Field hockey: NH-WH IV? Sussex scene, standings

Two down. Two to go. North Hunterdon's field hockey team is methodically checking off things on its to-do list for the 2021 season.

NH won two sectional titles in CJ G3.

With conference and Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament titles secured, North (16-1) now has designs on claiming sectional and state championships following Saturday's 6-1 win over Hillsborough to wrap up the regular season. 

The top-seeded Lions will have home-field advantage throughout the North Group 3 sectional playoffs as they open against West Windsor North in a first-round matchup on Wednesday at 2 p.m. Coach Geoff Chrisman's team captured the program's 11th conference title overall and first since 1991, with a 5-0 win over Warren Hills at home on Thursday in a big Skyland Conference Raritan Division clash. 

North has won all three meetings between the schools this season, including a 3-2 victory in overtime on the road on Sept. 30 and 3-1 in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament title this past Saturday. The former snapped a 12-year drought in the series with the Blue Streaks, and the latter secured the Hunterdon County school's first county championship since 1986.

North Hunterdon was the top seed in Central West Region B last year, but fell to eventual champion Ridge in the semifinals. The Lions, led by junior forward and all-time leading scorer Lauren Masters (32 goals, 16 assists) and senior forward Ryan Anderson (28 goals, 16 assists), seek the program's third sectional title and first since 1993 after falling short in a 2-1 loss to Hunterdon Central in the 2019 North 2, Group 4 title game -- North's first finals appearance in 26 years.

Streak-ing along?

Warren Hills (13-5-1), seeking the program's 10th straight sectional/regional title, is the No. 2 seed in North Group 3. The Blue Streaks, who have lost at least five games in a season for just the third time in 11 years, are a talented group, but a little short on postseason experience with senior forward Maddie Summitt as the lone starter from the previous three title runs. Outstanding senior back Emily Dvorsky, a four-year starter has been sidelined due to a knee issue.

Coach Josie Potter's team closed out the regular season with a 4-1 win over Voorhees in the series' 70th meeting. Warren Hills has won five straight in the series and nine of the last 10, but the Vikes, who have lost six of their last seven games, own a 34-30-6 edge overall since 1975. 

Hills will next host Millburn on Wednesday in the opening round of the North Group 3 playoffs, while Voorhees (8-11), which is undergoing just the fourth losing season in the program's 47-year history and first since 2004, travels to No. 4 Madison in a North Group 2 playoff opener on Tuesday seeking win No. 691.

Summitt logged one goal and one assist against Voorhees to give her 118 career points, which surpassed current Phillipsburg coach Toni Popinko (117) for 10th place on the program's all-time list. The Ball State commit, who also ranks 12th in career goals (46), tied current Easton (Pa.) coach and former Warren Hills standout Casey Fritts-Eck for 15th on the career assists list with 26.

Warren Hills enters the playoffs riding a 27-game win streak in sectional action (22-0 at home) since a 3-2 loss at Freehold Boro in the 2011 North 2, Group 3 final. The Warren County school has not lost a home playoff game since 2007 (2-0 to Freehold Boro in the North 2, Group 3 final on the old grass field behind the high school). No. 15 seed Millburn dropped a 3-2 decision in double overtime when the school last met in the 2018 Group 3 state semifinals.

West Essex (38), Moorestown (28), Eastern (28), Shore (27), Haddonfield (22) and Shawnee (20) are the only schools with more titles than Warren Hills' 18.

Sussex scene

And then there were five. That's how many Sussex County schools are in the postseason tournaments with Lenape Valley and Vernon drawing No. 6 seeds in North Group 1 and Group 2, respectively.

Newton (11-5), which leads the county with 12 sectional titles, seeks its fifth since 2014 and first since '18 as the No. 7 seed in North Group 1. Coach Lisa Bechtel's team, the No. 7 seed, hosts No. 10 Mountain Lakes in a first-round matchup on Monday. 

Lenape Valley hosts No. 11 Belvidere in the only all-HWS area matchup on Monday, while No. 12 seed Wallkill Valley, which can win the NJAC Colonial Division title outright with a win over the Patriots on Wednesday, travels to No. 5 Florence. Lenape won the last of its two titles in 1990, while the Rangers have won eight titles under veteran coach Irene Chernati, who guided the program to the North 1, Group 1 championship in 2017.

Vernon (14-5) is looking to end its title drought as the Vikings open with a home game against No. 11 seed Westwood on Tuesday. Coach Kieran Killeen's team eyes the program's ninth sectional title and first since 1996. High Point, which hasn't won a sectional title since 2002, is the No. 16 seed and will face state power West Essex in the first round.

Area standings

(Through Saturday)

Skyland Conference
Delaware Division
		Overall	Division
Bridgewater-Raritan		(11-7)	(8-5)
Hillsborough		(11-5)	(7-4)
Hunterdon Central		(6-9)	(3-8)
Pingry		(5-12)	(3-9)
Watchung Hills		(5-13)	(1-11)
Raritan Division
		Overall	Division
xy-North Hunterdon		(16-1)	(12-1)
Warren Hills		(13-5-1)	(9-3-1)
y-Ridge		(14-4-1)	(8-4-1)
Phillipsburg		(9-9)	(6-6)
Montgomery		(5-10)	(3-9)
Valley Division
		Overall	Division
x-Voorhees		(8-11)	(7-3)
Bernards		(7-7)	(5-5)
Somerville		(2-10-1)	(2-7-1)
Franklin		(4-12-1)	(1-9-1)
Mountain Division
		Overall	Division
x-Mount St. Mary		(13-3-1)	(10-1-1)
Belvidere		(10-5)	(9-3)
Delaware Valley		(7-8-1)	(7-4-1)
South Hunterdon		(8-6-1)	(7-5)
North Plainfield		(0-16-1)	(0-11)
Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference
Freedom Division
		Overall	Division
x-Hackettstown		(10-6)	(4-2)
x-Newton		(11-5)	(4-2)
Vernon		(14-5)	(3-3)
High Point		(8-8)	(1-5)
American Division
		Overall	Division
x-Montville		(12-4)	(8-1)
Parsippany Hills		(10-5-2)	(6-2-2)
Morris Knolls		(6-10-1)	(5-4-1)
Sparta		(6-12-1)	(5-4-1)
Morris Hills		(5-13)	(2-8)
Pope John		(1-14)	(1-8)
Colonial Division
		Overall	Division
z-Wallkill Valley		(10-5)	(7-0)
Lenape Valley		(13-3-1)	(5-1)
Jefferson		(7-10)	(4-4)
Kittatinny		(2-13-1)	(1-6-1)
North Warren		(0-13-1)	(0-6-1)
x-division champion
y-county champion
z-clinched share of division title