WASHINGTON TWP. -- Warren Hills' field hockey team passed a major test by all accounts on Thursday afternoon.
Behind an attacking offense and a stifling defense, the Blue Streaks rolled to a 4-1 victory over Voorhees in another significant chapter of the Open Mike area's most storied rivalry on the turf at Washington School District Stadium.
Warren Hills dominated for much of the 60 minutes, finishing with a 21-2 advantage in shots and a 12-4 edge on penalty corners. A crisp passing game throughout the contest really set the tone for about as complete of a win as the Streaks have had in this longtime series. The four goals were the most scored by the Warren County school in this series since a 4-1 win in the 2003 North 2, Group 3 sectional final at Voorhees. Conversely, it was the most goals given up by a Voorhees team since a 7-0 loss to Bridgewater in 2009.
"Our passing game was terrific today," said veteran Warren Hills coach Laurie Kerr, now 8-17-3 overall against Voorhees dating to 2000. "We played with confidence and were able to get a lot of touches. We've worked extremely hard on passing since the last Voorhees game. It feels good to win and by more than one goal."
Additionally, Kerr (227-66-12 in 14 seasons) surpassed longtime coach Luanne Ferenci (226-101-41 from 1981-99) for the program's wins record. Kerr played for Ferenci in the mid 1980s and succeeded her as coach following the 1999 season.
"Luanne was my mentor, my coach and my colleague," said Kerr, a health and physical education teacher along with Ferenci. "She was a big influence on the program."
Warren Hills improved to 8-3-1 overall with its fifth straight win, but more importantly stayed in the hunt for at least a share of the program's third straight Skyland Conference Raritan Division title. Voorhees (8-3, 8-1), which had its five-game win streak snapped, was in the driver's seat after a 2-1 overtime win in the teams' first meeting on Sept. 17. The Vikes came into this one with an opportunity to clinch the title.
Instead, the Streaks need wins over Somerville (Oct. 8) and Montgomery (Oct. 10) and a Voorhees loss to Delaware Valley (Oct. 8) to win the title outright. A win by the heavily-favored Vikings over Del Val would ensure the Hunterdon County school at least a share of the championship.
"They knew that," said Kerr, when asked if her team was aware it needed to win to keep its division title hopes alive. "I feel wonderful for these kids. They work so hard. And playing this well on your home field is even better."
Warren Hills struck first when freshman forward Dani Profita connected off a feed from junior back Amanda Crampton on the team's third penalty corner with 17 minutes left in the first half. Less than two minutes later, junior back Allie Brouhard converted a penalty stroke to give the Streaks a commanding 2-0 lead.
The stroke occurred when Profita was fouled on a breakaway as she was hooked by a defender with Voorhees goalie Lauren Pianucci coming to the top of the circle to thwart the drive. Brouhard took the stroke, firing it into the left corner of the cage for her second goal of the season and a huge momentum booster.
"Dani worked hard to earn that [stroke] and I had to get it in for her and my team," Brouhard said. "When you're up, 1-0, it's good to get that extra goal."
Warren Hills continued to dictate the action for most of the second half until sophomore Emma Garcia got Voorhees on the board late with 4:41 remaining in the game -- the Vikes' lone shot of the half. Kerr had just switched out goalies, removing starter Taylor Austin and inserting Kylie Guidi, something the coach has done several times this season, when the Vikes capitalized for their only goal.
"We didn't step to the ball and when we did, we scored," said third-year Vikes coach Taylor Webb. "We had some energy, but it was too little too late. We didn't have many opportunities. We sat back on our heels and were more defensive instead of being aggressive."
Earlier in the half, Voorhees lost second-half starting goalie Kathryn Boyce with what looked to be a serious right leg injury. Lauren Pianucci, who starts the first half of games, came back in and helped keep the Streaks at bay until junior midfielder Nikki Profita connected for a huge goal with 1:28 left to make it 3-1 and essentially end the Voorhees rally.
Junior Sydney Muntone's team-leading 11th goal with 40 seconds left was merely window dressing with the game in hand. Last week, Muntone gave a verbal commitment to Temple University.
Defensively, Brouhard and her teammates did an excellent job of limiting opportunities and keeping talented Voorhees sophomore forward Kathryn Roncoroni off the scoreboard for just the third time all season. Roncoroni, who scored both times in the first meeting, entered the game having scored 11 goals in the Vikings' previous five games and had scored at least two in each during that stretch. She leads them with 20 overall.
"We knew she was their best player and we had to make sure we marked her tight the whole game," Brouhard said. "I think we did a good job of that. That was not Warren Hills field hockey the last time we played and we had to show them that today. They're a good team and to hold them to only four corners shows the defense is working hard."
Voorhees now leads 30-18-6 in the all-time series dating to 1975, while Warren Hills has won four of the last seven meetings since 2011.
Voorhees (8-3, 8-1) 0 1 -- 1
Warren Hills (8-3-1, 7-1) 2 2 -- 4
Scoring
First half -- WH, Dani Profita, 6th, (Amanda Crampton), 17:00; WH, Allie Brouhard, 2nd (penalty stroke), 15:26.
Second half -- V, Emma Garcia, 4th, (Hannah Schiavo), 4:41; WH, Nikki Profita, 7th, 1:28; WH, Sydney Muntone, 11th, (D. Profita), 0:40.
Shots -- Voorhees 2; Warren Hills 21.
Saves -- Lauren Pianucci 14, Kathryn Boyce 2, Emily Scheier 1 (goal line) (V); Taylor Austin 1, Kylie Guidi 0 (WH).
Penalty corners -- Voorhees 4; Warren Hills 12.
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