Junior midfielder Niki Miller scored a pair of goals and assisted on two other scores as third-seeded Warren Hills rolled to an 8-1 win over No. 14 Mendham on Tuesday in Flemington.
The game was played at Hunterdon Central Regional High School due to the recent storm and power outages. The Blue Streaks (20-1), who have won 10 in a row since a 2-1 overtime loss to Voorhees on Oct. 6, hadn't played a game in a week.
Warren Hills advances to the quarterfinals and will host No. 11 Ocean Township, a 2-0 winner over No. 6 Princeton, in Thursday's quarterfinals. Tuesday's win was the Warren County school's second in two postseason meetings with overmatched Mendham (6-12-1), which lost, 2-0, to the Streaks in 1982.
Warren Hills defeated Ocean Township, 2-1 in overtime, en route to the sectional title in 2009.
Coach Laurie Kerr's teams are now 23-11 overall in the postseason and the program is 52-35 all-time in playoff contests dating to 1972. Warren Hills is seeking the program's 10th sectional title and its first since 2009.
Miller, the center midfielder who is having an outstanding season, now has 20 goals and 12 assists. She is only the sixth player ever to record a 20-goal season for the Blue Streaks. Teammate Lindsey Schott, the school's all-time goals, assists and points leader, added a goal and an assist on Tuesday, raising her season totals to 25 and 15.
Schott, who has 21 goals last year, is one goal shy of matching Kate Alleger (26 in 1996) for the single-season record. Megan Springmeyer (23 in 2007), Lori Toole (23 in 1979) and Gail Petteruti (21 in 1984) are the others to notch 20 goals in a season.
Freshmen Sydney Muntone and Nikki Profita combined for four goals and two assists. Muntone recorded her first-ever hat trick.
In other action:
Montclair Kimberley 2, Belvidere 1 -- Senior forward Tiffany McKenna concluded her fine career with a goal, her 28th of the season, as the County Seaters (15-5) came up short in the North 1, Group 1 quarterfinals. Belvidere also lost to MKA, 2-1 on strokes, in last year's opening round. Coach Kristin Gaitan's team was trying to earn the program's first playoff win since capturing the 1996 sectional title.
Florence 3, South Hunterdon 1 -- Kaycee Zelvosky scored the lone goal for the Eagles (12-6) in their North 2, Group 1 quarterfinal loss. South was looking to capture its 15th sectional title and first since 2002. Only West Essex (29), Moorestown (21), Shore (21), Shawnee (20), Eastern (18) and Haddonfield (16) have won more sectional championships than the Hunterdon County school.
On Monday:
Hunterdon Central 1, East Brunswick 0 (OT) -- Senior forward Kim Engelhart scored the winning goal just 1:37 into the seven-a-side overtime as the sixth seeded Red Devils continued their amazing comeback season with a win over the third-seeded Bears in the North 2, Group 4 quarterfinals. Central (12-9), which won only three games in 2010, will meet No. 2 West Windsor-North in Friday's semifinals. Coach Jenn Sponzo's team is seeking the school's 12th sectional title and first since 2007.
Phillipsburg 2, Westfield 1 -- Senior right wing Lauren Nunes notched one goal and assisted on another to lead the sixth-seeded Stateliners (10-10), who have won four straight, in the North 1, Group 4 quarterfinals. Junior foward Katie Decker had one assist, giving her four goals and one assist in the team's last four games. P'burg, which beat Westfield, 5-0, in last year's quarterfinals, will travel to second-seeded Montclair for Friday's semifinals. The 'Liners were to play Montclair for the title last year, but were disqualified for playing too many games. P'burg is 1-2 against Montclair in three postseason meetings dating to 2005, including a 1-0 win for the 'Liners in the 2009 quarterfinals.
No comments:
Post a Comment