Field hockey: HWS sectional playoff pairings, seeds

Pairings and seeds for the upcoming NJSIAA sectional tournaments involving 17 teams from the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area.

The tournaments begin with preliminary round games on Monday.

Warren Hills is seeking its seventh straight sectional title.

Warren Hills (13-4-1), seeking the program's seventh straight sectional title and 16th overall, will likely have to do so on the road as the No. 4 seed in North 1, Group 3, while Voorhees (12-5) is the No. 4 seed in a brutal North 2, Group 2 section.

First-year Vikings coach Shannon Hughes, a former star player at South Plainfield, will face her alma mater in a 5-4 matchup in the opening round. The Vikes can clinch the Skyland Conference Raritan Division title with a win against Ridge at home on Saturday.

Hackettstown (13-2-1) is the No. 2 seed in North 1, Group 1 and will meet either No. 10 High Point or No. 7 Sparta in the second round. The top seed here is perennial power West Essex, which has won a state record 35 sectional titles.

Hunterdon Central (9-3-1) is the No. 2 seed in North 2, Group 4. The Red Devils, who won their 13th and last sectional title in 2013, are 0-1-1 this season against nemesis and top-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan, which has won 13 straight titles and dropped decisions to Eastern in the Group 4 finals in each of those seasons since 2005 after merging the district's East and West Schools. The teams have met in the postseason the previous seven years, with the Panthers winning all of those meetings, including a 3-2 victory in the 2017 sectional final.

North Hunterdon (4-11), which has won its most games in a season since going 7-12-2 in 2010, seeks the program's first postseason win since a 2-1 first-round victory over Columbia on Oct. 30, 2013. The Lions, who are the No. 10 seed in North 2, Group 4, will open against Montgomery, which has two losses against North this season -- 2-1 on Sept. 17 and 3-1 on Tuesday. The winner will meet Hunterdon Central, a 5-1 winner over the Lions on Sept. 20, in the quarterfinals.

Belvidere (10-4-1), which seeks the program's first sectional title since 1996, is the No. 2 seed in North 1, Group 1. There are six Open Mike area teams in that bracket overall, including No. 4 Newton (10-4-1), winner of three straight titles in 2014-16.

Pairings were determined using power points.

North 1

Group 4

(Games played on Oct. 22, Oct. 26, Oct. 30 and Nov. 1)

9-Scotch Plains-Fanwood at 8-Columbia, winner to meet 1-Morristown

5-Phillipsburg at 4-Ridge

6-Union at 3-Randolph

10-Watchung Hills at 7-Mount Olive, winner to meet 2-Montclair

Group 3

(Games played on Oct. 22, Oct. 25, Oct. 30 and Nov. 1)

9-Roxbury at 8-Morris Knolls, winner to meet 1-Northern Highlands

5-Wayne Hills at 4-Warren Hills

6-Mendham at 3-Wayne Valley

10-Montville at 7-Passaic Valley, winner to meet 2-West Morris

Group 2

(Games played on Oct. 23, Oct. 29, Oct. 31 and Nov. 2)

9-Jefferson at 8-River Dell, winner to meet 1-West Essex

5-Parsippany at 4-West Milford

11-Parsippany Hills at 6-Vernon, winner to meet 3-Lakeland

10-High Point at 7-Sparta, winner to meet 2-Hackettstown

Group 1

(Games played on Oct. 23, Oct. 27, Oct. 31 and Nov. 2)

9-Wallkill Valley at 8-Boonton, winner to meet 1-Ramsey

12-Butler at 5-Lenape Valley

13-North Warren at 4-Newton
11-Kittatinny at 6-Mountain Lakes, winner to meet 3-Pompton Lakes

10-Westwood at 7-Pequannock, winner to meet 2-Belvidere

North 2

Group 4

(Games played on Oct. 22, Oct. 26, Oct. 30 and Nov. 1)

9-Hillsborough at 8-South Brunswick, winner to meet 1-Bridgewater-Raritan

5-East Brunswick at 4-Westfield

6-Piscataway at 3-Old Bridge

10-North Hunterdon at 7-Montgomery, winner to meet 2-Hunterdon Central

Group 2

(Games played on Oct. 23, Oct. 29, Oct. 31 and Nov. 2)

9-Raritan at 8-Summit, winner to meet 1-Rumson-Fair Haven

5-South Plainfield at 4-Voorhees

11-Matawan at 6-Hopewell Valley, winner to meet 3-Madison

10-Holmdel at 7-Governor Livingston, winner to meet 2-Bernards

Group 1

(Games played on Oct. 23, Oct. 27, Oct. 31 and Nov. 2)

9-Glen Ridge at 8-South Hunterdon, winner to meet 1-Metuchen

12-New Egypt at 5-Delaware Valley

13-Keyport at 4-Johnson

11-Bordentown at 6-Whippany Park
14-Burlington City at 3-Point Pleasant Boro

10-Florence at 7-Henry Hudson, winner to meet 2-Shore

Complete tournament schedule:

Monday, Oct. 22 -- NJSIAA preliminaries Groups 3-4
Tuesday, Oct. 23 -- NJSIAA preliminaries Groups 1-2
Thursday, Oct. 25 -- NJSIAA sectional quarterfinals Group 3
Friday, Oct. 26 -- NJSIAA sectional quarterfinals Group 4
Saturday, Oct. 27 -- NJSIAA sectional quarterfinals Group 1

Monday, Oct. 29 – NJSIAA sectional quarterfinals (2)

Tuesday, Oct. 30 -- NJSIAA sectional semifinals (3/4)

Wednesday, Oct. 31 – NJSIAA sectional semifinals (1/2)

Thursday, Nov. 1 – NJSIAA sectional finals (3/4)

Friday, Nov. 2 – NJSIAA sectional finals (1/2)

Tuesday, Nov. 6 – NJSIAA state semifinals

Saturday, Nov. 10 – NJSIAA Group finals at Bordentown Regional High School

Monday, Nov. 12 – Tournament of Champions play-in

Wednesday, Nov. 14 – Tournament of Champions semifinals

Friday, Nov. 16 – Tournament of Champions final at Kean University