Warren Hills (22-2), which recently claimed its 13th sectional title, will meet nemesis Ocean City (22-1) for the fourth straight year in the Group 3 final at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The Raiders advanced with a 5-2 win over Moorestown in the other semifinal.
The Streaks claimed their first state championship -- and the first in any female sport at the Warren County school -- with a 5-4 win in overtime against the Raiders in the 2014 state final at Bordentown High School.
"Ever since the first day of preseason, we knew we could get back here," senior back Rachel Phillips said after the Streaks' sectional final victory.
Ocean City holds a 5-1 edge in Group 3 finals meetings against Warren Hills, which ended an eight-game skid in finals last year and will be making its 10th championship appearance since its first in 1996. Ocean City also denied the Blue Streaks' title bids in 1999, 2001, '09 and '12. Only Eastern (18), Moorestown (16), West Essex (16), Shore Regional (14) and Shawnee (11) have won more state titles than Ocean City (9), which has reached 11 finals in its storied history.
Profita, with 79 career goals, surpassed Sydney Muntone's total of 77 set from 2011-14. Profita, who has a single-season record 40 goals to go with 25 assists for a school record 105 points, is just three points shy of becoming the Streaks' career leader in that category (Muntone is tops with 211).
Sophomore forward Rebecca Sigman added a goal, while senior forward Megan Thompson had a goal and two assists for Warren Hills, which has outscored its four postseason opponents by a combined 20-0 and is now 71-38 all-time in postseason matchups. Junior goalie Jackie deRaismes made four saves for her 13th shutout.
In addition to Warren Hills, Bridgewater-Raritan will represent the Skyland Conference on Saturday when the Panthers meet powerhouse Eastern for the 11th straight year in the Group 4 final at 6 p.m. Eastern (23-0) won the previous 10 meetings against Bridgewater (22-2), which won a 4-1 decision over Montclair in the Group 4 semis, including a 7-0 victory in last year's title game.
Braves fall in Group 1
Shore Regional 5, Newton 1 -- Senior forward Emily Weiss scored the tying goal early in the first half, but the Braves dropped a second straight meeting with defending Group 1 champion Shore in the semifinal nightcap at Johnson Regional.
Weiss knotted the score at 1 about 10 minutes into the first half before Shore (21-4) reeled off two more goals for a 3-1 lead at the break. Shore will face Haddonfield for the Group 1 title on Saturday.
Newton, which claimed its second straight North 1, Group 1 title to reach the state semis, finishes its season at 18-2-2. The Braves were bidding for their second state finals appearance and first since 1984. Last year, coach Lisa Bechtel's team dropped a 2-0 decision to Shore here in the Group 1 semifinals. Sussex County teams have reached the finals 11 times, with Vernon winning the county's last title in 1996.
Newton will return several starting juniors next season, including midfielder Natalie Rivas, who led the team in scoring with 22 goals and nine assists.
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