Field hockey: Vikes, 'Cats fall; Streaks gain in playoffs

PARSIPPANY-TROY HILLS -- Voorhees' field hockey team can file this one for future reference. As disappointing as the 4-2 loss to Parsippany in the North 1, Group 2 sectional semifinals was on Thursday, a strong core returns next season with the sting of this defeat to surely provide some motivation.

"I definitely will [remember]," said sophomore star forward Kathryn Roncoroni, who scored both of the Vikings' goals to match the school's single-season record of 33 set by Colleen Boyce in 2010.

Voorhees (16-5), the No. 4 seed, concluded a bit of an up-and-down season with the loss to top-seeded Parsippany (20-1), which advances to Monday's final against state power and No. 2 seed West Essex (21-1), an 8-0 winner over No. 3 High Point in the other semifinal on Thursday. West Essex beat Voorhees, 3-0, in an independent clash on Sept. 7.

The Vikings, who have won six sectional titles and none since 2006, were bidding to reach their first sectional final since 2010 after losses in the North 2, Group 2 semifinals in 2011 and '12.

"I think we played a good game, we just had a couple of tough breaks," said third-year coach Taylor Webb, now 4-3 in postseason games. "I'm most proud of the way they came back from losses and didn't sit in a slump. We played some tough competition and those games helped us."

Voorhees' biggest challenge of the season was trying to contain talented center midfielder Krysten Mayers, who directly or indirectly had a hand in all four of Parsippany's goals. The speedy Mayers (40 goals, 28 assists), who possesses strong stick skills, made a beautiful reverse-stick pass to assist the first of junior midfielder Emily Davis' two goals on a penalty corner just 1:46 into the contest.

About seven minutes later, the Vikes lost talented freshman Hannah Schiavo for the game with a left hand injury after she was struck with a ball trying to defend a laser shot by Mayers on a corner. Schiavo went straight to the bench and eventually left the field. Webb later confirmed that Schiavo sustained multiple fractures to her left hand. Assigned to shadow Mayers, her loss had a trickle down effect to the lineup as Webb was forced to move some personnel around to cover for Schiavo.

"She was containing [Mayers] pretty well," said Webb, whose stout defense yielded four goals only one other time in a 4-1 loss to Warren Hills on Oct. 3 and had given up a total of five in the nine games since leading to this one. "[Schiavo] couldn't hold her stick. That really hurt us as far as strategy. I thought [senior back] Josephine Gallagher did a good job, but that set us back a bit."

Voorhees, now 52-33 all-time in state playoff games, weathered the early storm and tied the game with 13:07 left before halftime, as Roncoroni connected for her 30th goal off a feed from Isabelle Houser. Suddenly, the Vikes had some momentum, but Parsippany popped in a huge goal near the five-minute mark as Davis collected a rebound and flicked it past goalie Lauren Pianucci during a corner. Senior back Maggie Freibergs made a great goal-line save on a shot by Mayers, but the ball made a fortunate bounce right to Davis' stick.

The Red Hawks, seeking their first sectional title, struck early in the second half to make it a two-goal advantage as sophomore midfielder Juliana DeIntinis picked a ball off Pianucci's pads -- following a shot by Mayers -- and tucked it home with 25:03 left in the game. Junior forward Victoria Rossi's goal -- off a nice cross pass to the right post by Mayers -- made it a 4-1 lead with 14:43 remaining in the second half.

"They had some good looks and they did a nice job of picking the ball off the pads," Webb said. "We didn't get rebounds. I thought [Pianucci] played well. We knew this was a high-scoring team, they scored six-seven goals against a lot of teams."

Roncoroni stopped the bleeding with her 31st goal off a feed from senior Tori Crans with 11:53 left on the clock. Despite not feeling comfortable on offense, Roncoroni almost single-handily kept the Vikes in the game, with the urgency to score on her shoulders in the second half.

"I wasn't able to line myself up [to take shots] and felt a little rushed," she said. "I felt a little pressure."

Credit a Voorhees team and it coaches for overcoming a myriad of injuries this season and the loss of several starters, including senior goalie Kathryn Boyce, who played the second half of games.

"We did suffer losses, but other girls picked it up," Webb said.

Voorhees (16-5)                      1               1         --   2
Parsippany (20-1)                   2               2         --   4

Scoring

First half -- P, Emily Davis, 10th, (Krysten Mayers), 28:14; V, Kathryn Roncoroni, 32nd, (Isabelle Houser), 13:07; P, Davis, 11th, 5:38.

Second half -- P, Juliana DeIntinis, 16th, 25:03; P, Victoria Rossi, 16th, (Mayers), 14:43; V, Roncoroni, 33rd, (Tori Crans), 11:53.

Shots -- Voorhees 15; Parsippany 12.

Saves -- Lauren Pianucci 7, Maggie Freibergs 1 (defensive) (V); Jasmine Chen 13 (P).

Penalty corners -- Voorhees 13; Parsippany 7.

Elsewhere in sectional games involving area teams:

West Essex 8, High Point 0 -- Junior goalie Autumn Smith made 16 saves, but the offense couldn't get on the board as the third-seeded Wildcats ended their season at 16-2-3 with a loss in the North 1, Group 2 semifinals in North Caldwell. The loss snapped High Point's three-game win streak and its run of three straight finals appearances. Coach Bev Keur's team, which won its fourth straight NJAC American Division title and had given up just 10 goals all season coming in, dropped a 4-1 decision to West Essex in last year's title game. Coach Jill Cosse's Knights (21-1), winners of a record 31 sectional titles, will travel to Parisppany on Monday to play for the championship.

Warren Hills 7, Morristown 1 -- Junior forward Jessica Nissen scored three goals and junior forward Sydney Muntone added a career-high four assists to power the fourth-seeded Blue Streaks in the North 2, Group 3 semifinals in Washington. Warren Hills (20-3-1), which extended its program record win streak to 17 in a row, will host No. 7 seed Ocean Township -- a 2-1 winner in overtime against No. 3 Hopewell Valley in the other semifinal -- on Monday for the title. Coach Laurie Kerr's Streaks are seeking their second straight championship and the program's 11th overall. The Warren County school, which reached its 15th sectional final, is now 60-37 all-time in the postseason and defeated Ocean Township in the 2009, '11 and '12 sectional playoffs.

Updated schedule:

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.

Monday, Nov. 11
(Championship)

North 2, Group 3

Ocean Township at Warren Hills, 4 p.m.