NJSIAA: Red Devils return to glory with title victory

Hunterdon Central's field hockey team made it a top priority this season to restore the program's winning tradition.

Mission accomplished.

The sixth-seeded Red Devils continued their amazing postseason run with a stunning 2-1 victory over top-seeded Montgomery on Monday in the North 2, Group 4 sectional final at Cougar Stadium in Skillman.

Central (14-9) captured its 12th sectional title and first since 2007 -- an outstanding accomplishment considering the Hunterdon County school won only three games a year ago.

"The kids are great and they wanted to bring Central hockey back to what it's known for," said veteran coach Jenn Sponzo, who has guided the program to six sectional titles in her 12 seasons. "Too many people wrote us off. I knew they had it in them [to win a championship]."

Hunterdon Central will meet a familiar foe in the next round as it faces North 1 champion Bridgewater-Raritan in Thursday's Group 4 semifinals. Coach Kathie DeBonis' Panthers swept both of the Skyland Conference Delaware Division meetings this season, 7-1 on Sept. 26 and 4-1 on Oct. 25.

Perennial champion Eastern and Freehold Township meet in the other semifinal. The winners will play for the Group 4 title on Sunday at Toms River East. Central won the last of its Group 4 titles in 1996, losing four times to Eastern in the final since in 2001, '02, '03 and '04.

Winning the sectional title was certainly sweet for a program that went a combined 8-26-1 the last two seasons after reaching its last sectional final in 2008. The Red Devils did it the hard way, beating the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 seeds in the draw.

Senior forward Kim Engelhart, who scored the decisive goal in the second half, was proud to bring honor back to Hunterdon Central field hockey.

"It's amazing. We did the impossible in a way," said Engelhart, who leads the team with 19 goals including three in the playoffs. "No one expected us to do it. Last year [going 3-12-1] was rough. We really came together as a team and our coaches believed in us. I commend Montgomery, they played a great game."

Montgomery (15-5-1) was seeking its first-ever title in its first championship game appearance. The program was started in 2002 and the Cougars fell, 1-0, to eventual Group 4 runner-up Bridgewater-Raritan in last year's semifinals.

Central came out firing and grabbed an early 1-0 lead that helped set the tone. Senior midfielder Kristen Given connected for her seventh goal of the season just over six minutes in and the Red Devils gained the early momentum.

"That first goal was huge," said Sponzo, whose 2009 team beat Montgomery, 4-2, in their previous meeting after the conference realigned the divisions and eliminated crossover games for the 2010 season.

Montgomery got the equalizer right before the half, as junior forward Erica Hrudowsky knocked in a rebound off a penalty corner.

After a back-and-forth second half, Engelhart found the back of the cage with 13:24 left to play. Her shot was a slow roller that somehow slipped in behind the defense and goalie Sarah Zach, who made several outstanding kick saves in the second half, robbing Engelhart of what looked to be a sure goal on a corner at the 23-minute mark.

"I hit it and I thought, 'That's not going in,'" Engelhart said of her game-winner. "You can usually tell. It did and we were winning. Kristen got us going early and as a six seed to score the first goal is big. The same thing happened on Friday [when Engelhart scored first in a 2-1 win over West Windsor-North in the semifinals]."

The Central defense played a huge role in winning this championship. The Red Devils were particularly outstanding on corners as they barely allowed any quality shots to the Cougars, who had 15 opportunities.

Junior goalie Fran Orella, in her first varsity season, stopped six shots including one off the pads on a drive by sophomore Philly Lumsden with 20:17 left in the second half. Central also held Montgomery's outstanding midfielder Shari Jones in check for most of the day.

"We really worked on [corners] and our defense did a phenomenal job," Sponzo said.

Junior midfielder/back Chloe Maurice was at the forefront of helping to shut down the Cougars and controlling the middle of the field.

"We came in really determined to shut them down and we rose to the occasion," Maurice said. "We wanted to prove to everybody that we were better than a six seed. The past few years haven't been that great and we really wanted to bring [a title] back. Central has always had a great field hockey program."

And now it has another trophy to add to its collection.

Hunterdon Central (14-9)                 1                   1             --   2
Montgomery (15-5-1)                       1                   0             --   1

Scoring

First half -- HC, Kristen Given, 7th, (Nicole Barrett), 23:44; M, Erica Hrudowsky, 16th, 1:35.

Second half -- HC, Kim Engelhart, 19th, (Ally Baligian), 13:24.

Shots -- Hunterdon Central 6; Montgomery 6.

Saves -- Fran Orella 4, Emily Zengel 1 (defensive) (HC); Sarah Zach 4 (M).

Penalty corners -- Hunterdon Central 7; Montgomery 15.

NJSIAA: Red Devils ready for their title shot

Hunterdon Central's field hockey team has absolutely nothing to lose heading into its championship showdown on Monday.

However, the Red Devils will be looking for exactly the opposite outcome when sixth-seeded Central travels to No. 1 seed Montgomery in a battle between Skyland Conference rivals for the North 2, Group 4 sectional crown.

Hunterdon Central (13-9) is back in the title game for the first time since 2008 and is seeking the program's first sectional championship since winning the last of its 11 titles in 2007. Coach Jenn Sponzo's team won three games a year ago, scoring a total of 11 goals in 16 games. It was the program's lowest win total since 1986.

Senior Kim Engelhart (18 goals) has been at the forefront of an offensive resurgence for the Hunterdon County school, which has scored 45 goals this season. Engelhart failed to score in 10 games this season and the Red Devils lost six of those contests.

However, Central has been getting it done of late on the defensive side with two 1-0 wins in its first two playoff games before a 2-1 triumph over West Windsor-North in the semifinals.

Junior goalie Fran Orella and junior back Chloe Maurice have helped anchor a defense that's produced seven shutouts this season.

Montgomery (15-4-1) features the best player on the field in senior midfielder Shari Jones, the team's leading scorer with 15 goals and 10 assists. Junior forward Erica Hrudowsky also has 15 goals for the coach Tiffany Trockenbrod's Cougars, who advanced to the title game with a 2-1 win in overtime against Middletown North.

Because the teams play in different divisions of the Skyland Conference, they did not meet during the regular season.

Skinny: The teams have a number of common opponents this season, but that really doesn't mean a whole lot at this time of year. Central has been on fire in the second half, winning eight of its last 10 games. The offense hasn't gotten much going with five goals in the last six games, so the Red Devils will need to get that corrected in this one. In games like this I tend to go with the team that has the best player and that would be the host with Jones. She's that good.

Pick: Montgomery, 2-1.

NJSIAA: Voorhees falls short in sectional semis

Voorhees' field hockey team has enjoyed plenty of postseason success over the years. Unfortunately, the Vikings have also endured some heartbreaking moments along the way.

Fourth-seeded Voorhees came up a little short in Saturday night's 1-0 loss to top-seeded Johnson in the North 2, Group 2 semifinals in Clark. The Vikes (14-4) had their five-game win streak snapped with the loss, their second to Johnson (18-4) in the last two years.

Voorhees dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to Johnson in last year's sectional final played over two days due to poor weather and field conditions. First-year coach Taylor Webb's team was seeking the Hunterdon County school's first championship since 2006 when the Vikes went to the Group 3 final.

Senior forward Amanda Wnorowski scored the winning goal for Johnson off a penalty corner with 11 minutes left before halftime. Senior forward Nicole Imbriaco assisted on the game-winner, just like she did a year ago in the title game.

Voorhees goalie Kimmie Pianucci recorded 14 saves in her final high school game. The outstanding keeper recorded nine shutouts this season and held opposing teams to one goal or fewer in 17 of the team's 18 games. Only Bernards, which lost 4-3 to Voorhees in the semifinals, scored more than one goal against the Vikes.

Johnson, which won its only two sectional titles in 2008 and 2010, will host third-seeded Rumson in Tuesday's championship game. Voorhees was trying to give the Skyland Conference five teams in sectional finals, joining Bridgewater-Raritan, Hunterdon Central, Montgomery and Warren Hills.

Voorhees (14-4)               0                   0             --   0
Johnson (18-4)                 1                   0             --   1

Scoring

First half -- J, Amanda Wnorowski, 14th, (Nicole Imbriaco).

Shots -- Voorhees 4; Johnson 15.

Saves -- Kimmie Pianucci 14 (V); Becky Brattole 4 (J).

NJSIAA Sectional Finals schedule

Here is next week's schedule for the NJSIAA field hockey sectional finals. All games played at the higher seed. Monday's games involve Groups 1 and 4, while Tuesday's schedule features Groups 2 and 3.

Winners advance to Thursday's state semifinals to be played at neutral sites. The Group finals are slated for Sunday at Toms River East High School.

Monday's schedule
Group 4
North 1
Montclair at Bridgewater-Raritan

North 2
Hunterdon Central at Montgomery

Central Jersey
Freehold Township at Toms River East

South Jersey
Shawnee at Eastern

Group 1
North 1
Boonton at Mountain Lakes

North 2
Shore at Oak Knoll

Central Jersey
Haddon Heights at Audubon

South Jersey
Schalick at St. Joseph's-Hammonton

Tuesday's schedule
Group 3
North 1
West Milford at High Point

North 2
Warren Hills at Freehold Borough

Central Jersey
Moorestown at Wall

South Jersey
Kingsway at Ocean City

Group 2
North 1
Ramsey at West Essex

North 2
Rumson at Johnson

Central Jersey
Camden Catholic at Collingswood

South Jersey
West Deptford at Haddonfield

Streaks prove Grater against Hopewell Valley

Warren Hills' field hockey team had plenty of motivation heading into Saturday's playoff rematch with a Hopewell Valley squad that ended the Warren County school's title run a year ago.

It wasn't any easier this time around, but the third-seeded Blue Streaks are still dancing after a 1-0 win over the No. 2 seed in a North 2, Group 3 semifinal matchup in Hopewell.

Warren Hills (22-1), which has won 12 in a row, travels to top-seeded Freehold Borough (19-1) for Tuesday's sectional final. The two schools have previously met twice in the title game. Freehold won, 2-0, at Warren Hills in the 2007 final and the Streaks' avenged that one with a 1-0 victory in overtime at Freehold en route to a Group 3 runner-up finish in 2009.

The Streaks also established a school record for wins, eclipsing the 2009 team's total of 21.

Warren Hills senior forward Kayla Grater notched the decisive goal on Saturday, her 15th of the season early in the first half. Junior midfielder Niki Miller sent a long hit into the circle and Grater, who was unmarked in the circle, maneuvered around a tightly-bunched defense to finish it off.

A strong Blue Streaks defense made it stand, as goalie Katie Wintersteen stopped six shots for her 14th shutout of the season. Warren Hills has outscored three postseason opponents by a combined 15-1 margin.

"Both teams struggled to stop the ball on offensive corners," Kerr said. "The [grass] field was nice and fast, but bumpy inside the circle. We had our sticks down and the ball just jumped right over the sticks. We had a lot of balls just miss the post wide."

Warren Hills is now 54-35 all-time in postseason games dating to 1972. Kerr is 25-11 in her 12 seasons at the helm of her alma mater in the playoffs and has guided the Streaks to five of their nine sectional titles.
Warren Hills (22-1)                   1                   0               --   1
Hopewell Valley (17-2)            0                   0               --   0

Scoring

First half -- WH, Kayla Grater, 15th, (Niki Miller), 25:34.

Shots -- Warren Hills 9; Hopewell Valley 6.

Saves -- Katie Wintersteen 6 (WH); Kristin Olszuk 8 (HV).

Gill's goal pushes Wildcats into sectional final

It wasn't pretty for the most part, but High Point's field hockey team learned a lot about postseason survival on Saturday. And rule No. 1: Any win, aesthetics aside, is a beautiful thing this time of the season.

Junior forward Maureen Gill was the offensive hero of the day, scoring the decisive goal early in the second half to help top-seeded High Point escape with a 1-0 win over fourth-seeded Northern Highlands in a North 1, Group 3 semifinal clash in Wantage.

High Point (20-1) will host second-seeded West Milford (19-1), a 3-0 winner over Wayne Hills in the other semifinal, for the championship on Tuesday at 2 p.m. The Wildcats are seeking their first sectional championship since 2002.

"I'm so excited," said Gill, who has seven goals this season, but none bigger in her career. "This feels great. I'm so proud of everyone. It was such a tough game. I'm happy to come through at a good time."

Veteran High Point coach Bev Keur, whose team has won five straight, had some stern words for her team at the half and after the contest. The 'Cats overcame a very sluggish first half to keep their title hopes alive.

"I thought we won ugly today," Keur said. "Ugly or not, we're still happy with the win. Once we settled down in the second half and played smarter, we forced [Northern Highlands] to be on their heels. We came on quick, but we didn't finish. We made some adjustments at halftime and we knew that if we lost today all that hard work the seniors have done for four years was over."

Northern Highlands (15-5-2), which was denied in its bid for the school's first title since 1993, came out strong and pretty much owned the first 15 minutes of the first half. Coach Rich Smith's Highlanders missed a golden opportunity just about nine minutes in when sophomore Lauren O'Keefe, the team's leading scorer with 16 goals, couldn't convert on a penalty stroke.

O'Keefe telegraphed the shot to the left post and High Point goalie Kelsey Stoll read it perfectly to deny the shot. The Bergen County-co champions were also denied on a penalty corner in the final seconds of the game.

"[If we scored on the stroke] it may have knocked [High Point] down a peg and killed their confidence," said Smith, the Allendale school's head coach for nine seasons. "We controlled the tempo [early], but in the end we were trying to catch a break and we almost did. We had opportunities. That's all I can ask for."

Keur said that Stoll has been taking extra practice on strokes in case such an occasion presents itself in the playoffs. The only other penalty shot Stoll faced in a game this season was in the team's 2-1 win over Vernon on Oct. 25. The Vikes' Rachel Colvin beat Stoll on that one.

"I was more concerned about [Stoll] not having the experience," Keur said. "Kelsey came up big today."

Gill also came up big on her opportunity as she finished off a nice play, started by senior midfielder Sashal Hagan's drive in that was tipped by senior forward Brittany Papa. The ball crossed the cage and Gill was able to push it home with 24:50 left in the game. Leading scorers Nikki Hull (18 goals) and Darby Smith (24 goals) had relatively quiet games for the 'Cats, who needed others to step up in big spots.

"Different people always get marked and whoever is open has to put it in," Gill said.

Also credit Hagan for starting that winning drive.

"Today was a really intense game and [Northern Highlands] was very skilled and fast," Hagan said. "We stepped up to the challenge and it was a great game. We have about nine girls that can score. I knew Stoll had it in her to stop that [stroke]."

High Point managed nine first-half shots, but the only threatening ball came off the stick of senior Sarah Clark, who was denied with a nice stick save by Northern Highlands goalie Paulina Marino.

After a disappointing loss in last year's final, High Point gets another chance for a title that's eluded the program for nine years.

"I'm really excited to go to the final again," Hagan said. "I think we have an advantage after last year's loss [to West Morris]."

Northern Highlands (15-5-2)              0                   0             --   0
High Point (20-1)                               0                   1             --   1

Scoring

Second half -- HP, Maureen Gill, 7th, (Sashal Hagan, Brittany Papa), 24:50.

Shots -- Northern Highlands 4; High Point 16.

Saves -- Paulina Marino 13, Casey Colangelo 1 (defensive), Maryclare Mastriano 1 (defensive) (NH); Kelsey Stoll 3, Bea Cannavale 1 (defensive) (HP).

Penalty corners -- Northern Highlands 5; High Point 18.

'Cats, Streaks, Vikings ready for next step

It's getting down to crunch time in the field hockey season. With Phillipsburg's loss and Hunterdon Central's win on Friday, the Open Mike area is down to four teams still vying for sectional championships.

Here's a look at Saturday's semifinal schedule involving three locals:

North 1, Group 3
4-Northern Highlands (15-4-2) at 1-High Point (19-1)
Skinny: Coach Bev Keur's Wildcats have rebounded nicely from a 3-1 loss to Warren Hills in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex final on Oct. 22, winning four straight including a 3-0 win over No. 8 Montville in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Northern Highlands, seeking its seventh sectional title and first since 1993, beat Vernon, 4-3, in the quarters. High Point defeated Vernon twice this year, 6-1 and 2-1. Forwards Nikki Hull (108 points) and Darby Smith (107) are closing in on the school record of 112.

Other semifinal matchup: 3-Wayne Hills (16-4-1) at 2-West Milford (18-1).

Championship: Tuesday.

Players to watch: NH -- So. F Lauren O'Keefe (16 goals, 4 assists), Sr. MF Meghan Weiss (15 goals, 13 assists), Sr. F Catherine Peebles (12 goals, 11 assists). HP -- Sr. F Nikki Hull (18 goals, 13 assists), Jr. F Darby Smith (24 goals), Sr. F Brittany Papa (14 goals), Sr. D Bea Cannavale (8 goals, 7 assists).

Interesting fact: High Point is seeking its sixth title and first since 2002. No Sussex County school has won a championship since Wallkill Valley claimed the North 1, Group 2 crown in 2006.

Prediction: The hosts are too well-balanced and extremely battle-tested this season and that will be the difference in this one. High Point, 3-1.

North 2, Group 3
3-Warren Hills (21-2) at 2-Hopewell Valley (17-1)
Skinny: There isn't a hotter team around right now than the Blue Streaks, who have won 11 in a row since a  2-1 loss in overtime against Voorhees on Oct. 6. Since then, Warren Hills has outscored opponents, 60-7, during the current winning streak and has yielded just one goal in two playoff wins (Mendham, 8-1, and Ocean Township, 6-0) while reaching the semis for the sixth straight year. There's also the extra motivation of a loss in this round to Hopewell Valley a year ago, decided on penalty strokes. The Mercer County school, which is seeking its first title since 1988, lost its first game on Monday, 4-3 to Lawrenceville in the county final.

Other semifinal matchup: 4-West Morris (18-2) at 1-Freehold Borough (18-1).

Championship: Tuesday.

Players to watch: WH -- Sr. F Lindsey Schott (27 goals, 16 assists), Jr. MF Niki Miller (22 goals, 12 assists), Sr. MF Whitney Kowski (8 goals, 10 assists), Sr. F Kayla Grater (14 goals), Sr. D Jen Hylkema. HV -- Sr. F Alicia Wagner, (37 goals, 8 assists), Jr. F Colby Hussong (12 goals, 18 assists), Sr. F Grace McCabe (13 goals).

Interesting fact: Warren Hills is 53-35 all-time in postseason games dating to 1972, including a 10-2 mark against Mercer County schools. Besides last year's loss to Hopewell Valley, the only other loss to a Mercer team was 3-0 to Princeton in the program's very first state playoff game in 1972.

Prediction: The Blue Streaks are on a major roll right now and would love to avenge last year's loss in the semifinals. The key will be not looking ahead to a potential showdown with Freehold, the defending section and Group 3 champion, in a much-anticipated final. Again, caliber of competition plays a big factor in this one. Warren Hills, 4-0.

North 2, Group 2

4-Voorhees (14-3) at 1-Johnson (17-4)
Skinny: Rematch of last year's final won by Johnson, 2-1 in double overtime. The game had to be played over two days due to poor weather and field conditions at Voorhees and was coach Beth Stocker's final game. First-year coach Taylor Webb has the Vikings primed for another title run, seeking the Hunterdon County program's seventh championship and first since reaching the Group 3 final in 2006. Johnson, which lost to West Essex in last year's Group 2 semis, is gunning for its third title overall after winning its first in 2008 under coach Katrina Anderson.

Other semifinal matchup: 7-St. John Vianney (12-6-1) at 3-Rumson (13-4-1).

Championship: Tuesday.

Players to watch: V -- Sr. F Antoinette Metzler (12 goals), Sr. F Kat Francis (7 goals), Sr. F Taylor Irving (11 goals, 7 assists), GK Kimmie Pianucci (9 shutouts). J -- Sr. F Nicole Imbriaco (30 goals, 19 assists), Sr. F Amanda Wnorowski (13 goals, 8 assists), F Margaret Sinnicke (12 goals), GK Becky Brattole (12 shutouts).

Interesting fact: Voorhees is 51-30 all-time in postseason games since the program's inception in 1975. The Vikes also have 537 overall wins during that span.

Prediction: No disrespect to the teams in the bottom bracket, but this should be the final. Johnson has the best player on the field in Imbriaco, who assisted on the winning goal in last year's final. Brattole is also a very good goalie. However, the Vikings play great defense having held opponents to a collective 10 goals this season in 17 games. Pianucci is one of the top keepers in the state and is tough to get one in on. Voorhees will need to put a few goals in the cage and that's been a struggle this season. I'm making this one my upset special. Voorhees 2-1 OT.