Warren Hills suffered its second straight loss in the Group 3 final -- 6-1 to Moorestown on a frigid Saturday morning at Bordentown Regional High School. The Streaks (24-2), who saw their 19-game winning streak snapped in their sixth straight finals appearance, were looking to atone for a 5-0 loss to nemesis Ocean City in the 2016 title game. The Warren County school went 0-8 in the finals from 1996-2013 before breaking through in '14 and '15.
"I'm so proud of this team," said first-year head coach Josie Potter, who was an assistant coach on the 2014 team that beat Ocean City for the school's first state title in any female sport. "Moorestown is a very good program. They made beautiful passes stick-to-stick. We knew it was going to be a tough game."
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| Warren Hills was denied its third title in four seasons on Saturday. |
Moorestown (17-3) has been tough on Open Mike area teams in the championship round. The Quakers, who captured their 17th title and first since a 1-0 win over Voorhees in the 2006 Group 3 final at Toms River East High School, handed Warren Hills a heartbreaking 2-1 loss in overtime in the '03 title game at The College of New Jersey.
Captains Rebecca Sigman, Tali Popinko, Mikayla Dugan and Sydney Moskal were among seven senior starters to play their final games in a Warren Hills uniform.
Sigman scored the Streaks' lone goal with 1:50 left in the first half, raising her team-leading total to 34. She is just the second player in program history to reach the 30-goal plateau (Dani Profita had 41 in 2015) and Sigman's career total of 72 matches Lindsey Schott for third place on the school's all-time list. Sigman's single-season points total of 83 is second only to Profita (106 in '15), and she ranks sixth on the career list with 174.
"It's amazing to have that kind of success. I'm extremely proud [to be among those names]," said Sigman, a Bloomsburg University recruit.
It was a bit of deja vu for Warren Hills, which found itself down early against Moorestown as it did a year ago vs. Ocean City. The Streaks, who controlled the action for the first five minutes and were awarded two penalty corners, had a golden opportunity to go on top when Dugan settled in to attempt a penalty stroke. Dugan sent it to the left side, but goalie Lauren Pickul batted it down and Moorestown seized immediate control from that point on. Pickul also thwarted early shots off the pads by Dugan and Popinko.
"If we had made that stroke it might have set a different tone for the game," said the Temple-bound Popinko, who is the first Blue Streaks player to start in four state finals. "Our defense was strong still, but we had to make some changes to try to get back in it."
Moorestown, which started 10 juniors, one senior and one freshman, scored four straight goals to take a commanding lead, including two by junior midfielder Delaney Lawler, whose opened the scoring with a rocket into the right corner immediately after the missed penalty stroke. Junior forward Kayla Frank made it 2-0 with a breakaway, as talented Warren Hills freshman Ashley Moskal hustled back to try and disrupt the play to no avail. Junior forward Colleen Craven's goal off a rebound with 15:55 left in the first half put the Streaks in a 3-0 hole before Lawler's second score off a penalty corner pretty much ended any thoughts of a comeback.
"After they scored that first goal, we still had the intensity, but it went down from there," said Dugan, who will continue her academic and athletic careers at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.
Warren Hills, now 2-10 overall in state championship games, also played short-handed for most of the first 30 minutes as the Streaks were hit with a total of four penalty cards on the day -- including a yellow for tripping on sophomore Samantha Dugan, who had to leave the game for 10 minutes and wasn't allowed to return until early in the second half. Potter and her assistant coaches (Sarah Kaufman and Erica Russell) were visibly upset by what they thought were some one-sided calls. Moorestown did receive two green cards overall, including one with 23:02 left in the first half.
"There was a lot of stuff on the field that I felt wasn't going our way," Potter said diplomatically. "At most it would have been a two- or three-goal game. I've never seen a 10-minute card. I'm not knocking Moorestown. They played really well and should have won. But the goal differential should not have been that big."
It was a tough day for a Warren Hills defense that really took shape after allowing this many goals in a 6-1 loss to West Essex earlier this season. In between, the Streaks yielded a total of 10 goals over their next 22 games and only two in their past nine coming into the state final. Sydney Moskal, along with her sister, Ashley, and sophomores Jess DeSanto and Kate Fenner formed what Potter dubbed "The Wall" in front of senior goalie Maggie Titus.
"They're very young and I'm proud of them," said Sydney Moskal, a three-year starter who has decided to end her field hockey career in high school. "I was proud we were able to get that one goal. I loved playing with my sister. We all communicated so well and we have a connection with each other. This was my last game and it's very sad and bittersweet."
The loss shouldn't spoil what was one of the best seasons in program history. Warren Hills set a school record for wins, while matching its longest win streak, joining the 2011, '12 and '13 teams. The Streaks claimed the program's 15th sectional title and sixth in a row, while winning the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament and Skyland Conference Raritan Division championships.
"This team is amazing," Popinko said. "We had high hopes for this game, but we played our hardest. Even though [the final score] looks bad, we didn't give up. We were just a little off today."
Moorestown (17-3) 4 2 -- 6
Warren Hills (24-3) 1 0 -- 1
Scoring
First half -- M, Delaney Lawler, 16th, 25:49; M, Kayla Frank, 17th, 19:09; M, Colleen Craven, 14th, 15:55; M, Lawler, 17th, 9:20; WH, Rebecca Sigman, 34th, (Alyssa Appleby), 1:50.
Second half -- M, Avery Powell, 12th, (penalty stroke), 21:36; M, Madison Sever, 5th, (Powell), 16:50.
Shots -- Moorestown 16; Warren Hills 8.
Saves -- Lauren Pickul 6, Lawler 1 (defensive) (M); Maggie Titus 8, Mikayla Dugan 2 (defensive) (WH).
Penalty corners -- Moorestown 12; Warren Hills 8.
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