Field hockey: Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex rankings

As we head into October -- the field hockey season really flies by -- the sixth annual Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament began with two preliminary round games on Saturday, as North Hunterdon and Wallkill Valley advanced with wins.

First-round games are set to be played on Friday and there are several intriguing matchups, including No. 5 Hackettstown at No. 8 Sparta. Hackettstown was a finalist a year ago, dropping a 1-0 decision to Warren Hills, the favorite to repeat as tri-county champion.

Also, No. 6 Delaware Valley travels to No. 3 Newton in what should be an interesting and low-scoring affair at Palmer Field, the site of this year's championship game.

It was great to see No. 1 Warren Hills and No. 2 Voorhees travel out of the area to take on two of the state's top teams.

The Blue Streaks made the trek to South Jersey for a clash with top-ranked Eastern and dropped 10-1 decision. Eastern, which is head and shoulders above everyone in New Jersey and could probably beat some college teams, has won a record 17 Group 4 titles to go along with 21 sectional titles, including 15 in a row.

The Vikings rallied for a 2-2 draw with Group 1 power Shore Regional, which has won 22 sectional titles, second only to West Essex (32) and Moorestown (24). Disappointingly, both Voorhees and Shore agreed before the game that no overtime would be played to potentially declare a winner.

This to me is a disturbing trend in the HWS area, where teams are forgoing overtime in non-division games. Newton and High Point have already combined for six ties on the season.

I always thought the goal was to win the game, but apparently the affect on power points is a major reason why OT is not being played in these games. I mean what's next, we don't keep score at all?

That's my rant for the week. Now onto the rankings:

1. Warren Hills (7-1) -- Blue Streaks went 1-1 last week, beating Hillsborough 7-0 on Tuesday before a 10-1 loss to Eastern, ranked No. 1 in New Jersey, on Saturday in South Jersey. Before that loss, coach Laurie Kerr's team had outscored its first seven opponents by a combined 46-0. This year's squad is the first in program history to win its first seven games via shutouts. Senior back Allie Brouhard had a goal and an assist in the win over Hillsborough and scored the lone goal against Eastern. Sophomore forward Dani Profita continued her strong season with a goal and two assists vs. Hillsborough. Senior forward Sydney Muntone (13 goals) tied Niki Miller for second place on the school's career goals list with two against the Raiders for Nos. 60 and 61. Lindsey Schott holds the record with 72 and has the single-season mark of 27.

Up next: at Watchung Hills on Tuesday; Bridgewater at home on Thursday; Wallkill Valley at home on Friday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament.

2. Voorhees (8-0-2) -- Vikings opened last week with a 4-1 win at Hopewell Valley on Tuesday before rallying back for a 2-2 tie at Shore Regional, one of the state' top-ranked teams, on Saturday. Junior forward Kathryn Roncoroni moved closer to the school's single-season goals mark of 33 that she shares with two against Hopewell and one more against Shore -- giving her a tri-county best 21 for the year. Hannah Ryan also had two goals against HV. Coach Taylor Webb's team earned the No. 2 seed on the Hunterdon-Warren side for the tri-county tournament. Voorhees has made a record 15 county finals appearances (including H-W title games before Sussex joined in) and has won 10 championships.

Up next: North Plainfield at home on Thursday; North Hunterdon at home on Friday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament.

3. Hunterdon Central (5-2) -- Red Devils went 1-1 last week, opening with a 4-0 win at home against Montgomery as senior forward Kendall Nickel connected for her seventh goal before adding two more in a 4-3 loss to Lawrenceville on Saturday. Nickel, who got her 100th career point earlier this season, leads the team with nine goals. Junior midfielder Amanda Whitlock had a goal and an assist last week. Coach Jenn Sponzo's club is the No. 4 seed on the Hunterdon-Warren side for the tri-county-tournament.

Up next: Ridge at home on Tuesday; at Phillipsburg on Thursday; Pope John at home on Friday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament.

4. Lenape Valley (5-2) -- In their only action last week, Patriots posted a 2-1 win over Jefferson in a Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference clash on Tuesday. The win improved coach Lauren Fasano's team to 3-0 in the division. Senior forward Kassidy Forik has been on a tear of late and scored the winning goal -- her team-leading fifth of the season -- off a feed from senior midfielder and Bucknell commit Sally Olson.

Up next: Vernon at home on Monday; Kittatinny at home on Tuesday; North Warren at home on Friday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament.

5. Hackettstown (5-2) -- Tigers capped a 2-0 week with a 1-0 win at No. 6 Delaware Valley on Wednesday, as sophomore forward Molly Gorczyca scored the lone goal off an assist from junior forward Kayli Yeisley. Junior goalie Rose Bishop stopped four shots for her fourth shutout of the season. Coach Stephen Speirs' team opened last week with a 2-1 win over High Point at home. Yeisley and junior forward Cayla Andrews scored goals in the victory.

Up next: Newton at home on Tuesday; at Sparta on Friday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament.

6. Delaware Valley (4-4) -- Terriers went 1-1 last week, opening with a 3-0 win at home against North Plainfield on Tuesday. Senior midfielder Tina Crotty scored a goal and had an assist in the win, while senior back Brianna Skripko and junior forward Katie Maddalena also connected for goals. On Wednesday, coach Stephanie Carino's team dropped a 1-0 decision to No. 5 Hackettstown in an independent matchup between former Skyland Conference rivals.

Up next: Franklin at home on Tuesday; at Belvidere on Thursday; at Newton on Friday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament.

7. Kittatinny (5-1-1) -- Cougars are coming off a 2-0 week, opening with a 2-1 win at North Warren as senior forward Alexis Ambrosino moved closer to the 100-points mark for her career with a goal and an assist. The transfer from High Point enters this week with 98 points, including 40 career goals. In last Thursday's 3-0 win at Pequannock, Holly Reznik, Christina Chernati and Melissa Toye all scored goals, while senior goalie Julia Pevarnik stopped nine saves for her fifth shutout in seven games. Big week on tap for coach Emily Murray's team, which drew the No. 2 seed on the Sussex side for the tri-county tournament.

Up next: at Lenape Valley on Tuesday; West Morris at home on Thursday; Phillipsburg at home on Friday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament.

8. Sparta (5-3-1) -- Spartans opened their 2-0-1 week with a 4-2 win over crosstown rival Pope John on Monday, as senior forward Abby Tracey connected for a pair of goals, while junior forward Rhett Curran added two assists and a goal. Junior midfielder Gretchen Bowie scored a goal in the team's 2-1 win at Butler on Tuesday, while senior midfielder Julia Silvestri scored in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Newton.

Up next: West Morris at home on Wednesday; Hackettstown at home on Friday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament.

9. Newton (4-2-3) -- Braves went 1-0-1 last week, opening with a 2-1 win at Wallkill Valley as sophomore midfielder Natalie Rivas and senior forward Sarah Parks connected for goals, while sophomore forward Brittany Schumann added her team-leading fifth assist. In Saturday's 1-1 tie against Sparta, junior forward Olivia Weiss scored her first goal. Coach Lisa Bechtel's squad is the No. 3 Sussex seed and will host No. 6 Delaware Valley in a first-round HWS game.

Up next: at Hackettstown on Tuesday; Delaware Valley at home on Friday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament.

10. Wallkill Valley (4-4) -- Rangers capped a 2-1 week with a 2-1 win in overtime against Belvidere on Saturday in a Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex preliminary round game. Sophomore forward Danielle Seabeck and talented freshman Morgan Carr scored the goals, while senior goalie Merinda Gruszecki stopped three shots. In Thursday's 3-2 win over Pope John, Seabeck scored a goal, along with freshman midfielder Caitlyn Mizeski and junior midfielder Erica McNulty. Coach Irene Chernati's team opened the week with a 2-1 loss to No. 9 Newton.

Up next: at High Point on Tuesday; at Parsippany on Thursday; at Warren Hills on Friday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament.

On the bubble: Pope John (5-3), Belvidere (4-5), South Hunterdon (5-2), North Warren (3-5-1)

Field hockey: HWS schedule for Sept. 29-Oct. 4

Monday, Sept. 29

(All games 4 p.m.)

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

Vernon at Lenape Valley

Independent

Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg (Pa.) at Belvidere

Princeton Day at South Hunterdon

Tuesday, Sept. 30

(All games 4 p.m., unless noted)

Skyland Conference

North Plainfield at Belvidere, 3:45 p.m.

Warren Hills at Watchung Hills

Franklin at Delaware Valley, 5 p.m.

Mount St. Mary at South Hunterdon, 3:45 p.m.

North Hunterdon at Phillipsburg, 3:45 p.m.

Ridge at Hunterdon Central, 7:15 p.m.

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

Wallkill Valley at High Point

Kittatinny at Lenape Valley

Newton at Hackettstown

North Warren at Jefferson

Wednesday, Oct. 1

(All games 4 p.m., unless noted)

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

Roxbury at Pope John (ppd, no makeup date)

West Morris at Sparta

Parsippany Hills at Vernon (ppd to Oct. 21)

Skyland Conference

Ridge at North Hunterdon, 5:15 p.m.

Independent

North Warren at Blair Academy, 6 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 2

(All games 3:45 p.m., unless noted)

Skyland Conference

Delaware Valley at Belvidere

Bridgewater at Warren Hills, 6:30 p.m.

North Plainfield at Voorhees

Bernards at South Hunterdon

Hunterdon Central at Phillipsburg

Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference

West Morris at Kittatinny, 4 p.m.

Wallkill Valley at Parsippany (ppd, TBA)

Friday, Oct. 3

Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament

(All first-round games, 2 p.m., unless noted)

North Warren at Lenape Valley

Pope John at Hunterdon Central

Delaware Valley at Newton

High Point at South Hunterdon

Phillipsburg at Kittatinny

North Hunterdon at Voorhees, 3:30 p.m.
Hackettstown at Sparta, 4 p.m.

Wallkill Valley at Warren Hills, 6:30 p.m.

Field hockey: Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex standings

   (Through Thursday's games)

Skyland Conference
Delaware Division
		Overall	Division
Bridgewater-Raritan		(7-0)	(3-0)
Hunterdon Central		(5-1)	(2-0)
Ridge		(6-2-1)	(1-1)
Hillsborough		(1-5-2)	(0-2)
Pingry		(3-4)	(0-3)
Raritan Division
		Overall	Division
Warren Hills		(7-0)	(2-0)
Phillipsburg		(2-5-1)	(2-1)
North Hunterdon		(1-5)	(1-1)
Montgomery		(4-5)	(1-2)
Watchung Hills		(1-6)	(0-2)
Valley Division
		Overall	Division
Voorhees		(8-0-1)	(3-0)
Bernards		(5-1)	(2-1)
Franklin		(4-3-1)	(0-1-1)
Somerville		(2-4-1)	(0-1-1)
Delaware Valley		(4-4)	(0-2)
Mountain Division
		Overall	Division
Belvidere		(4-4)	(2-1)
South Hunterdon		(5-2)	(2-1)
Mount St. Mary		(3-4)	(2-1)
North Plainfield		(0-6)	(0-3)
Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference
Freedom Division
		Overall	Division
Lenape Valley		(5-2)	(3-0)
Hackettstown		(5-2)	(2-1)
High Point		(1-3-3)	(1-2)
Jefferson		(2-6)	(0-3)
American Division
		Overall	Division
Sparta		(5-3)	(3-0)
Pope John		(5-3)	(3-1)
Mount Olive		(3-4)	(2-1)
Vernon		(1-6-2)	(0-3)
Morris Hills		(0-7)	(0-3)
Colonial Division
		Overall	Division
Kittatinny		(5-1-1)	(3-0)
Newton		(4-2-2)	(2-1)
Wallkill Valley		(3-4)	(1-2)
North Warren		(2-5-1)	(0-3)

Field hockey: HWS seeds, pairings (official)

The sixth annual Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex tournament gets under way on Saturday with two preliminary round games.

Here's is this year's complete schedule:

Pigtails on Saturday, Sept. 27 at the higher seeds, with the winners advancing to the eight pre-quarterfinal round contests on Friday, Oct. 3 at the higher seeds. The quarterfinals are slated for Saturday, Oct. 11 at the higher seeds with the semifinals to be played on Saturday, Oct. 18.

The championship game will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25 on the turf at Newton's Palmer Field. Warren Hills posted a 1-0 win over Hackettstown in last year's title game, the Warren County school's second HWS championship.

Note: Power points through a team's first seven games, or if less than seven, their number of games played up to and including Wednesday's cutoff are used in seeding process. In head-to-head cases, teams may jump only the school directly above or below, so if a No. 5 beat a No. 4 they would flip spots.

North Warren jumped over Belvidere -- 3-0 on Sept. 20 -- as did Vernon over Wallkill Valley -- 3-2 on Sept. 20. Kittatinny also beat Newton -- 2-0 on Sept. 12, while Sparta posted a 4-2 win over Pope John on Monday.

Wallkill Valley will host Belvidere in an 8-9 matchup, while No. 10 North Hunterdon travels to No. 7 Vernon for Saturday's preliminary round at 11 a.m.

Here are the matchups (A-Sussex, B-H/W).

Top bracket

8B-North Warren (2-5-1, 41.3) at 1A-Lenape Valley (5-2, 94)
5A-Pope John (5-2, 74.5) at 4B-Hunterdon Central (5-1, 87)
6B-Delaware Valley (4-4, 77) at 3A-Newton (4-2-2, 81)
10B-North Hunterdon (1-5, 35) vs. 7A-Vernon (1-6-2, 33) winner at 2B-Voorhees (8-0-1, 123.5)

Bottom bracket

9B-Belvidere (3-4, 61.5) vs. 8A-Wallkill Valley (2-4, 38.5) winner at 1B-Warren Hills (7-0, 143)
5B-Hackettstown (5-2, 87) at 4A-Sparta (5-3, 72)
6A-High Point (1-3-3, 53.8) at 3B-South Hunterdon (5-2, 97)
7B-Phillipsburg (2-4-1, 63.3) at 2A-Kittatinny (4-1-1, 75.5)

Field hockey: HWS scoring leaders

   (Through Wednesday's games)

   Minimum 8 points

Player	School	Goals	Assists	Points
Kathryn Roncoroni	Voorhees	20	5	45
Sydney Muntone	Warren Hills	13	6	32
Carleen O'Connell	Pope John	12	5	29
Dani Profita	Warren Hills	10	7	27
Rhett Curran	Sparta	9	5	23
Kendall Nickel	Hunterdon Central	7	4	18
Hannah Ryan	Voorhees	8	2	18
Alexis Ambrosino	Kittatinny	7	2	16
Erin Sassaman	Belvidere	7	0	14
Jessica Towey	North Warren	4	6	14
Kailey Dalgauer	Hunterdon Central	6	1	13
Jessica Nissen	Warren Hills	6	1	13
Abby Tracey	Sparta	4	5	13
Natalie Rivas	Newton	5	2	12
Hannah Schiavo	Voorhees	4	4	12
Megan Thompson	Warren Hills	5	2	12
Taylor Barrett	Hunterdon Central	4	3	11
Kassidy Forik	Lenape Valley	5	1	11
Nikki Profita	Warren Hills	3	5	11
Amanda Crampton	Warren Hills	2	6	10
Gretchen Bowie	Sparta	3	4	10
Baylee Vozza	Pope John	2	6	10
Morgan Carr	Wallkill Valley	4	2	10
Jackie Hallack	Sparta	4	2	10
McKenzie Alter	Vernon	4	1	9
Sally Olson	Lenape Valley	3	2	8
Alyssa Falleni	Lenape Valley	4	0	8
Megan Stevens	North Warren	3	2	8
Molly Gorczyca	Hackettstown	3	2	8

Field hockey: Unofficial HWS Tournament seeds

The sixth annual Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex tournament gets under way on Saturday with two preliminary round games.

Here's is this year's complete schedule:

Pigtails on Saturday, Sept. 27 at the higher seeds, with the winners advancing to the eight pre-quarterfinal round contests on Saturday, Oct. 4 at the higher seeds. The quarterfinals are slated for Saturday, Oct. 11 at the higher seeds with the semifinals to be played on Saturday, Oct. 18.

The championship game will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25 on the turf at Newton's Palmer Field. Warren Hills posted a 1-0 win over Hackettstown in last year's title game, the Warren County school's second HWS championship.

But first thing's first, the teams must be paired and seeded, which takes place on Wednesday evening.

As was the case a year ago, power points will be used through a team's first seven games, or if less than seven, their number of games played up to and including today's cutoff.

In head-to-head cases, teams may jump only the school directly above or below, so if a No. 5 beat a No. 4 they would flip spots.

Based on my calculations, Wallkill Valley would host Belvidere in an 8-9 matchup, while No. 10 North Hunterdon would travel to No. 7 Vernon for Saturday's preliminary round.

Here are the other potential matchups (A-Sussex, B-H/W). Note: All power point totals are unofficial and records are season to date.

Note: North Warren would jump over Belvidere based on head-to-head win -- 3-0 on Sept. 20.

Top bracket

8B-North Warren (2-5-1, 37.25) at 1A-Newton (4-2-2, 94)
5A-Sparta (5-3, 72) at 4B-Hunterdon Central (5-1, 87)
6B-Delaware Valley (4-4, 77) at 3A-Pope John (5-2, 73.5)
10B-North Hunterdon (1-5, 35) vs. 7A-Vernon (1-6-2, 40.5) winner at 2B-Voorhees (8-0-1, 102.5)

Bottom bracket

9B-Belvidere (3-4, 61.5) vs. 8A-Wallkill Valley (2-4, 34.5) winner at 1B-Warren Hills (7-0, 140)
5B-Hackettstown (5-2, 84) at 4A-Kittatinny (4-1-1, 72.5)
6A-High Point (1-3-3, 48.25) at 3B-South Hunterdon (5-2, 94)
7B-Phillipsburg (2-4-1, 63.25) at 2A-Lenape Valley (5-2, 88)