Field hockey: Central wins tough title tilt with North

CLINTON TWP. -- Hunterdon Central's field hockey team no longer has to wait until next season.

Senior midfielder Sammy Freeman scored the go-ahead goal early in the second half to help the third-seeded Red Devils secure a 2-1 victory over No. 1 seed North Hunterdon and the North 2, Group 4 sectional title on Saturday afternoon at Singley Field.

Central celebrates the program's 14th sectional title.

Central (12-9-2), which had lost to Bridgewater-Raritan in the previous five championship games, earned the program's first title since 2013 and 14th overall -- tying South Hunterdon for the county lead. Coach Jenn Sponzo's team, which had to wait two extra days to play due to rain on Thursday and a power outage at North on Friday, will next face Ridge in the Group 4 semifinals at 4 p.m. on Tuesday at Boonton High School. The winner will take on Lenape or Eastern in the state title game at 4 p.m. next Saturday at Bordentown Regional High School.

"We are so excited to come back this year and get the sectional title," said Freeman, whose team-leading 11th goal came off a penalty corner with 21:33 left in the second half. "We were all hyped up to play on Friday, but it was nice to have two extra days of practice. This is a very sweet victory."

Sponzo, whose teams have gone 297-148-20 overall and have won eight sectional titles over her 21 seasons at the helm, was proud to see a fairly young club (only four seniors in the starting lineup) end the school's title drought and avenge a 3-1 loss to North here during the regular season on Sept. 23.

"This group of girls, their record doesn't show it, but they battle and constantly keep fighting," said Sponzo, whose Red Devils cleared a big hurdle with their 2-1 win in overtime against nemesis Bridgewater-Raritan in the quarterfinals. "They work hard. We play in a tough [Skyland] conference and schedule, and if there's a time to peak it's always now. It's a great group of girls."

North Hunterdon (15-8) saw its dream of capturing the program's third sectional title and first since 1993 end with a tough loss. The Lions, who put hockey back on the map at their school with their first winning campaign in 10 years after going 47-171-5 across the previous 11 seasons, jumped out to an early lead when freshman forward Lauren Masters connected for her team-best 30th goal. But third-year coach Maria Bachert, whose roster includes eight sophomores and three freshmen, said experience played a big role down the stretch.

Central shares the county lead with 14 sectional titles.

"We were very grateful to be in this position and we're disappointed that we couldn't finish it off," said Bachert, whose teams went a combined 6-31 in her first two seasons. "Central is a very good team with a winning history. I thought we played [defensively] and panicky instead of playing North hockey."

North Hunterdon, which scored 12 goals in its two playoff wins, including a 6-2 victory over Montgomery in the semifinals, got on the board first in typical fashion as speedy sophomore forward Ryan Anderson got loose on a breakaway, drove into the circle, and dished off to Masters, who is well on her way to obliterating all of North's offensive records, at the left post.

Just over nine minutes later, Central knotted it at 1 as senior forward Ashleigh Paulik scored her first goal of the season off a rebound.

The Red Devils came out quick after halftime, scoring on their fifth corner in the first nine minutes of the second half as junior back Jordan Sponzo, the daughter of Central's head coach, fed Freeman, who drove in and fired a shot into the left corner of the cage. Freeman, with 29 career goals, including eight in the last eight games, and 19 assists, is now two goals shy of matching her older sister, Nikki, who also logged 19 assists from 2014-16 and was a freshman on the 2013 title team, which earned that trophy with a 1-0 win over Montgomery.

"The nice thing, as we've matured as a team, we don't panic when the other team scores." said Jenn Sponzo, whose team held North to just four shots-on-goal and had a 13-7 edge on corners in the win. "Today, we kept our composure."

Another key was Central's defense, including a stellar job in the cage by first-year sophomore goalie Alexa Karpinski (three saves) keeping North's speed game in check for the most part. Freeman also made a critical play on defense near the 15-minute mark. With Anderson again getting loose and driving into the circle, Freeman was able to clear the ball out and deny the Lions' best scoring chance of the final half.

"I really take pride in my defense," said Freeman, who will join her sister at the University of Iowa next fall. "I play center back [on the club level] so I have those skills. "That was a key moment and I knew I needed to step back [with Anderson driving in]."

Not to be lost in the shuffle is how far North Hunterdon's program has come in a relatively short period. For three seniors, including forward-midfielder Emma Landis, they can take great pride in bringing back respectability and expectations for 2020 and beyond.

"It's been pretty amazing to watch the transition," said Landis, who has committed to continue her playing career at Randolph-Macon College, a Division III program in Ashland, Va. "We all play for each other. It's phenomenal to see where we came from. We changed the dynamic of the program. It's been one of the highlights of my senior year and high school career. I have a lot of faith in these girls for next year."

Hunterdon Central (12-9-2)                     1                   1           --    2
North Hunterdon (15-8)                           1                   0           --    1

Scoring

First half -- NH, Lauren Masters, 30th, 19:07; HC, Ashleigh Paulik, 1st, 10:05.

Second half -- HC, Sammy Freeman, 11th, (Jordan Sponzo), 21:33.

Shots -- Hunterdon Central 9; North Hunterdon 4.

Saves -- Alexa Karpinski 3 (HC); McKenna Laman 7 (NH).

Penalty corners -- Hunterdon Central 13; North Hunterdon 7.