The Lions have endured their share of hard times this decade, but the program's turnaround season continued with a 6-0 win over Sayreville on Wednesday afternoon in a North 2, Group 4 sectional quarterfinal on the turf at Singley Field.
North Hunterdon (14-7), the No. 1 seed, which is enjoying first winning campaign since going 12-9 in 2009, will next host No. 4 Montgomery on Monday afternoon. It's the first semifinal appearance for the Lions since falling, 2-1, at Randolph in '09, under former head coach Stacy Ditze, who now serves as the program's freshmen coach. The win over Sayreville was North's first in the postseason since a 2-1 first-round victory over Columbia in 2013.Freshman forward Lauren Masters and sophomore forward Olivia Reeder combined for six goals and three assists in the win over Sayreville. Reeder scored a career-best four goals, while Masters logged a pair of goals to raise her team-leading total to 26. Sophomore Ryan Anderson added two assists -- giving her at least one goal or an assist in all but two games this season.
North won its only two sectional titles in 1986 and '93 under former longtime coach Bonnie Carter.
Red Devils oust nemesis
In the other all-Skyland Conference semifinal, No. 3 Hunterdon Central (10-9-2) is set to host No. 7 Hillsborough, a 2-0 winner over No. 2 South Brunswick in Monday's quarters. Central advanced with a 2-1 win in overtime vs. No. 6 seed Bridgewater-Raritan, which had won 14 consecutive sectional titles -- defeating Central in the previous five finals -- and reached the Group 4 state final in each of those seasons since merging its East and West schools for the 2005-06 school year. The teams played to a 0-0 tie on Sept. 7.
Senior midfielder Sammy Freeman and senior forward Lexi Finkelstein scored for Central, which seeks the program's 14th sectional title, which would match South Hunterdon for most in the county.
Coach Jenn Sponzo's teams are now 10-29-4 against Bridgewater-Raritan in her 21 seasons at the helm. Central, which went 0-1-1 against the Panthers in 2018, snapped a 12-game losing skid in the series with a 2-1 victory in 2017. The rivals have now met 15 times in the postseason, including the past nine seasons. Central last sectional title came in 2013 when Bridgewater-Raritan was housed in North 1. The Panthers beat the Red Devils, 4-2, in the Group 4 semis in '13.
Hunterdon Central scored a pair of 3-2 wins over Hillsborough in Delaware Division matchups during the regular season -- the last on Oct. 15.
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