Monday, October 4, 2021

Field hockey: NH new No. 1; WH, LV in HWS semis

North Hunterdon's field hockey team hasn't played in many big games over the last few decades.

But aside from a trip to the 2019 North 2, Group 4 sectional final, none were bigger in recent memory than the Lions' 3-2 win in overtime against nemesis Warren Hills in the 95th meeting between the schools on Thursday night at Warren Hills School District Stadium.

North is 34-11 over the last 3 seasons.
In addition to knocking the Blue Streaks from the top spot in the Open Mike rankings, North (8-0) ended a 12-year drought in the series with its first win since a 3-2 season-opening victory at home on Sept. 11, 2009.

"We prepared for the atmosphere," Lions first-year head coach Geoff Chrisman said on Sunday. "The first thing we did was have our football team [yell at us from the Singley Field bleachers] in practice and we had our band performing during our game against Bridgewater-Raritan [a 9-1 win on Tuesday]. 

"We don't play many night games and we knew there would be a big crowd that night."

How huge was this victory for North Hunterdon, which has designs on its first county tournament title since 1986 and its first sectional championship since '93, consider the following:

• Warren Hills owns a 53-31-11 edge (46-13-2 since 1989) in the all-time series dating to 1965.

• Blue Streaks have won 41 of last 43 meetings and had outscored North, 76-4, since that 2009 loss during a span of 16 straight wins, until Thursday's loss.

• North Hunterdon picked up its first road win the series since 1995 (1-0 on Sept. 12), when Warren Hills (27-2 at home overall since 2019) then played home games on the baseball outfield grass at Joseph Steinhardt Field.

North Hunterdon features a lethal offensive attack led by junior forward Lauren Masters, who has a team-best 14 goals and is the program's all-time scoring leader, and senior Ryan Anderson, the career assists leader. Throw in seniors Olivia Reeder (four goals, nine assists) and Katie Roberts (a former defender who enters the week with six goals) and junior Sara Roberts (six goals), and North is a handful up front. Junior Ava Laible (five goals, four assists) anchors the midfield.

Against Warren Hills, Masters was held without a goal or an assist for the first time this season and just the second game over the past two years (Warren Hills again in 2020). But Anderson and Sara Roberts picked up the slack in regulation before Reeder buried the game-winner off her own rebound on a penalty corner in OT.

"We stayed on the attack, not getting intimidated," Chrisman said. "We focused on playing our game and not worrying about anything else. A lot of [teams] this year are looking to lock in against Lauren. But we kept pouring on shots."

Chrisman, who also is North's head boys lacrosse coach in the spring, had high praise for Warren Hills sophomore goalie Sydney White, who stopped 17 of North's 20 shots on the cage.

"The Warren Hills goalkeeper played a phenomenal game," Chrisman said. "She stood on her head. She was all my lacrosse players, who were at the game, could talk about."

North will savor this win for a short time, with the potential of meeting Warren Hills three more times this season (something that's happened only four times in series history). A second is guaranteed as the teams will clash at North on Oct. 21, with the division title likely on the line. Another matchup could occur, as the 1-2 seeds, in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament final on Oct. 16, while both are housed in the new North Group 3 section. North has not won more than one meeting against Warren Hills in a season since going 2-0 in 1995.

"In my 18 years of coaching, I've never played a team four times in any sport, ever," Chrisman said. "Playing Warren Hills four times would be insane and take years off my life. We will take each game as its own."

Now, onto this week's rankings:

Reeder, Masters and Anderson have combined for 34 goals and 21 assists.
1. North Hunterdon (8-0) -- Lions enter the top spot for the first time in the Open Mike rankings and are in the driver's seat for the Skyland Conference Raritan Division title following a 3-2 win in overtime against Warren Hills on Thursday. In a 9-1 win over Bridgewater-Raritan, junior forward Lauren Masters logged two goals with an assist, while senior Olivia Reeder added a goal and two assists. North advanced to the HWS Tournament semifinals for the second consecutive time (the only two occasion in its history) with a 6-0 win against Newton on Monday. Senior forward Ryan Anderson logged three goals (team-high 16) with one assist. The Lions are now 6-11 all-time in tournament play.

Up next: at Pingry on Tuesday; Ridge at home on Thursday; Lenape Valley in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament semifinals at Hunterdon Central on Saturday.

Hills is 36-4 all-time in HWS Tournament play.
2. Warren Hills (9-2) -- Blue Streaks saw the program's 16-game win streak against North Hunterdon dating to 2009 snapped with a 3-2 loss in overtime on Thursday. Red-hot sophomore forward Sarah Salameh scored both goals and sophomore midfielder Hailey Hoffman logged her first varsity assist. Salameh and sophomore forward Gigi Cioni, who had an assist vs. North, also scored in the team's 2-0 win (No. 732 overall) over Watchung Hills. Coach Josie Potter's team extended the program wins streak against Phillipsburg to 27 in a row dating to 2008, with a 2-1 win in the HWS quarterfinals on Monday behind Salameh and Cioni goals. Streaks are 12-for-12 in quarterfinal matchups.

Up next: at Hunterdon Central on Tuesday; Vernon-Hight Point winner in HWS Tournament semifinals at Hunterdon Central on Saturday.

3. Phillipsburg (5-6) -- Stateliners opened last week with a 6-0 win over Hunterdon Central and capped it with a 3-0 victory at Voorhees in a Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament second-round contest on Friday. Junior forward Samantha Helman scored a pair of goals to help P'burg reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2017, with its first win against the Vikes since '18. Coach Toni Popinko's team was denied the program's first trip to the HWS semifinals with a 2-1 loss at Warren Hills on Monday.

Up next: at Hillsborough on Tuesday; at Montgomery on Thursday.

4. Lenape Valley (8-1-1) -- Patriots reached the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex quarterfinals for the first time since 2014, with a 4-1 win over Sparta on Friday. Senior forward Angie Falleni scored a pair of goals and junior forward Katie Giusti, who scored three in the team's 7-0 win over North Warren on Thursday, added her eighth goal of the season. The Sussex County school, which has won five in a row, advanced to the HWS semifinals for the first time in program history with a 2-1 win over Hunterdon Central on Monday. Falleni and Ella Gomez scored goals.

Up next: Kittatinny at home on Thursday; North Hunterdon in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament semifinals at Hunterdon Central on Saturday.

5. Hunterdon Central (3-5) -- It's been an up-and-down season for the Red Devils, who scored a big 3-2 win in double overtime at Belvidere on Saturday to reach the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament quarterfinals for the seventh time in the event's 12-year history. Senior forwards Sarah DeStefano and Jennifer Tokash scored goals, while junior back Maria Ippolito tallied the winner. Coach Jenn Sponzo's team was denied the program's eighth trip to the HWS semifinals with Monday's 2-1 loss to Lenape Valley.

Up next: Warren Hills at home on Tuesday; Watchung Hills at home on Thursday.

6. Belvidere (5-2) -- County Seaters took a 3-2 loss in double overtime against Hunterdon Central on Saturday knocked them out of the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament. It seems their own grass/dirt field might not be such a home-field advantage. Coach Beth Franceschino's team defeated Voorhees, 4-2, on the Vikes' turf last Tuesday after a 2-1 win at home on Sept. 15. It's the first time the Warren County school beat Voorhees twice in a season since the Seaters won all three meetings in 1991, including a 3-2 win in OT in the former Hunterdon-Warren Tournament.

Up next: Somerville at home on Tuesday; at South Hunterdon on Thursday; South Hunterdon at home on Saturday.

7. Voorhees (6-4) -- Vikes went 1-2 last week, including a 3-0 loss to Phillipsburg in a Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament second-round game on Friday. It's the first time in the event's 12-year history that the Hunterdon County school, which won titles in 2010 and '12, did not reach the quarterfinals, and just the second loss to P'burg in the last 24 meetings. Senior forward Leigha Schultze and junior forward Ava Smadi each scored two goals in an 8-0 win over Franklin.

Up next: at South Hunterdon on Tuesday; at Bernards on Thursday.

8. Vernon (7-3) -- Vikings advanced to the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament quarterfinals for the third time in program history and in back-to-back events with a 1-0 victory over Hackettstown on Saturday at Morrison Field. Coach Kieran Killeen's team, which beat Hackettstown, 2-1 on Sept. 16, avenged a 4-3 loss in overtime to the Tigers in the rubber match on Thursday in an NJAC Freedom Division clash. Senior forward Julia Gregory scored the game-winning goal on Saturday -- giving her a team-best 10 on the season.

Up next: at High Point in Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday; Wallkill Valley at home on Thursday.

9. Hackettstown (5-4) -- Tigers saw their four-game win streak snapped with a 1-0 loss to Vernon in a Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament second-round game on Saturday. That was on the heels of their 4-3 win over the Vikings two days earlier, when sophomore forward Kiara Koeller logged her team-leading fourth goal of the season. Defense has carried the Warren County school, which scored 13 goals through nine games.

Up next: at High Point on Thursday; at Kittatinny on Saturday.

10. Newton (6-3) -- Braves are back in the rankings following a solid 3-1 win over former No. 6 South Hunterdon in a Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament second-round game on Saturday at Palmer Field. Senior forward-midfielder Julia Decker, who scored a pair of goals in the team's 5-3 loss to Madison on Tuesday, added her 13th goal against South, while senior forward Julia Fitt added two assists -- giving her six goals and seven assists in the last five games.

Up next: at Sparta on Thursday; at High Point on Saturday.

On the bubble

South Hunterdon (4-3-1) -- Eagles fell out of the rankings for the first time in recent memory after a 3-1 loss to Newton in a Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament second-round game. denying the Hunterdon County school consecutive quarterfinal appearances. Junior forward Kylie Masterson scored her second goal of the season.

High Point (5-5) -- Wildcats are coming off a 3-0 week, capped by a 1-0 win in overtime against Wallkill Valley -- sending the program to the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament quarterfinals for the first time since 2016. Senior forward Ali Stoner, who scored a combined nine goals in wins over Pope John (9-0 on Monday in a HWS prelim) and North Warren (9-0 on Thursday), logged her team-leading 11th goal on a penalty stroke vs. Wallkill.

Wallkill Valley (5-4) -- Rangers, a No. 5 seed, were ousted in the second round of the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament with a 1-0 loss in overtime against High Point.

Posted by Mike Weilamann at 9:44 PM

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