The Vikings made quite a statement this week with back-to-back wins over Warren Hills (4-2 on Tuesday) and Hunterdon Central (4-1 on Thursday) to claim the No. 1 spot in the Open Mike area rankings. First-year coach Shannon Hughes' team closed it out with a 4-1 win over South Hunterdon on Friday in advancing to Monday's HWS quarterfinal round for the 10th straight year.
"We know we can beat the teams in front of us," said junior midfielder Lauren Kokoskie of the Vikes' place in the draw.
The HWS committee has seeded the event strictly on power points through a team's first seven regular-season contests the last three years, and it's created some nonsensical pairings, like in 2017, when Voorhees had to travel as the No. 6 seed to No. 3 Warren Hills for a quarterfinal game. That's right, the two most successful programs in the tournament's history -- combining for eight championships and 11 finals appearances -- played in the Round of 8.
"It made us angry, and gave us some motivation," Hughes said of this year's No. 7 seed. "We've been playing so much better than we had been [earlier in the season]."
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| Warren Hills will likely have to win a sectional title on the road in '18. |
The problem with this power-point system, as we've discussed here numerous times, is it does not take a team's strength of schedule into consideration. Look at the North 1, Group 3 sectional bracket, where Northern Highlands (13-0) is currently the No. 1 seed with Warren Hills, which has won six straight titles and six consecutive Group 3 finals, sitting as the No. 4 seed. Northern Highlands, which is coached by the classy Rich Smith, does not play even remotely as strong of a schedule that Warren Hills does on an annual basis. Regardless, it's looking like the Blue Streaks, who are 4-0 all time vs. Northern Highlands in the postseason -- including wins of 9-0 and 6-1 in the Group 3 semis in 2013 and '14, and 4-0 in the sectional semis in '16 -- will almost assuredly be on the road for the sectional semifinals and finals -- should they get that far -- in their bid for a seventh straight title. The tournament cutoff date for qualifying games is Monday, Oct. 15.
In a new twist to the HWS Tournament this season, the quarterfinals will be played on Monday, just a few days after this weekend's second-round games. The semifinals will be played next Saturday, with the championship game set for Saturday, Oct. 20.We feel confident projecting that we will have the #1 seed throughout the state sectional tournament! There are still some games to be decided, but we should be able to maintain our power points lead regardless of the outcome! pic.twitter.com/FlU91lIAC7— HighlandsFieldHockey (@NHFieldHockey) October 6, 2018
Voorhees will next face No. 2 Delaware Valley, while No. 3 Warren Hills will take on No. 11 Vernon, a 2-1 winner over No. 6 Lenape Valley, in the quarters. In top half of the draw, No. 8 Belvidere will play No. 1 Hunterdon Central and No. 5 Newton will travel to No. 4 Hackettstown.
There's nothing that Voorhees and Warren Hills would love more than to meet for a third time this season after splitting a pair of Skyland Conference Raritan Division games. The Streaks, who scored a 3-1 win on the road on Sept. 4, will be looking to avenge that 4-2 loss at home last week, which put the Vikes in control of the division race.
Hughes, who was a star player at South Plainfield High School and Rider University, was a bit of a surprise hire coming right out of college. But she has Voorhees playing extremely well heading into the biggest portion of the schedule.
"It's been so much fun," Hughes said after the win over Warren Hills. "It's been a blessing. This is a really good group."
Now, onto this week's rankings.
1. Voorhees (9-4) -- Vikes are rolling heading into this week's slate, while an impressive 4-2 win at Warren Hills set them up nicely in the Skyland Conference Raritan Division race with five divisional games to play -- Montgomery (Tuesday), Ridge (Thursday), North Hunterdon (Oct. 18) and Phillipsburg twice (Oct. 16 and 22). Junior forward Cassie Boyce had a huge week with a pair of goals in the wins over Warren Hills and Hunterdon Central, while notching one goal and an assist against South Hunterdon. Junior forward Brooke Hyland scored her area-best 18th goal on Friday.
Up next: at Delaware Valley on Monday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex quarterfinals; Montgomery at home on Tuesday; Ridge at home on Thursday.
2. Hunterdon Central (9-2) -- Red Devils saw their seven-game win streak snapped with a 4-1 loss to Voorhees at home on Thursday. It also hurt coach Jenn Sponzo's team in the Skyland Conference Delaware Division race, putting Central (8-2 division) two games back of Bridgewater-Raritan (10-0), which scored a 3-1 win in their first meeting this season on Sept. 8, with the rematch looming this week. Junior forward Sammy Freeman, who had at least one goal or an assist in the team's first 11 games, scored in an 8-2 win over Watchung Hills on Tuesday, while senior forward Alyssa Magliaro had three goals.
Up next: Belvidere at home on Monday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex quarterfinals; Bridgewater-Raritan at home on Tuesday; Bernards at home on Thursday.
3. Warren Hills (8-4-1) -- Blue Streaks opened last week with a tough 4-2 loss at home against nemesis Voorhees in a key Skyland Conference Raritan Division clash. That hurt coach second-year coach Josie Potter's team's bid to repeat as champs with three losses and a tie in divisional play. The 1-1 draw with Ridge on Sept. 18 is big because Voorhees would need to lose two of its remaining five division games in order for Warren Hills to win the title. The Streaks bounced back with a 2-0 win against Wallkill Valley on Saturday behind goals from sophomores Julianna Valli and Simryn Desai to improve to a tournament-best 30-3 all time in HWS games.
Up next: Vernon at home on Monday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex quarterfinals; at Phillipsburg on Tuesday; at North Hunterdon on Thursday.
4. Hackettstown (9-2-1) -- Tigers capped a 3-0 week with a 1-0 win over Phillipsburg on Saturday to advance to the HWS quarterfinals. Senior midfielder Sierra Castiglia scored the decisive goal, while junior goalie Sophia Mallozzi made five saves for the team's eighth shutout. Earlier last week, senior midfielder Madison Hoskins scored goals in wins over Mendham (5-0 on Tuesday) and Newton (5-0 on Wednesday). Hoskins also had a combined three assists in those games, while sophomore forward Megan Doyle had a hat trick against Mendham.
Up next: Newton at home on Monday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex quarterfinals; at Lenape Valley on Thursday.
5. Belvidere (7-3-1) -- County Seaters went 2-0-1 this past week, capping it off with a 1-0 win over High Point to advance to the HWS Tournament quarterfinals for a fourth straight year. Senior forward Angie Santini scored the decisive goal, her third of the season. Coach Beth Franceschino's team opened a big week with a 0-0 tie at home against South Hunterdon, which scored a 1-0 win over the Seaters on Sept. 11, in a key Skyland Conference Mountain Division matchup, leaving the Warren County school one behind in the loss column in that race. Senior forwards Maddie Call and Abby Bronico each scored a pair of goals in a 6-1 win over Mount St. Mary on Thursday.
Up next: at Hunterdon Central on Monday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex quarterfinals; at North Warren on Tuesday.
6. Delaware Valley (8-3) -- Terriers, who will begin HWS Tournament play on Monday, cruised to a pair of wins against Skyland Conference Valley Division opponents -- 7-0 over Franklin on Tuesday and 5-0 at Somerville on Thursday. Sophomore forward Kristen Bill scored two goals in each of those victories, while senior midfielder Madison Scott had three goals and one assist against Somerville and senior forward Megan Donnelly had a goal and three assists against Franklin.
Up next: Voorhees at home on Monday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex quarterfinals; South Hunterdon at home on Wednesday.
7. South Hunterdon (6-2-1) -- Eagles were denied their first trip to the HWS quarterfinals since 2013 with a 4-1 loss to Voorhees on Friday, coming off a 0-0 tie against Belvidere on Tuesday and a 9-0 rout of North Plainfield in a Skyland Conference Mountain Division clash on Thursday. Sophomore forward Chandler Storcella scored a pair of goals against North Plainfield and had the team's lone goal against Voorhees.
Up next: at Mount St. Mary on Monday; at Delaware Valley on Wednesday; at Solebury (Pa.) on Thursday.
8. Phillipsburg (5-9) -- Stateliners, who dropped a tough 1-0 decision at Hackettstown in an HWS matchup on Saturday, are playing much better of late, winning four of their last six since snapping a seven-game skid on Sept. 27, including wins over North Hunterdon (3-1 on Tuesday) and Watchung Hills (3-0 on the road on Thursday). Senior midfielder Gabby Dudek had a fine week with four goals and one assist, including a two-goal game against Watchung Hills.
Up next: Warren Hills at home on Tuesday; Montgomery at home on Thursday.
9. Newton (8-3-1) -- Braves went 2-1 this past week with wins over Kittatinny (2-0 on Monday) and Sparta (4-0 in HWS action on Friday), sandwiched around a 5-0 loss to Hackettstown in a key NJAC Freedom Division clash. That one was the completion of a rain-suspended contest earlier this season. Senior forward Lauren Barbato had a goal and two assists in the win over Sparta, which sets up a rematch against Hackettstown in the HWS quarterfinals as Newton seeks its first trip to the semis since 2010.
Up next: at Hackettstown on Monday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex quarterfinals; Mountain Lakes at home on Thursday.
10. High Point (4-5) -- 'Cats gave a good account in a 1-0 loss at Belvidere on Saturday in HWS action -- their first game in 14 days after numerous postponements due to weather and poor field conditions. Senior forward Tyra Wingle, who leads the team with seven goals and six assists and ranks 11th among area scoring leaders, was held without either for just the second time this season.
Up next: Pope John at home on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in annual Play Pink for Cancer research game.
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