Sussex County batted .500 on Tuesday, as Lenape Valley and Newton advanced with wins in the North 1, Group 1 quarterfinals, while Kittatinny and Wallkill Valley failed to move on and set up an All-Sussex Final Four.
South Hunterdon also bowed out of the tournament with a 2-1 overtime loss to Bernards in the North 2, Group 1 quarterfinals, the third installment between the Skyland Conference rivals. South, which finishes one of its best seasons in recent years at 16-5, posted a 3-1 win at Bernards on Sept. 6, but dropped a 3-2 decision in the rematch on Sept. 24.
Lenape Valley (15-5-1), the top seed, used a goal off a penalty stroke by junior midfielder Sally Olson to earn a 1-0 win over No. 8 Boonton in Stanhope. Freshman goalie Kaylee Gentilucci made six saves for her 11th shutout. The Patriots, who won just two games a year ago, will host No. 4 seed Mountain Lakes in Friday's semifinals. Mountain Lakes (11-8-1) rolled to a 3-0 win over No. 5 Wallkill Valley in another quarterfinal.
Lenape had dropped two regular-season meetings against Wallkill -- both 1-0 scores on Sept. 30 and Oct. 24. The Rangers (9-12) saw their three-game win streak snapped with the loss after rolling to a 4-0 win over No. 12 seed Pequannock in the opening round.
The Patriots are now two wins away from their third sectional title and first since 1990. Third-year coach Kate Rothman's team owns wins over Whippany Park (4-1 on Sept. 10) and Newton (4-0 on Sept. 16 and 3-1 on Oct. 8).
Newton (8-12-1), the No. 7 seed, kept its Cinderella run going as senior forward Katherine Kellenberger recorded a goal and an assist in the team's 3-0 win over No. 2 Westwood. The Braves will next travel to No. 6 Whippany Park, a 2-0 winner over No. 3 Kittatinny, for Friday's semifinals. The Cougars (8-8-3) had been idle for 11 days since a 2-0 loss at Hackettstown on Oct. 24.
Coach Lisa Bechtel, now 347-124-11 in 24 seasons, and the Braves are seeking the program's ninth sectional title and first since 1986 -- the longest drought of any Sussex County program with at least one championship.
Here is the rest of this week's schedule involving Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex teams:
Thursday, Nov. 7
(Semifinals)
North 1, Group 2
Voorhees at Parsippany, 11 a.m.
High Point at West Essex, noon
North 2, Group 3
Morristown at Warren Hills, 11 a.m.
Friday, Nov. 8
(Semifinals)
North 1, Group 1
Mountain Lakes at Lenape Valley, 2 p.m.
Newton at Whippany Park, noon
North 2, Group 4
West Windsor South at Hunterdon Central, 10 a.m.
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