For a second straight year, the Blue Streaks' campaign ended with a loss to Moorestown in the Group 3 final -- 7-0 on a blustery Saturday afternoon at Bordentown Regional High School.
"[Moorestown] is a very strong team. They were strong last year, and the majority of their lineup is seniors," said second-year coach Josie Potter, who had 11 underclassmen in the starting lineup on Saturday. "But my team never gave up the entire game. They played a full 60 minutes."
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| Warren Hills expects to make another Group 3 title run in 2019. |
"They are incredible," said junior center midfielder Kate Fenner, who turned in another strong performance for Warren Hills after starting the winning drives in the North 1, Group 3 sectional final and Group 3 semifinal wins to get the Streaks to a seventh straight Group 3 final.
"We had a lot of young players. I'm really proud of all the girls, the way they stepped up.
Warren Hills (19-6-1), now 2-11 all-time in the state finals, was seeking the program's third state title since winning back-to-back championships in 2014-15. The Streaks, who fell 6-1 to Moorestown in the '17 final, have now been outscored, 18-1, in their last three appearances here.
"They were extremely skilled," said junior midfielder Samantha Dugan, one of only two returning starters, along with Fenner, from last year's title game. "They knew what they wanted to do, and they were very aggressive."
Inexperience was definitely a factor, but Warren Hills hung tough for about the first 20 minutes after giving up goal just 1:30 into the contest. But Moorestown coach Ali Collins wisely called a timeout with 13:43 left in the half and implored her team to "step on the gas." The Quakers responded with four more first-half goals in a span of about 10 minutes to open the floodgates.
Once again, the Streaks had no answer for Moorestown senior Delaney Lawler, who scored two of her three goals in a two-minute span, starting with a rocket shot off a penalty corner with 11:01 left on the clock. Lawler, an Ohio State recruit who scored twice in last year's final, added another off a corner -- a perfectly executed stick-to-stick pass in the circle from Colleen Craven -- two minutes later to make it 3-0.
Senior Kayla Frank, who opened the scoring, made it a 4-0 lead with her team-leading 35th goal before junior Alivia Labetti capped the first-half scoring off a rebound with 4:22 left on the clock.
Warren Hills, which was held to just one shot-on-goal that came early in the game, did not have a single penalty corner. Dugan, who had served as the insert for most of the season, said the Streaks had practiced several new corners this week that they were hoping to unveil in this one.
"We couldn't maintain possession," said Potter, now 8-2 overall in postseason games. "We either couldn't finish our passes or we just dribbled into [a defender]. That was the biggest issue today. We held them to two goals in the second half. That was our goal."
Though the season ended on a down note, Warren Hills did extend its sectional title streak to seven straight, something to be proud of considering the numerous injuries and inexperience the team had to overcome just to make a return trip to Bordentown.
"We had a great season," Fenner said. "Next year, the pressure will be on us. We will be expected to win."
Warren Hills (19-6-1) 0 0 -- 0
Moorestown (22-1-1) 5 2 -- 7
Scoring
First half -- M, Kayla Frank, 34th, (Delaney Lawler), 28:30; M, Lawler, 20th, (Shea Balderson), 11:01; M, Lawler, 21st, (Colleen Craven), 9:01; M, Frank, 35th, 6:10; M, Alivia Labetti, 5th, 4:22.
Second half -- M, Lawler, 22nd, (Catherine Dare), 27:55; M, Dare, 16th, 23:50.
Shots -- Warren Hills 1; Moorestown 15.
Saves -- Julia Webber 7, Emily Dvorsky 1 (defensive) (WH); Lauren Pickul 1 (M).
Penalty corners -- Warren Hills 0; Moorestown 6.
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