Field hockey: Can NH repeat? HWS preview for '22

It's not often that we get the chance to celebrate a Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area team winning a field hockey state championship. 

North Hunterdon's historic march to the Group 3 title was the first for Hunterdon County since 1996 and the area's first since Warren Hills went back-to-back in Group 3 in 2014-15. Those are the area's only titles since Hunterdon Central won the last of its three championships in '96. Overall, HWS schools are 3-23 in finals during the 25 years since and 13-38 all-time since South Hunterdon's Group 1 runner-up finish in 1976, the area's first title appearance.

NH won its first sectional title since 1993.

Why is it so tough for teams up our way to capture the coveted prize? 

"We have such great field hockey [in the HWS area] but there's such phenomenal field hockey down [in South Jersey] too," first-year North Hunterdon coach Geoff Chrisman said following his team's 1-0 win against Moorestown in the Group 3 title game at Bordentown Regional High School last weekend. 

"It's tough, you come down south and you see officials you haven't seen. There's much more south fans in the stands. It's a hostile environment. I'm happy we can bring one back up north."

North Hunterdon (21-2) saw its 13-game winning streak and the program's greatest season end with a 6-2 loss to Oak Knoll in the Tournament of Champions semifinals -- making the area 0-3 (Warren Hills lost in its two semis appearances in 2014 and '15) all-time in that event, which is likely to end after its inception in 2006.

North's G3 title is the HWS area's first since 2015.

The Lions fell one win shy of matching the 1986 team's single-season record of 22, but they made their own mark by capturing the Skyland Conference Raritan Division title (first since 1991) and the school's first HWS Tournament championship, as well as the program's first sectional title since 1993. 

With 12 seniors on the 2021 roster, including all-time assists leader Ryan Anderson and outstanding Kent State-bound midfielder Olivia Reeder, can North sustain this level of success?

Anderson, who is looking to attend college somewhere in Arizona but has decided not to play field hockey at the next level, believes North is on the right track.

"[Assistant coach Amy] Masters does do a [offseason] program so hopefully she builds something like she built with us," said Anderson, who logged a career-high 33 goals to go with 22 assists this season and owns program marks for single-season (26 in 2019) and career (72) assists while ranking second in career points (194). "This is all starting from when we were young so hopefully that happens again."

Junior scoring machine Lauren Masters, a Louisville commit and the daughter of the assistant coach, will enter her senior season already in possession of the school's career marks for goals (102) and points (243). She also holds the single-season records for both (46 and 108 set this season), while her 16 assists this year matched a career high (also 16 in 2019). 

Junior Sara Roberts (15 goals, 12 assists) also emerged as one of the area's top offensive players, while junior defender Sarah Bisson and sophomores Molly Claus and Kendall Varty will all be key players in 2022. 

"I think they sort of realized what they have built and they're excited for what's coming next year and the year after," Chrisman said of the current team. "They get the big picture, which not all high school kids get. It's nice for them to know they accomplished something special. In two, three years, they're going to come back and see a program and not just a team. That's our goal now."

'Liners 'finally closed the gap'

Phillipsburg, which hasn't been a perennial postseason contender in nearly two decades, returned to the big stage and fifth-year coach Toni Popinko believes her Stateliners are here to stay after the program's most notable season in 22 years. 

P'burg has won six sectional titles in its history.

P'burg (13-10) captured the program's first sectional title and earned its first trip to the Group 4 state final since 1999, with a 2-0 win over Middletown South in the North Group 4 sectional title clash. The 'Liners avenged early-season losses to Montgomery, Ridge and Warren Hills (the latter snapped a 28-game skid in the series dating to 2008) to finish 3-5 against Skyland Conference Raritan Division opponents -- arguably the toughest division (which includes North Hunterdon) in the state. 

"I think we finally closed the gap and we're going to continue to compete," said Popinko, whose team also pushed the program's all-time wins total over 600 this year.

The Stateliners lose senior Madison Darmstadt, who was a big reason for Phillipsburg's success and second-half turnaround. The Stonehill College recruit made a seamless transition from the backfield to the center-midfield spot. 

But the offense should be in tremendous shape with juniors Samantha Helman and Gracie Merrick (the team's leading scorer) and sophomore Avery Ritt (the trio combined for 36 of the team's 60 goals) back in the fold. Junior goalie Beth Kelly (eight shutouts), who made several impressive saves in the 8-0 Group 4 final loss to top-ranked Eastern, will help anchor a defense that will miss senior Emilia Lopes, who was outstanding in the Group 4 final.

Streaks: 'We will be in it to win it'

Warren Hills' season didn't end in typical championship fashion, but the Blue Streaks certainly logged a successful campaign by most standards. However there was some disappointment after the program's run of 10 straight sectional/regional titles ended with a 4-1 loss to Randolph in the North Group 3 final -- the Streaks' first sectional loss since 2010.

"They took it hard," fifth-year coach Josie Potter said of her team's reaction to the program's first postseason defeat at home since 2007.

WH is 18-4 all-time in sectional/region finals.

Warren Hills (15-6-1), which hasn't won fewer than 15 games (minus the 14 in last year's pandemic-shortened campaign) since 2005, plays under immense pressure to uphold the program's lofty status among New Jersey's elite. But heavy graduation losses after the 2020 season, including several of the best players ever to don a Blue Streaks uniform, contributed to some inconsistency this season. 

"I think our lack of varsity experience caused us to struggle a little bit," said Potter, whose teams are 95-17-2 overall. "There were games where we played phenomenally and games where we struggled to put it together. 

"We had five seniors and two were first-year letter winners. Of our 13 letter winners, eight were first-year varsity players."

The loss of outstanding senior back Emily Dvorsky, a four-year starter and College of New Jersey recruit, due to a left knee injury was also significant. The last game of her fine career was a 2-1 win over Phillipsburg in the HWS Tournament quarterfinals. From that point on, Warren Hills went 6-4-1, but yielded three or more goals in five of those contests and nine times on the year.

"Losing Em hurt," Potter said. "But the defense really stepped up."

Senior sweeper Holly Ort, who has "great vision" on the field according to Potter, emerged this season as one of the Streaks' star players. Senior forward Maddie Summitt, one of the program's top offensive players who is headed to Ball State, will also be missed next season. 

Sophomore Sarah Salameh, who had a breakout campaign with 17 goals, will look to fill Summitt's shoes (they shared the team scoring lead with 17 goals and seven assists), while sophomores Jess Pawloski and Gianna Cioni (eight goals) "who has a nose for the goal," will be counted on to lead the offense next season. And keep an eye on sophomore Hailey Hoffman, junior Maddie Moreno and talented freshman Shivya Desai. 

"Looking back at the season, I'm incredibly proud of them," Potter said. "We wound up with 15 wins against the quality competition we play in the Skyland Conference. The future is looking very bright.

"This was a year of lumps and bumps. Next year, we will be in it to win it."

Flick-ins

How tough is Warren Hills on its home field? The Streaks have gone 137-14-1 since 2010, when the school's turf field opened for business that fall. This year's seniors went 42-6 at home from 2018-21. Potter pointed out a weird quirk in this year's schedule where her team played seven of its 10 October games on the road, including two HWS Tournament games at neutral sites.

Speaking of turf, Delaware Valley, which won six of its final seven games and finished 7-8-1 after an 0-7 start, is set to play on the school's new multi-purpose field, which is slated for completion next fall. That leaves Belvidere, High Point, Kittatinny, North Warren, South Hunterdon and Wallkill Valley as the only area schools to play home games on grass fields, which puts them at a huge disadvantage. Field hockey, unlike any other sport, is meant for turf.

Lenape Valley ruled Sussex County this season as second-year coach Isabelle Becker's team made the program's first sectional final appearance since the 1990 team captured the school's second and last championship. The Patriots (17-4-1), who featured 10 seniors on their roster, won six in a row before a season-ending 3-0 loss to Shore Regional, the eventual Group 1 state champion, in the sectional final. Sophomore Ella Gomez came up big with two postseason goals, including the overtime winner in a 3-2 sectional semifinal victory over Pompton Lakes.

Hackettstown (11-7) will look to sophomore Kiara Koeller (team-leading 15 goals) and freshman Brynn Otto (eight goals) to lead the forward line in 2022. 

Voorhees and Hunterdon Central, longtime state and Hunterdon County powers, will look to bounce back next fall. 

The Vikings (8-12), sitting on 690 wins, endured the program's fourth losing campaign in its 47-year history and first since 2004. They also suffered their earliest postseason exit since 1995 with a 2-0 loss to Madison in a North Group 2 first-round sectional clash. Senior midfielder Sadie Eichlin (team-high 13 goals) will be a tremendous loss, but junior Kate Matyas (seven goals) and sophomore Kate Cookson (six goals) are going to be key returnees, along with sophomore Noel Jeskulski (six goals).

"Noel learned a lot [this season]. Kate Matyas and Kate Cookson battled injuries and we didn't have them a lot. They will make big impacts on the field next year," said rookie coach Kathryn Roncoroni, the program's all-time leading scorer. "This year was a learning experience for me as a new coach and for the girls with a new coach coming in. I learned a lot of ways the girls learn better and how they play." 

Central (7-11) endured the program's first losing season since 2010 and just the fourth during veteran coach Jenn Sponzo's 23 seasons in charge. The Red Devils also suffered a first-round loss in the North Group 4 sectional playoffs -- 2-0 to Hillsborough. Senior forwards Sarah DeStefano (team-high 13 goals) and Jennifer Tokash (six goals) will be tough to replace, but junior Laurel Hanrahan and sophomore Amanda Walker emerged as top players this season.