team also moved closer to a share of the Skyland Conference Raritan Division title with Thursday's 1-0 win in overtime against Montgomery. Junior forward Sydney Muntone had the game-winning goal. Streaks need a win at home against Somerville on Oct. 29 to gain a piece of their third straight division title and fourth in five years.
Up next: Hunterdon Central at home on Tuesday; at Voorhees on Saturday in the HWS semifinals.
3. Voorhees (12-3) -- Vikings extended their win streak to four with a 3-2 win in overtime against No. 5 Lenape Valley on Saturday in the HWS quarterfinals. Senior forward Ashley Kerekgyarto scored the game-winner off a feed from sophomore forward Kathryn Roncoroni, who had two assists in the win. Senior Tori Crans and junior Abby Flagler also had goals as Voorhees advanced to meet No. 2 Warren Hills in this weekend's semifinals. Earlier last week, coach Taylor Webb's team posted wins over Delaware Valley (1-0 on Tuesday) and North Hunterdon (3-0 on Thursday). The victory over North was the program's 28th in a row against its sister school. Roncoroni scored three goals to raise her team-leading total to 25, just eight shy of the school record.
Up next: Hillsborough at home on Thursday; Warren Hills at home on Saturday in HWS semifinals.
4. South Hunterdon (12-3) -- Eagles were stunned, 3-2, on strokes by Hackettstown on Saturday in the HWS quarterfinals. Senior forward Kaycee Zelkovsky (30 goals) was kept off the scoreboard for the first time this season. Forward Ashley Eick and midfielder Brett Lelie scored goals in the loss. South has dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season after a 5-3 loss to Princeton Day on Friday. A 6-1 win over Mount St. Mary last Tuesday gave the Hunterdon County school a share of the Skyland Conference Valley Division title with Bernards. The teams split this season, South winning, 3-1 on Sept. 6.
Up next: at Somerville on Tuesday; at Delaware Valley on Thursday; Pennington at home on Friday.
5. Lenape Valley (10-4-1) -- Patriots are enjoying one of their most successful seasons in years and nearly pulled off a stunner on Saturday in a 3-2 loss in overtime to No. 3 Voorhees in the HWS quarterfinals. Coach Kate Rothman's team received goals from junior forwards Alyssa Falleni and Kassidy Forik in the loss. Lenape opened last week with a 3-1 win at Newton and a 1-0 victory over No. 8 Hackettstown on Thursday. Falleni had a pair of goals against the Braves, while junior captain Sally Olson had one of her three assists for the week. With two more victories, the Pats can match the program's combined wins total from 2009-12.
Up next: at Kittatinny on Wednesday; at Jefferson on Friday.
6. High Point (11-1-2) -- Wildcats fell from the unbeaten ranks on Saturday with a 3-0 loss to No. 2 Warren Hills in the HWS quarterfinals. Coach Bev Keur's team also played to 0-0 tie with No. 7 Kittatinny the previous night in the Sussex County school's sixth annual Play for Pink game to benefit cancer research. Coincidentally, the last time the 'Cats were shut out in back-to-back games was in 2012, when they lost, 1-0, to Wallkill Valley in the charity game the night before a 1-0 loss to Voorhees in the HWS final. Last Wednesday, High Point extended its NJAC American Division win streak to 49 with a 5-0 victory over Mount Olive. Junior Rachel Orr scored a pair of goals in the win.
Up next: at Morris Hills on Tuesday; Pope John at home on Thursday.
7. Kittatinny (6-5-3) -- Cougars had quite an up-and-down week, capped by a 0-0 tie with No. 6 High Point on Friday night under the lights in Wantage. Goalie Julia Pevarnik faced only two shots in recording her sixth shutout as the offense managed just two shots-on-goal. Earlier in the week, the Sussex County school played to a 1-1 tie with North Warren on Tuesday before a 5-0 loss to first-place Parsippany in NJAC Freedom Division matchups. Junior Jenn Makarevich had the Cougars' lone goal.
Up next: at Belvidere on Monday; Lenape Valley at home on Wednesday; at Newton on Friday.
8. Hackettstown (9-4) -- Tigers stunned previous No. 2 South Hunterdon, 3-2, in an HWS quarterfinal game decided by strokes after 60 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute sudden-victory OT periods. Sophomore Samantha Strathern scored in regulation and converted one of the Tigers' three strokes to help move the Warren County school into its first tri-county semifinal. Coach Stephen Speirs' team, which also beat Jefferson (3-0 on Tuesday) and lost to No. 5 Lenape Valley (1-0 on Thursday) holds at this spot by virtue of an earlier loss to Kittatinny, which played to a 0-0 tie with No. 6 High Point.
Up next: North Warren at home on Wednesday; at Parsippany on Friday; at Hunterdon Central on Saturday in HWS semifinals.
9. Sparta (8-5) -- Spartans are back in following a 2-1 week, capped by a 2-1 loss to No. 1 Hunterdon Central in the HWS quarterfinals on Saturday. Sophomore forward Rhett Curran scored the lone goal, as the Sussex County school's four-game win streak ended with the loss. Coach Kristin Savasta's squad opened the week with a 2-1 win at Vernon, followed by a 4-1 win over Morris Hills in NJAC American Division matchups. Curran scored two goals against the Vikings and added three more against the Knights. Sophomore forward Gretchen Bowie had three assists in three games.
Up next: Pope John at home on Tuesday; at Montville on Thursday.
10. Wallkill Valley (6-9) -- Rangers have dropped four straight following losses to Parsippany (3-0 on Tuesday) and Jefferson (2-1 in OT on Thursday). Coach Irene Chernati's team has scored just three goals in its last seven games. Senior forward Casey Pustelniak scored the goal against Jefferson, which dropped a 4-1 decision to Wallkill in the first meeting on Sept. 18. Defensively, the Sussex County school has allowed a total of 11 goals in the last seven games.
Up next: Newton at home on Wednesday; at North Warren on Friday.
On the bubble: Delaware Valley (5-7-1); Belvidere (5-8-2); Vernon (5-7).
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