Though the score doesn't reflect what was an utterly dominating effort, the Blue Streaks' 1-0 win over West Morris in the North 1, Group 3 sectional final on Thursday -- the program's sixth straight title and its 15th overall -- was more about taking that next step toward the ultimate prize.
"For us, every year is about winning a [Group 3] state championship," said midfielder Tali Popinko, one of nine seniors to play their final home game at Warren Hills School District Stadium. "This gets us one step closer."
 |
| Warren Hills celebrates its sixth straight sectional title. |
"This is my first [sectional title as a head coach] so I'm super proud," said Josie Potter, who won three titles as a star player for Warren Hills (1996-99) and four as an assistant coach on Laurie Kerr's staff (2004-14). "The girls were excited and super focused. Last year, they were [the No. 2 seed] and had to play on grass at West Morris [a 2-1 win]. They were excited to play this one on our turf field."
Senior midfielder Mikayla Dugan again scored the decisive goal in the championship game. Dugan received the insert pass off a corner from her sister -- sophomore Samantha Dugan -- and punched it in with 26:10 left in the second half. The dead-center shot from the top of the circle rolled under and nicked a West Morris defender's stick on the way into the cage.
"This is a great feeling," said Mikayla Dugan, who converted a penalty stroke for the game-winner with 2:21 left to play in the 2016 final. "We really wanted to get that first goal. I thought we played really well."
West Morris (15-6-1), which started five seniors, one junior, four sophomores and one freshman, opted to pack the circle on defense and senior goalie Abby Chapin (14 saves) helped stonewall the Warren Hills offense, which came into the game averaging 4.4 goals per game. The final stats indicate how one-sided this was one as the Streaks finished with a 16-0 advantage in shots-on-goal and a 23-1 edge on penalty corners.
"It was a little frustrating, some calls weren't going our way," said Mikayla Dugan, who has scored in all three postseason wins with a total of four goals. "We just keep shooting until eventually one goes in. Their defense was pretty good. It was hard to get one in."
It was 0-0 at halftime, despite Warren Hills pounding the cage early and often with several near-misses that sailed wide or off Chapin's pads. Two apparent goals were waived off by the officials for what Potter said were "various reasons."
"Their goalie played really well, take nothing away from her. But in my heart, that was a 3-0 game and reflects more on the game we played," Potter said. "We got some shots off, but they had two people in the cage and everybody inside the 20."
And how about that Warren Hills defense? Backs Sydney Moskal, Ashley Moskal, Jess DeSanto and sweeper Kate Fenner were brilliant again, posting their third shutout of the postseason and 12th overall this season, while keeping West Morris out of the circle until a penalty corner was called with 4:00 left to play. Fenner and Sydney Moskal broke that one up as the unit did not allow a shot on goal.
"We are clicking and the offense always gets back to help," said Fenner, a sophomore and former offensive player who has really solidified the defense after switching from center back to sweeper earlier this season. "It was crazy. I realized in the second half that [West Morris] hadn't even been in our circle. Our defensive corner unit is very strong."
During the 18-game win streak, Warren Hills' defense has yielded just seven goals and none in seven of the past eight contests, while the offense has outscored opponents 37-1 in the past eight games.
 |
| Warren Hills' 15th title leads all Skyland Conference teams. |
"This is the strongest defense we've had in my career," said Popinko, part of a senior group that went 47-5 on their home field in four years and the fifth class to win four sectional titles in program history.
Warren Hills' 15th sectional title is the most for any Skyland Conference school and leads the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area. Hunterdon Central can match South Hunterdon for second place on both lists by capturing its 14th championship on Friday in the North 2, Group 4 final against Bridgewater-Raritan.
But the Streaks, now 15-4 all-time in sectional finals, are staying focused on the next one.
"We don't really try to think about [the winning streak], we're taking it one game at a time," Popinko said.
West Morris (15-6-1) 0 0 -- 0
Warren Hills (23-2) 0 1 -- 1
Scoring
Second half -- WH, Mikayla Dugan, 14th, (Samantha Dugan), 26:10.
Shots -- West Morris 0; Warren Hills 16.
Saves -- Abby Chapin 14, Allison Egan 1 (defensive) (WM); Maggie Titus 0 (WH).
Penalty corners -- West Morris 1; Warren Hills 23.
Tigers fall in North 2, Group 2 final
Hackettstown came up short in its bid for the program's first sectional title with a 5-0 loss to Rumson-Fair Haven in the North 2, Group 2 sectional title game on Thursday.
The Tigers (15-5), who saw their five-game win streak snapped with the loss, were making back-to-back appearances in the final -- joining only the 2006 and '07 teams to do so in program history -- after dropping a tough 1-0 decision in overtime to Voorhees in the 2016 title game. Rumson-Fair Haven (19-2) handed Hackettstown a 3-0 loss during the regular season on Oct. 3.
Coach Stephen Speirs (95-56-3 in eight seasons) returns plenty of talent on offense next season, including junior forwards Kayla Cichlar (19 goals), Ashley Zellars (13 goals) and Jordan Vandermark (12 goals), along with junior midfielder Madison Hoskins (11 goals, 17 assists) and junior goalie Bridget Kenny (seven shutouts).
No comments:
Post a Comment