The semifinal round in the 11th annual tri-county tournament is set as top-seeded Warren Hills will host No. 5 seed Hunterdon Central in one matchup on Saturday, while No. 3 seed North Hunterdon travels to No. 2 Voorhees. Both games are slated for 10 a.m. The winners will meet at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19 in the championship game at Morrison Field in Hackettstown.
It's a shame that both semifinals will played so early and not together at a neutral site. That was a fine idea once upon a time, when the first tournament held the semis together at Vernon Township High School in 2009. Now that trip is too far out of the way, but North Hunterdon would be a perfect spot to host both games. I think you'd get a nice crowd to see two for the price of one. Maybe next year?
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| Warren Hills earned the program's 700th win on Friday. |
Warren Hills (15-0), which is favored to win its tournament-best seventh championship, reached the semis with a 6-0 victory over Belvidere on Monday -- improving the Blue Streaks to an amazing 33-4 all-time in county games. Standing in the way of a 10th trip to the final is Hunterdon Central (7-8-2), which won its only title in 2016 and lost to Hills in the '17 title game.
North Hunterdon (11-4), in the midst of the program's best season in 10 years, advanced to the semifinals for the first time in tournament history with a 5-0 win over Delaware Valley on Tuesday. The Lions' reward is a rematch with Voorhees, which hasn't lost to North since 1990. The Vikes prevailed, 3-0, when the sister schools met in a Skyland Conference Raritan Division clash this season on Sept. 24.
Voorhees (12-3), which has lost twice to Warren Hills this season, including a 2-1 loss at home in their last meeting on Oct. 1, is 22-8 all-time in HWS play and won titles in 2010 and '12. Coach Shannon Hughes' team would dearly love a third matchup against the Blue Streaks, but the Vikes have struggled on the offensive end. However, the stout defense is the only unit to shut out North Hunterdon this season.
Also keep in mind that the sectional tournament cutoff is less than a week away on Monday, so we're getting to the really fun part of the season. It moves fast!
Now, onto this week's rankings:
1. Warren Hills (15-0) -- Blue Streaks inched closer to the Skyland Conference Raritan Division title with a 5-0 win over Phillipsburg on Tuesday -- improving to 44-10-1 in the all-time series with their 25th straight victory over the Stateliners since a 3-2 loss on Oct. 30, 2007. Senior forward Samantha Dugan scored a pair of goals and added three assists -- becoming just the eighth player in program history to notch 50 career goals, passing Lori Toole and Jessica Nissen (48) for eighth place on the career list. Dugan (125) also passed Megan Springmeyer (124 from 2004-07) for seventh on the career points list. Right wing Paulina Georgoutsos, one of just four starting seniors, scored two goals in Monday's win over Belvidere.
Up next: at North Hunterdon on Thursday; Hunterdon Central at home on Saturday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament semifinals.
2. Voorhees (12-3) -- Vikes bounced back from their loss to Warren Hills with three straight wins, including a 3-0 victory over Hunterdon Central and a 2-1 win over Montgomery on Tuesday to keep pace in the Skyland Conference Raritan Division race. Senior midfielder Madison Ogorzalek helped boost the offense with a pair of assists against Central and goals in wins over South Hunterdon and Montgomery -- giving her at least one goal or an assist in seven of the team's past eight contests.
Up next: at Ridge on Thursday; North Hunterdon at home on Saturday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament semifinals.
3. North Hunterdon (11-4) -- Lions, who have won five of their last six, including a 5-0 win over Delaware Valley on Tuesday in the tri-county quarterfinals, are one win shy of their best season since going 12-9 in 2009 -- also the program's last winning campaign. Freshman forward Lauren Masters logged her fourth game with at least three goals in a 5-4 victory over Hillsborough last Thursday.
Up next: Warren Hills at home on Thursday; at Voorhees on Saturday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament semifinals.
4. Hunterdon Central (7-8-2) -- Red Devils rebounded from a 3-0 loss at Voorhees on Thursday with back-to-back wins over Sparta (5-0 on Saturday) and Vernon (3-0 on Monday) in tri-county tourney action. Senior midfielder Sammy Freeman got back in the swing of things on offense with three goals and an assist in those victories -- her first points since Sept. 14. Senior forward Lexi Finkelstein logged goals in both games as well.
Up next: at Warren Hills on Saturday in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament semifinals.
5. Delaware Valley (11-4) -- Terriers saw their three-game win streak snapped with a 5-0 loss to North Hunterdon on Tuesday in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex quarterfinals as Del Val was seeking its second tri-county semifinal appearance in program history. Samantha Snowden, who was coming off back-to-back two-goal games, was held without a point for just the fourth time this season.
Up next: at Franklin on Thursday.
6. South Hunterdon (12-2) -- Eagles saw their win streak end at seven with a 4-1 loss at Voorhees on Monday in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament quarterfinals. Junior midfielder Rebecca Phillips' run of seven consecutive games with at least one goal or an assists also ended with that loss. Phillips had scored eight goals to go with six assists during that stretch. Coach Stephanie Davis-Hart's team is closing in on the Skyland Conference Mountain Division title.
Up next: Belvidere at home on Thursday; at Pennington on Saturday.
7. Belvidere (7-6-1) -- County Seaters scored their third straight win and the program's fifth straight appearance in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory at Newton on Friday -- Ellie Kardos scored the winning goal off a feed from junior forward Olivia Zmyewski -- before their run ended with a 6-0 loss to top-seeded Warren Hills on Monday.
Up next: at South Hunterdon on Thursday.
8. Vernon (12-1) -- Vikings suffered their first loss of the season -- 3-0 at home to Hunterdon Central in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament quarterfinals on Monday. Senior forward Carlie Van Tassel, who leads the team with 16 goals, was kept off the board for just the third time this season following her third three-goal game of the season against Kittatinny on Sept. 30. Sophomore forward Julia Gregory also had three-goal games in two of the Vikes' last four contests. Coach Kieran Killeen's team can clinch the NJAC Freedom Division title with a win on Thursday.
Up next: at Newton on Thursday.
9. Newton (9-3) -- Braves, who had reached the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex quarterfinals in four of the previous five years, bowed out in the second round with a 1-0 loss at home against Belvidere on Friday. Two days earlier, senior midfielder Sami Samilijan scored a pair of goals and added an assist in a 5-0 rout of Kittatinny. Coach Lisa Bechtel's team needs a win over Vernon on Thursday to keep their NJAC Freedom Division title hopes alive.
Up next: Vernon at home on Thursday; Mendham at home on Saturday.
10. Hackettstown (5-7) -- Tigers have dropped three straight -- all shutouts -- including a 2-0 defeat at South Hunterdon in the second round of the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament on Saturday. Junior forward Megan Doyle leads the team in scoring with five goals and four assists.
Up next: Morris Knolls at home on Saturday.
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