Sunday, September 15, 2019

Field hockey: Streaks, Voorhees atop HWS ranks

It's almost that time for the 11th annual Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament to commence.

Seeds and pairings won't be released until early next week, but here's hoping the athletic directors figure out a way to get the seeding process done right. In previous seasons, seeding has been based solely on power points, but with teams playing an uneven number of games and some facing much stiffer competition, things have not made sense. Another Warren Hills-Voorhees matchup in the quarterfinals -- no joke, this happened in 2017 -- is not what we're looking to see.
Hackettstown won the 2018 HWS field hockey title.

The ADs from the HWS area will hash all of this out -- as well as what to do with seeding in other sports besides wrestling -- at their next scheduled meeting on Tuesday.

Speaking of Warren Hills, which surely rates as the favorite to win this season's HWS title, is off to a 6-0 start for the third time in six years. What should be scary to all teams in the area and statewide is that the Blue Streaks return all 11 starters from last season's Group 3 runner-up team and are still very young -- only four starting seniors.

"We're doing OK," said third-year coach Josie Potter, following her team's 4-0 win over Watchung Hills last Monday.

That may be the understatement of the season, but Potter likes keep everything close to the vest. There's no denying the depth of talent on her squad, particularly on defense, which was bolstered by the returns of backs Ashley Moskal and Jess DeSanto. Moskal, a junior, was arguably Warren Hills' top player as a freshman and missed all of 2018 with an ACL injury. She has been brought along slowly since opening day, and showed some versatility by playing on the forward line in a 2-0 win over Voorhees on Sept. 3. DeSanto was a starter on the 2017 Group 3 runner-up team and did not come out as a junior.

It's caused some nice problems to have for Potter, who has been mixing and matching lineups early on, like she did a year ago. Senior Kate Fenner, a rock-solid sweeper and Fairfield University commit, moved to center midfield against Watchung Hills and the offense, which was a little sluggish to start that one, responded immediately, as she scored her first goal of the season. That may be a winning move with so many strong options in the backfield, including sophomore Emily Dvorsky and juniors Liz Schlaffer and Kylie Compton, in the sweeper role.

You can bet Warren Hills will be hungry for redemption this Saturday when the Streaks travel to Hackettstown for a noon independent meeting at Morrison Field. The Tigers snapped a 14-game skid in the series with a 1-0 win in overtime in last year's HWS championship game -- the program's first win over Warren Hills since a 2-1 victory at home in 2006 and spoiling the Blue Streaks' bid for a seventh title in the tournament's 10-year history. The Streaks own a 42-5-3 edge in the all-time series.

It should be an interesting few weeks coming up. Here are the first set of Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex rankings, and keep an eye on the surprising North Hunterdon Lions. More on them below.

1. Warren Hills (6-0) -- Blue Streaks capped a 3-0 week with a 2-1 win over Bridgewater-Raritan on Saturday to set themselves up as the frontrunner for the Skyland Conference Raritan Division title. Coach Josie Potter's team has outscored opponents, 18-3 through the first six games. Junior Simryn Desai, who led the Streaks in scoring last season, has four goals, while senior Samantha Dugan leads in scoring with five goals and two assists.

Up next: Ridge at home on Tuesday; Pingry at home on Friday; at Hackettstown on Saturday.

2. Voorhees (4-2) -- Vikings have rebounded with four straight wins after opening the season with losses to state powerhouses Warren Hills (2-0 on Sept. 3) and West Essex (5-1 on Sept. 5). Senior midfielder Ryleigh Cameron scored a pair of goals and had an assist in Saturday's 3-0 win over a much improved Watchung Hills team, while junior forward Kathrine McLean (three goals and three assists) and senior forward Brooke Hyland (three goals and two assists), a University of Lynchburg commit, lead the Vikes, who scored their first win on the new turf against Hillsborough (4-0 on Tuesday) in scoring.

Up next: Phillipsburg at home on Tuesday; Bridgewater-Raritan at home on Thursday; at Delaware Valley on Saturday.

3. North Hunterdon (4-2) -- How about the Lions? In just her third season at the helm, coach Maria Bachert has this program, which had gone 47-171-5 over the previous seven years and hadn't won more than three games since 2010 until its four victories in 2018, back on the map as evidenced by a shocking 4-1 win over Bridgewater-Raritan last Tuesday. A speedy forward line, led by sophomore Ryan Anderson (four goals, three assists), freshman Lauren Masters (eight goals, three assists) and sophomore Olivia Reeder (four goals), has this team eyeing its first winning season since going 12-9 in 2009.

Up next: Montgomery at home on Tuesday; at Franklin on Saturday.

4. Hunterdon Central (3-2-1) -- Red Devils have a lot of new faces this season, but coach Jenn Sponzo's team is off to a strong start -- playing to a 0-0 tie against nemesis Bridgewater-Raritan on Sept. 7 and giving Group 3 champion Moorestown all it could handle in a 2-1 overtime loss two days later. Central got back on track with a 3-0 win over Phillipsburg on Saturday as senior midfielder Sammy Freeman scored her team-leading third goal of the season. The offense will go as she does.

Up next: at Hillsborough on Tuesday; Hunterdon Central Tournament on Friday and Saturday.

5. Delaware Valley (5-0) -- Terriers, who started 5-0 for the second time in three seasons -- going 7-0 in 2017 -- opened their campaign in style with a 2-1 win over reigning Skyland Conference Valley Division champion Bernards on Sept. 4, and coach Stephanie Rifflard's team capped a 3-0 week with a 2-1 victory at Lawrence on Friday. Junior forward Kristen Bill (five goals, three assists), senior midfielder Madeline Bill (three goals, four assists) and newcomer Samantha Snowden (six goals) are powering the offense, which produced 22 goals in the first five games.

Up next: South Hunterdon at home on Tuesday; at Somerville on Thursday; Voorhees at home on Saturday.

6. South Hunterdon (5-0) -- Eagles are primed for another run at the Skyland Conference Mountain Division title following a 2-1 win over Bernards last Tuesday followed up by a 3-2 overtime victory at Belvidere on Thursday. Senior forward Alana Catanzareti scored goals in both of those wins, while junior forward Chandler Storcella had a hat trick in Saturday's 7-0 win over Steinert.

Up next: at Delaware Valley on Tuesday; North Plainfield at home on Thursday; Notre Dame at home on Saturday.

7. Belvidere (2-2) -- County Seaters are still in the mix despite heavy losses on the offensive end from last season's North 1, Group 1 sectional runner-up squad. After lopsided wins over North Plainfield and Somerville to open the season, the latter giving coach Beth Franceschino her 100th victory over two stints at the Warren County school, the Seaters dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime against South Hunterdon in a key Skyland Conference Mountain Division clash. Junior forward Olivia Zmyewski leads the team in scoring with five goals and three assists.

Up next: at Bernards on Monday; Phillipsburg at home on Saturday.

8. Vernon (4-0) -- Vikings, who seem to be making a comeback, scored a big 2-1 win over Newton on Friday after dropping a pair of tough 1-0 losses to the Braves last season. Coach Kieran Killeen's Vikes improved to 2-0 in the NJAC Freedom Division with that victory and enter the week alone in first place. Senior forward Carlie Van Tassel, who scored a team-leading five goals through the first three games, was kept off the board against Newton.

Up next: at Wallkill Valley on Monday; at Hackettstown on Tuesday; Wallkill Valley at home on Thursday.

9. Newton (4-1) -- Braves saw their four-game winning streak -- all shutouts -- to open the season snapped with a 2-1 loss at Vernon on Friday. Coach Lisa Bechtel's team had outscored its opponents 17-0, through the first four games, including a 3-0 win over reigning NJAC Freedom Division champion Hackettstown on Sept. 4. Sophomore forward Sidney Pavlishin scored a team-leading six goals through the first four games, while sophomore forward Julia Fitt and junior forward Elissar Abou-Jaoude are next on the scoring list with four goals apiece.

Up next: at High Point on Monday; at Hackettstown on Thursday; at Lenape Valley on Saturday.

10. Hackettstown (3-1) -- Tigers, coming off that magical season in 2018, which included the program's first Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament title, bounced back from a 3-0 season-opening loss at Newton, with three straight wins, including a 1-0 win over Mendham on Saturday. Junior forward Megan Doyle, one of the few returning starters from last season, is off to a good start with three goals and two assists.

Up next: Vernon at home on Tuesday; Newton at home on Thursday; Warren Hills at home on Saturday.
Posted by Mike Weilamann at 8:19 PM

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