What: 11th annual Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament championship.
When: Saturday, 3 p.m.
Where: Morrison Field, Hackettstown High School.
Records: Warren Hills 18-1; Voorhees 16-3.
Coaches: Josie Potter (3rd season, 61-10-1, 7-1 vs. Voor); Shannon Hughes (2nd season, 31-10, 1-4 vs. WH).
Series history: Voorhees, which owns a 34-27-6 edge dating to 1975, has dropped seven of the past eight meetings since 2017, including a pair of losses this season -- 2-0 on Sept. 3 and 2-1 at home on Oct. 1. This is the sixth meeting in a county final and third in the HWS Tournament -- with Voorhees winning 1-0 in 2010 and Warren Hills rolling to a 5-0 victory in the 2014 title game, the last finals appearance for Voorhees, which saw its HWS run end with losses to Warren Hills in three of the previous four years. Interestingly, the Vikes own a 4-1 edge in games played at neutral sites in this series.Previous champions: Newton/Warren Hills co-champs in 2009 (final was never played); Voorhees in 2010 and '12; Warren Hills in 2011, '13, '14, '15 and '17; Hunterdon Central in '16; Hackettstown in '18.
Note: Here's a closer look at both teams with probable starting lineups:
Warren Hills Blue Streaks
How they got here: Beat Belvidere, 6-0, in quarterfinals; Hunterdon Central, 3-0, in semifinals.
Previous tournament history: Beat Delaware Valley, 8-2, in 2009 first round, Beat High Point, 4-0, in 2009 quarterfinals, Beat Pope John, 3-0 in 2009 semifinals; Beat Sparta, 6-0, in 2010 first round, Beat Wallkill Valley, 4-1, in 2010 quarterfinals, Beat Newton, 2-1 in overtime, in 2010 semifinals, Lost to Voorhees, 1-0, in 2010 championship game; Beat North Warren, 9-0, in 2011 first round, Beat Newton, 5-0, in 2011 quarterfinals, Beat Wallkill Valley, 8-1, in 2011 semifinals, Beat High Point, 3-1, in 2011 championship game; Beat Lenape Valley, 5-1, in 2012 first round, Beat Pope John, 8-0, in 2012 quarterfinals, Lost to Voorhees, 2-0, in 2012 semifinals; Beat Kittatinny, 6-0, in 2013 first round, Beat High Point, 3-0, in 2013 quarterfinals, Beat Voorhees, 2-1, in 2013 semifinals, Beat Hackettstown, 1-0, in 2013 final; Beat Wallkill Valley, 6-0, in 2014 first round; Beat Hackettstown, 3-0, in 2014 quarterfinals; Beat High Point, 8-0, in 2014 semifinals; Beat Voorhees, 5-0, in 2014 final; Beat Phillipsburg, 4-0, in 2015 quarterfinals; Beat Voorhees, 2-1, on strokes in 2015 semifinals; Beat Hunterdon Central, 2-1, in 2015 final; Beat Newton, 1-0, in 2016 quarterfinals; Beat High Point, 3-2, in 2016 semifinals; Lost to Hunterdon Central, 2-1, in 2016 final; Beat Lenape Valley, 11-0, in 2017 first round; Beat Voorhees, 2-1, in 2017 quarterfinals; Beat Delaware Valley, 4-0, in 2017 semifinals; Beat Hunterdon Central, 1-0, in 2017 championship game; Beat Wallkill Valley, 2-0, in 2018 second round; Beat Vernon, 3-1, in 2018 quarterfinals; Beat Voorhees, 1-0 in overtime, in 2018 semifinals; Lost to Hackettstown, 1-0 in overtime, in 2018 championship game. Overall HWS record: 34-4.
Probable starting lineup: Jr. F Simryn Desai (17 goals-4 assists-38 points); Jr. Julianna Valli (7-3-17)/Jr. F Jenna Wyckoff (5-4-14); Sr. F Samantha Dugan (15-8-38); Jr. MF Sarah Korczukowski (8-5-21); Sr. MF Kate Fenner (3-5-11); Jr. MF Olivia Chomut (0-0-0); Sr. MF Paulina Georgoutsos (4-9-17); So. D Emily Dvorsky (0-0-0); Jr. MF Kylie Compton (0-1-1); Jr. D Liz Schlaffer (0-0-0); Sr. GK Julia Webber (107 saves, 10 shutouts, .939 save percentage, 0.37 goals against).
Voorhees Vikings
How they got here: Beat South Hunterdon, 4-1, in quarterfinals; North Hunterdon, 3-1, in semifinals.
Previous tournament history: Beat Kittatinny, 3-0, in 2009 first round, Beat Hackettstown, 3-0, in 2009 quarterfinals; Lost to Newton, 2-1 in double overtime, in 2009 semifinals; Beat Delaware Valley, 3-0, in 2010 first round, Beat North Hunterdon, 1-0, in 2010 quarterfinals, Beat High Point, 1-0, in 2010 semifinals, Beat Warren Hills, 1-0, in 2010 final; Beat Kittatinny, 2-0, in 2011 first round, Lost to Wallkill Valley, 1-0, in 2011 quarterfinals; Beat Kittatinny, 2-0, in 2012 first round, Beat Wallkill Valley, 3-0, in 2012 quarterfinals, Beat Warren Hills, 2-0, in 2012 semifinals, Beat High Point, 1-0, in 2012 final; Beat Wallkill Valley, 3-0, in 2013 first round, Beat Lenape Valley, 3-2 in overtime, in 2013 quarterfinals, Lost to Warren Hills, 2-1, in 2013 semifinals; Beat North Hunterdon, 5-0, in 2014 first round; Newton, 4-0, in 2014 quarterfinals; Hunterdon Central, 1-0, in 2014 semifinals; Lost to Warren Hills, 5-0, in 2014 championship game; Beat Sparta, 5-1, in 2015 quarterfinals; Lost to Warren Hills, 4-2 on penalty strokes, in 2015 semifinals; Beat Hackettstown, 2-1, in 2016 quarterfinals; Lost to Hunterdon Central, 3-2 on penalty strokes, in 2016 semifinals; Beat High Point, 7-1, in 2017 second round; Lost to Warren Hills, 2-1, in 2017 quarterfinals; Beat South Hunterdon, 4-1, in 2018 second round; Beat Delaware Valley, 1-0, in 2018 quarterfinals; Lost to Warren Hills, 1-0 in overtime, in 2018 semifinals. Overall HWS record: 23-8.
Probable starting lineup: Sr. F Grace Anderson (1 goals-1 assist-3 points); Sr. F Brooke Hyland (12-7-31); Sr. F Stef Fabbroni (4-2-10); Sr. MF Lauren Kokoskie (8-10-26); Jr. MF Mackenzie Vreeland (0-0-0); Sr. MF Madison Ogorzalek (9-5-23); Sr. MF Ryleigh Cameron (9-6-24); So. D Sadie Eichlin (0-0-0); Jr. D Grace Schiavo (2-1-5); Sr. Sara Anderson (0-0-0); Jr. Noelle Gabrish (122 saves, 8 shutouts, .865 save percentage, 1.00 goals against).
Breakdown: Voorhees, which is making its fourth finals appearance and first since winning it all in 2014, has struggled on the offensive end this season with 53 goals in 19 games. Kokoskie, one of seven starting seniors, makes things flow through the middle of the field, along with Ogorzalek, as both are having career-best campaigns. The Vikes have received at least one goal or an assist from either player in 12 straight games. But there's no doubt the loss of senior forward Cassie Boyce (ACL injury), the team's leading scorer in 2018 with 20 goals and 15 assists, in the second game of this season has hurt. The defense is strong, led by talented backs Eichlin and Schiavo, while Gabrish is a two-year starter in the cage. Warren Hills, which is the No. 1 seed, is making a tournament-record 10th finals appearance and its seventh in a row since losing 2-0 to Voorhees in the 2012 semifinals. The Blue Streaks, who are a tournament-best 34-4 overall in tri-county contests and secured the Skyland Conference Raritan Division title with a 5-1 win over Montgomery on Thursday, have outscored opponents, 64-9, while posting 11 shutouts and allowing just nine goals all season. Desai and Dugan lead a very balanced offensive attack, which has produced 24 goals in the last seven games, as they've combined for 11 goals and seven assists during that stretch. Dugan (52 career goals), who is seventh on the school's career points list with 127, is just two shy of matching former great Megan Springmeyer (54 from 2004-07) for seventh on the program's all-time goals list. Defensively, backs Dvorsky and Schlaffer, along with Compton at sweeper, are a talented group in front of the cage, where Webber, an aggressive keeper and a two-year starter, has been awfully stingy. Warren Hills scored two goals in each of the first two meetings this season and smart money says it will take three goals for Voorhees to pull off the upset. That will be a tough task against a phenomenal Streaks defense. Hills, which I think will benefit in the long run from a 2-1 loss to Ridge on Tuesday, has the more potent offense and that's the difference here.
Pick: Warren Hills, 3-2.
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