Field hockey: Hyland, Voorhees cruise in playoff win

LEBANON TWP. -- Voorhees' field hockey team has been forced to adopt the "next player up" mantra this season. Another crushing injury, however, didn't slow the Vikes in their postseason opener.

Senior forward Brooke Hyland scored a pair of goals and assisted on another as top-seeded Voorhees cruised to an 8-1 win -- No. 668 for the program -- over No. 8 Holmdel in a North 2, Group 2 sectional quarterfinal clash on Friday afternoon at Richard Degnan Field.

Voorhees seeks the program's eight sectional title.

Voorhees (18-4), which is seeking the program's eighth sectional title and first since 2016, will next host No. 4 Madison -- a 3-0 winner over No. 5 Summit -- in the semifinals on Tuesday at 3 p.m. But the Vikes, now 3-1 all-time in postseason meetings with Holmdel, may be without senior center midfielder Lauren Kokoskie, who watched from the bench after sustaining a right knee injury during practice earlier this week. Her status for next week is unknown.

"We lost two very valuable players, but we we've been able to work well together," said Hyland, who logged her team-leading 15th and 16th goals in the victory over Holmdel. "It was nice for us to get [a season-high] five goals in the first half. It gave us the momentum to go on and win."

Second-year coach Shannon Hughes, who had already lost senior star forward Cassie Boyce for the season with an ACL injury in the team's second game, once again was forced to shuffle the starting lineup -- moving talented sophomore Sadie Eichlin to center midfield and inserting junior Mackenzie Vreeland into Eichlin's regular spot at left back. Eichlin fit right in on offense as she scored her first varsity goal to make it 7-0 with 17:47 left to play.

"Gracie [Schiavo], Sadie and [midfielder] Ryleigh Cameron really stepped up for us," said Hughes, whose team finished with a 20-2 edge in shots-on-goal and saw some of the backup players get heavily involved in the second half. "The girls have worked hard and have had to adjust to another change, losing our center midfielder."

Voorhees, now 61-42 overall in the postseason since 1975, struck first just 4:30 into the game on a penalty corner when Hyland tapped in a feed from senior midfielder Stefanie Fabbroni, who recorded her third assist of the season. Senior Grace Anderson made it 2-0 with her third goal of the season before Cameron gave the Vikes, whose previous best was six goals in a win over Ridge on Oct. 10, a three-goal advantage off a corner with 16:51 to go before halftime. Senior midfielder Madison Ogorzalek, who assisted on both of those goals, made it 4-0 with her 10th goal of the season.

Junior Audrey Maxwell capped the first-half scoring with her first varsity goal. Junior goalie Noelle Gabrish, who has had another fine season in the cage, was lifted with 18:30 left in the second half. In her place, freshman Jen Bekos, who is new to the sport, faced the only two shots by Holmdel and recorded her first varsity save. Bekos nearly pulled off what would have been an incredible save on Holmdel's lone goal off a corner with 14:25 to go.

With No. 3 seed Bernards and No. 2 Rumson-Fair Haven, which has won the last two North 2, Group 2 championships and handed Voorhees a 3-0 loss in the 2018 semifinals, in the other half of the draw, the Vikes are the favorites to reach the sectional final in the upper half. However, Madison, which has won 16 titles, should prove to be a stiff test in the semifinals.

"Rumson is very strong, but we feel like our team this year is just as strong," Hyland said. "But we're taking it one game at a time."

Hughes knows this could be the program's best shot at a sectional title during her short tenure with seven starting seniors. Kokoskie is a tough player, and she very well could return next week if she gets medical clearance.

"We don't know if we'll have Koko so we'll see," said Hughes, whose team came up short to Warren Hills in the Skyland Conference Raritan Division and Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament title chases. "We're trying to take it game by game. They really want to get another shot at winning a championship."

Holmdel (11-9)                          0                   1           --    1
Voorhees (18-4)                        5                   3           --    8

Scoring

First half -- V, Brooke Hyland, 15th, (Stefanie Fabbroni), 25:30; V, Grace Anderson, 3rd, (Madison Ogorzalek), 18:57; V, Ryleigh Cameron, 10th, (Ogorzalek), 16:51; V, Ogorzalek, 10th, (Hyland), 11:03; V, Audrey Maxwell, 1st, (Leigha Schultze), 3:45.

Second half -- V, Hyland, 16th, 22:19; V, Sadie Eichlin, 1st, 17:47; H, Sara Safari, 5th, (Lane Fontana), 14:25; V, Grace Schiavo, 3rd, 8:50.

Shots -- Holmdel 2; Voorhees 20.

Saves -- Jenin Engimal 12 (H); Noelle Gabrish 0, Jen Bekos 1 (V).

Penalty corners -- Holmdel 2; Voorhees 14.

Officials -- Siobhan Devlin and Len Ciufo.