Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Field hockey: HWS sectional playoff pairings, seeds

Pairings and seeds for the upcoming NJSIAA sectional tournaments -- which won't be official until noon on Thursday -- involving 17 teams from the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area.

The tournaments begin with preliminary round games on Monday.

Warren Hills is seeking its eighth straight sectional title.
Warren Hills (17-1), seeking the program's eighth straight sectional title and 17th overall, will have the home-field advantage as the No. 1 seed in North 1, Group 3, after having to go on the road for the semifinal and final in 2018.

The Blue Streaks suffered their first loss on Tuesday -- 2-1 at Ridge -- in their bid to clinch the Skyland Conference Raritan Division title outright. Coach Josie Potter's team, which fell two shy of matching the school record for consecutive wins, will look to clinch the division title at home against Montgomery on Thursday.

North Hunterdon and Voorhees are the only other No. 1 seeds among area teams.

Voorhees (15-3), which has won seven sectional titles, the last in 2016, was ousted by No. 2 seed Rumson-Fair Haven in the North 2, Group 2 semis in 2018.

In North 1, Group 2, Vernon (13-2) is the No. 2 seed, Sparta (9-6-1) is the No. 4 seed, Hackettstown (6-7-1), last year's runner-up, is the No. 6 seed and High Point (5-10) is the No. 10 seed. The top seed is perennial power West Essex, which has won a state record 36 sectional titles.

North Hunterdon (12-6), which is enjoying its first winning season since 2009, eyes the program's third sectional title and first since 1993 in North 2, Group 4. The Lions' last postseason win was a 2-1 first-round victory over Columbia on Oct. 30, 2013. North has beaten five teams in the field this season, including No. 3 Hunterdon Central, No. 4 Montgomery and No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan, which has won 14 straight sectional titles competing in either North 1 or North 2, Group 4.

Hunterdon Central (8-9-2), which won its 13th and last sectional title in 2013, played to a 0-0 tie with Bridgewater-Raritan, which dropped decisions to Eastern in the Group 4 final in each of the previous seasons since 2005 after merging the district's East and West schools. Central and Bridgewater-Raritan have met in the postseason the previous eight years, with the Panthers winning all of those meetings, including a 4-1 victory in the 2018 sectional final.

Newton (12-3) is the No. 3 seed and Belvidere (8-7-1), which seeks the program's first sectional title since 1996, is the No. 7 seed in North 1, Group 1. There are six Open Mike area teams in that bracket overall, including the Braves, who won have four of the past five titles, including a 1-0 road win in overtime against the County Seaters in the 2018 title game.

Pairings were determined using power points. Records are through Saturday's games.

North 1

Group 4

(Games played on Oct. 21, Oct. 23, Oct. 28 and Oct. 31)

9-Randolph (4-9-2) at 8-Union (6-9), winner to meet 1-Ridge (11-5)
12-Watchung Hills (1-13-1) at 5-Columbia (7-6-1), winner to meet 4-Morristown (7-9)
11-Hackensack (4-11) at 6-Mount Olive (6-6-1), winner to meet 3-Scotch Plains-Fanwood (11-5)
10-Phillipsburg (2-13-1) at 7-Livingston (6-10-1), winner to meet 2-Montclair (12-4-1)

Group 3

(Games played on Oct. 22, Oct. 26, Oct. 29 and Nov. 1)

9-Morris Knolls (6-7-1) at 8-Wayne Hills (3-9), winner to meet 1-Warren Hills (17-0)
5-Mendham (5-7-1) at 4-Wayne Valley (13-3)
6-Roxbury (8-6) at 3-West Morris (15-1-1)
10-Passaic Valley (5-10) at 7-Montville (5-6-2), winner to meet 2-Northern Highlands (15-2)

Group 2

(Games played on Oct. 22, Oct. 25, Oct. 29 and Nov. 1)

9-Parsippany Hills (8-7) at 8-River Dell (5-9-2), winner to meet 1-West Essex (13-1-1)
5-West Milford (7-4-2) at 4-Sparta (9-6-1)
11-Parsippany (1-14) at 6-Hackettstown (6-7-1), winner to meet 3-Lakeland (11-3)
10-High Point (5-10) at 7-Jefferson (6-7-1), winner to meet 2-Vernon (12-2)

Group 1

(Games played on Oct. 21, Oct. 24, Oct. 28 and Oct. 31)

9-Pompton Lakes (7-9-1) at 8-Lenape Valley (5-9-1), winner to meet 1-Ramsey (14-0)
12-Kittatinny (3-10-1) at 5-Westwood (12-4-1)
13-North Warren (4-9-2) at 4-Boonton (10-6-1)
11-Wallkill Valley (5-7-3) at 6-Mountain Lakes (5-7-2), winner to meet 3-Newton (11-3)
10-Butler (8-9) at 7-Belvidere (7-7-1), winner to meet 2-Pequannock (11-3)

North 2

Group 4

(Games played on Oct. 21, Oct. 23, Oct. 28 and Oct. 31)

9-Old Bridge (4-10-2) at 8-Sayreville (4-10-2), winner to meet 1-North Hunterdon (11-6)
12-Piscataway (1-14) at 5-Westfield (7-9), winner to meet 4-Montgomery (6-8-2)
11-Franklin (4-11) at 6-Bridgewater-Raritan (8-8-1), winner to meet 3-Hunterdon Central (7-9-2)
10-East Brunswick (3-9-3) at 7-Hillsborough (7-10), winner to meet 2-South Brunswick (9-5-2)

Group 2

(Games played on Oct. 22, Oct. 25, Oct. 29 and Nov. 1)

9-Hopewell Valley (5-9-2) at 8-Holmdel (7-8), winner to meet 1-Voorhees (14-3)
5-Summit (12-5) at 4-Madison (9-3)
11-Governor Livingston (2-12) at 6-South Plainfield (10-4-2), winner to meet 3-Bernards (12-3-1)
10-Matawan (1-11-2) at 7-Raritan (8-7-1), winner to meet 2-Rumson-Fair Haven (10-4)

Group 1

(Games played on Oct. 21, Oct. 24, Oct. 28 and Oct. 31)

9-Whippany Park (9-4-1) at 8-Johnson (13-4), winner to meet 1-Shore (16-1)
12-Bordentown (2-14) at 5-South Hunterdon (14-2)
13-Burlington City (3-11) at 4-Delaware Valley (12-4)
11-New Egypt (8-5) at 6-Florence (12-3), winner to meet 3-Metuchen (13-1-1)
10-Henry Hudson (8-4-1) at 7-Glen Ridge (9-6), winner to meet 2-Point Pleasant Boro (16-0)

Complete tournament schedule:

Monday, Oct. 21 – NJSIAA Groups 1 and 4 first round
Tuesday, Oct. 22 – NJSIAA Groups 2 and 3 first round
Wednesday, Oct. 23 – NJSIAA Group 4 second round
Thursday, Oct. 24 – NJSIAA Group 1 second round
Saturday, Oct. 26 – NJSIAA Groups 2 and 3 second round

Monday, Oct. 28 – NJSIAA Groups 1 and 4 semifinals
Tuesday, Oct. 29 – NJSIAA Groups 2 and 3 semifinals
Thursday, Oct. 31 – NJSIAA Groups 1 and 4 finals
Friday, Nov. 1 – NJSIAA Groups 2 and 3 finals

Tuesday, Nov. 5 – NJSIAA state semifinals
Saturday, Nov. 9 – NJSIAA state championships at Bordentown

Monday, Nov. 11 – Tournament of Champions play-in
Wednesday, Nov. 13 – Tournament of Champions semifinals
Friday, Nov. 15 – Tournament of Champions final at Kean University

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