Wrestling: HWS active victories leaders

  (Minimum 50 victories)

  *Note: Glenn Haines will wrestle for Hopatcong this season.

Wrestler	School	Record	Year
Ryan Pomrinca	North Hunterdon	115-12	Senior
Jason Gaccione	High Point	104-19	Senior
Max Nauta	Warren Hills	92-21	Senior
Jimmy Schuitema	Phillipsburg	87-21	Senior
Max Elling	Phillipsburg	85-33	Senior
Ian Burke	Sparta	84-18	Senior
Mike Derin	High Point	83-21	Senior
Dom Gallo	High Point	82-24	Senior
Andrew Pacheco	Warren Hills	76-18	Senior
Brandon Paetzell	Phillipsburg	76-9	Junior
D.J. Barrett	Lenape Valley	70-42	Senior
Gus Protogeropoulos	Newton	69-33	Senior
Joe Aumann	Hopatcong	66-29	Senior
*Glenn Haines	Lenape Valley	64-19	Senior
Kyle DiNapoli	Voorhees	60-19	Junior
Joe LaBell	Lenape Valley	60-46	Senior
Steve Friedman	Phillipsburg	58-47	Senior
Joe Renne	Hackettstown	57-20	Junior
Austin Scrivani	Kittatinny	57-22	Junior
Trevor Morales	Newton	56-27	Senior
Nestor Crespo	Hunterdon Central	56-36	Senior
Joe Scerbo	Hunterdon Central	55-24	Senior
Will O'Connell	North Warren	52-33	Senior
Sean Siek	Wallkill Valley	51-38	Senior

Wrestling: Gibble deserved better fate at Central

After 22 seasons, with over 300 wins and 11 sectional championships, Steve Gibble was officially dismissed at Hunterdon Central by a 7-2 vote at last Monday night's Board of Education meeting, Gibble also was relieved of his coaching duties in football and lacrosse.

For what reason? According to board president Claire Curry, Gibble made on off-handed remark to one of his wrestlers at a Rutgers summer camp. The exact statement was not made available to the public. Suffice it to say, at least, that no one is talking about specifics on the record. Both Gibble and longtime athletic director Bob Rossi have not returned messages seeking comment.

On the bright side, Gibble managed one more vote of support at Monday's meeting than he did on Oct. 20, when he was suspended from his coaching duties. Credit board members Lori Blutfield and Paul Ransavage for having the guts to vote against Gibble's termination, which is telling because if what Gibble said was so egregious, then why did he have any supporters on the board?

Furthermore, Gibble is still employed by the Hunterdon County school as a social studies teacher. Again, how damaging could his statement(s) to that wrestler have been?

In an ironic twist, the only two wrestling coaches in Hunterdon Central's history dating to 1957 had unceremonious endings to their tenures.

Gibble took over as head coach for the 1992-93 season when legendary coach Russ Riegel, who started the program in 1957, retired after 35 seasons following an offseason incident at a summer camp. Gibble, who wrestled under Riegel, won a region title in 1980 at 188 pounds for the Red Devils.

Gibble's teams compiled a 348-119 overall record and captured four Skyland Conference titles, in addition to winning 11 of the program's 19 sectional championships. Central also reached the Group 4 final seven times (1993, '94, '95, '99, 2000, 2003 and 2010) under Gibble. Riegel's teams went 1-4 in Group 4 finals, winning the program's only title in 1989.

This past season, Central went 19-6 and dropped a 55-9 decision to Phillipsburg in the North 2, Group 4 final. Speaking of P'burg, Gibble boasts five wins over the Stateliners in 26 meetings, including postseason victories in 2010 and '13. The 2009-10 squad joined the 1989-90 Warren Hills teams as the only clubs to defeat P'burg in a sectional final. The only coaches in the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex area with more career wins over P'burg are the late John Goles at Washington/Warren Hills with 12 and Henry Boresch at Newton with seven, along with Kittatinny's John Gill with six.

One look at Gibble's record and it's clear that the decision to remove him was not about wins and losses. In fact. many coaches would kill for that resume. In his 22 seasons, Central was ranked in the Coaches Top 25 Poll on 16 occasions -- missing only in 1995-96, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2011-12 and 2013-14 -- and finished in the top 10 in eight seasons, peaking at No. 4 in 1999-2000. The Red Devils were ranked No. 17 in the New Jersey Wrestling Writers Top 20 this past season.

Hunterdon Central has earned the state's No. 1 ranking just once -- in 1975-76 under Riegel.

Since 2000, Hunterdon Central has produced a Hunterdon-Warren best 23 state placewinners, including state champions Mike Carr (2000) and Alex Shaffer (2010). P'burg is next with 16, followed by Delaware Valley (14), North Hunterdon (10), Warren Hills (6), Belvidere and Voorhees (5), Hackettstown and North Warren (4). Overall, Gibble has coached a total of 36 state placewinners.

Gibble, like Riegel, has certainly had his detractors over the years. Many feel like Central has vastly underachieved with an extremely strong feeder program in place. I will say that you won't find a more standup guy, win or lose, as he always faced the music with media members after a match. I have covered Hunterdon Central wrestling for the better part of two decades and all of my experiences with Gibble have been extremely positive, and I can recall maybe one instance where he read his team the riot act after a loss.

How sad that his final act as a coach ended at during a summer camp where he was volunteering his time to help make kids better wrestlers.

A strong showing of support at Monday's meeting and the one in October indicates that Gibble was also popular with his wrestlers and parents, who spoke on his behalf in support. But in this day and age, it's becoming increasingly more difficult to coach and despite having more wins than losses, it could be over in a blink.

Jon Cantagallo-Rohm, as first reported by Open Mike in October, on Monday was appointed as Gibble's successor, perhaps only on an interim basis. Practices will "officially"start on Monday, Nov. 24 in New Jersey. The late dismissal of Gibble also is extremely unfair to the program.

Coaching is a tough job in this politically correct world with plenty of overzealous parents. And the dismissal of one of the good guys shows it just got a lot tougher on many levels.

Field hockey: Streaks' run ends in TOC semifinals

Warren Hills' field hockey team, fresh off winning its first Group 3 title, dropped a 4-2 decision to Oak Knoll on Wednesday in the Tournament of Champions semifinals at Rider University.

The Blue Streaks (23-4), who had their 11-game winning streak snapped, finished the greatest season in program history with a school record for wins as well as the program's 12 sectional championship. Coach Laurie Kerr's team earned its first TOC appearance with a 5-4 win in overtime against Ocean City on Saturday in the Group 3 final -- snapping the Streaks' eight-game skid in state finals.

Oak Knoll (24-1) advances to face top-ranked Eastern in Friday's championship game.

Trailing 2-0 against Oak Knoll, senior midfielder Nikki Profita cut the deficit to one with her 20th goal of the season with 19:08 left in the second half. Profita, a Rutgers recruit, finishes a stellar four-year career ranked third on the school's all-time list for goals (65) and assists (51). She also is tied for third place on the Streaks' points list with Niki Miller, who also amassed 179 from 2009-12.

Junior midfielder Katie Thompson was credited with the assist on Profita's goal. Thompson was stellar over the second half of the season, logging four goals and 17 assists in the final 12 games, in which she posted at least one goal or an assist.

Carolina Andretta stretched Oak Knoll's lead to 3-1 with the first of her three second-half goals with 14:26 remaining on the clock.

Sophomore forward Dani Profita (22 goals, 17 assists) also scored for Warren Hills off a feed from senior back Allie Brouhard.

Brouhard was among six senior starters playing in their final high school game. Drexel-bound forward Sydney Muntone (29 goals, 20 assists) ends her career as the Streaks' single-season and career goals leader with 77 to with 57 assists, which matches Miller for the all-time lead in that category. Muntone also holds the record for career points with 211, while her season total of 78 is one shy of Miller's record of 79 in 2012.

Warren Hills also set new records for goals (147) and assists (113), shattering the previous marks of 110 and 83 in 2011.

Field hockey: Five thoughts from Streaks' title run

Safe to say it was worth the wait for Warren Hills' field hockey program, which will savor its first Group 3 title -- the first for any female sport at the school -- for a long time to come.

Players past and present, along with coaches and alumni, came out in full support on Saturday to Bordentown Regional High School to watch the Blue Streaks make history with a thrilling 5-4 win in overtime against nemesis Ocean City. The team was even welcomed back into town with an escort to the school, courtesy of the Washington Police and Fire Department.

Warren Hills' seniors with the trophy. (Courtesy Michelle Pulsinelli Profita)

Savor it they all will, considering it was this Ocean City program that had been the bane of Warren Hills' existence -- prevailing in five previous title game meetings, including the last two. But the ninth time was the charm. I've covered all but one other championship game -- the 1999 loss to OC and former coach Luanne Ferenci's final game. The classy Ferenci was on hand Saturday and I was sorry we didn't get the chance to talk.

Ferenci was instrumental in putting this program on the state map nearly 20 years ago, guiding Warren Hills to its first Group 3 final in 1996. Overall, her teams went 226-101-41 in 19 seasons from 1981-99 and captured four sectional titles (1984, '96, '97, '99) in six finals appearances. The '96 team, led by scoring machine Kate Alleger, who logged a then-record 26 goals, and Courtney Fritts, one of three talented sisters to play for the Streaks, was the first to reach a Group 3 final, losing 2-1 to West Deptford.

That 1996 team raised the bar to where we are now as Warren Hills is annually one of the top programs in the state.

Here's five things to note from Saturday's milestone win:

1. The "Super Six" seniors -- forwards Sydney Muntone, Jessica Nissen, midfielder Nikki Profita, along with backs Amanda Crampton, Allie Brouhard and Amanda Oberly -- have left a permanent mark on the program. It's without question the greatest group to come through the program, even without the state title. Over the last four years, Warren Hills is 89-11-1, posting 22-wins seasons in 2011, '12 and '13 before setting a record 23 to date, to go with three sectional titles and two Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex championships. All of this year's seniors were super in this one. Brouhard converted a huge penalty stroke just after Ocean City had gained momentum with one of its own to tie it in the first half.

Profita played perhaps her finest game on Saturday, scoring a goal and adding three assists, including setting up Crampton's game-winner on a penalty corner in OT. She astutely noted that this trophy, which she ran off with shortly after the official presentation, was for all of the past players, especially those who played and came up short in the previous eight finals, including her cousin, Becky Pulsinelli (2000, '01). At the young age of about 12, Profita watched the 2009 Streaks lose a heartbreaker in OT to Ocean City. "I remember when [star forward Toni Popinko in '09] said how she always dreamed of playing the state final," Profita said. "There were a lot of former players here. This really is for them." Popinko, a big addition to the Phillipsburg staff this season, and sister, Tori, were on hand to celebrate the win. Assistant coach Josie (Schanzenbach) Potter was a freshman on the '96 team and a key starter in '99.

2. Defense wins championships for sure and the rock-solid unit for Warren Hills was at it again in this one. If not for Ocean City midfielder and Penn State recruit Lauren McNally, who scored three goals including two on penalty strokes, this may have been a one-sided affair. Crampton and Co. in the backfield were on point the entire game. Oberly made a big goal-line save, while sophomore goalie Jackie de Raismes, who was thrown into the fire this season when a spot opened unexpectedly in the cage, played extremely well. In fact, de Raismes stopped two goals with the pads but the balls took unlucky bounces over the line. She had McNally's second stroke -- the tying goal before halftime -- stopped cold but the ball got away. de Raismes did former star keepers Alyssa Cannavo (2000-01) and Carolyn Kisling (2003) proud, as both lost in state final heartbreakers. In five postseason games, the Streaks have yielded a total of six goals. During the current 11-game win streak, it's seven overall.

3. Speaking of penalty strokes, there were three in succession that resulted in goals -- two for Ocean City -- in the first half. McNally made both for OC, while Brouhard executed on a big one, her fourth of the season and fifth in two years. There were also a few cards handed out for not being five yards away on defense and one on Streaks junior back Rachel Phillips for what I thought was a bad call that led to McNally's first stroke. Officials ruled that Phillips, who made a great save with her stick parallel in the air to the field, moved the stick forward to defend the play. Luckily, that did not lead to a goal with her on the sideline for five minutes as Warren Hills was a player down. McNally left the game in the second half due to a push and OC wasn't nearly the same team. The Streaks took advantage as sophomore forward Dani Profita connected off a feed from her sister for a short-lived 4-3 lead with 11:57 left in regulation. I didn't see three penalty strokes all season, let alone three in a state final.

4. Credit coach Laurie Kerr for working on penalty corners in practice the day before the big game. The winning goal was scored on the exact same play the Streaks ended their session with on Friday. Crampton, being the heads-up player she is, recognized that a hard shot from the right post would most likely wind up being blocked. Instead, she alertly lifted the ball over the goalie, who was down on the field. But make no mistake, that corner doesn't happen if not by the shot off the pads from Nikki Profita on the previous corner in OT.

5. To give you an idea of what a slugfest Saturday was, consider that three of Warren Hills' five shots-on-goal in the second half and OT resulted in scores. Getting back to that stellar defense, the only two shots the Streaks gave up in the final 22 minutes of regulation were goals, while allowing zero in OT. Warren Hills finished with a 6-5 edge on penalty corners, also reflective of two skilled teams going toe-to-toe.

Field hockey: Streaks claim G3 title in OT thriller

BORDENTOWN -- Warren Hills' field hockey team was intent on flipping the script this time around. And the Blue Streaks could not have drawn it up any better.

Senior back Amanda Crampton connected off a penalty corner with 4:38 left in sudden-victory overtime as Warren Hills ended its futility in the Group 3 final with a thrilling 5-4 win over nemesis Ocean City on Saturday at Bordentown Regional High School.

With the victory, Warren Hills (23-3) notched a new school record for wins in a season and its 601st overall, while collecting the first state championship in program history in its ninth finals appearance. It's also the first state team title in any female sport at the Warren County school, formerly Washington High School.

Warren Hills celebrates the G3 title. (Courtesy Michelle Pulsinelli Profita)

The season isn't over as Warren Hills drew the No. 2 seed for the five-team Tournament of Champions -- involving all Group winners -- that begins on Monday with the 4-5 game between Group 2 champ Rumson and Group 1 champ Shore at Rider University. The winner will face No. 1 Eastern, the Group 4 champion, in one semifinal on Wednesday, while the Blue Streaks will take on No. 3 Oak Knoll, the Non-Public champion. The final will be played on Friday.

"It feels like a dream," said Crampton, who fired the shot heard back to Washington that ended a five-game skid against Ocean City (22-2) in Group 3 finals dating to 1999. "This is the best feeling. It was our ninth time coming here, and we had lost five times to Ocean. This feels amazing."

Senior midfielder Nikki Profita notched her third assist of the game on that game-winner, while also scoring a game-tying goal that made it 3-3 with 16:43 left in the second half. Profita also took an important shot on Warren Hills' first corner in overtime that led to a second corner opportunity.

"I don't have words," said the Rutgers-bound Profita, who perhaps played the best game of her outstanding four-year career. "The execution was there on our corners. On overtime corners, we don't really risk it on low options."

For coach Laurie Kerr, the championship was especially emotional after going 0-6 in previous finals appearances in her 15 seasons. The former star player for the Streaks was so overcome after Crampton's goal that she collapsed on the turf in celebration.

"It's about time," Kerr said. "After Ocean City got the first corner in overtime, I turned to athletic trainer [Kevin Call] and said, 'I feel like a cat with more lives left.' From the first day of preseason, these girls wanted to repeat [the Group 3 final] against Ocean City, especially after losing [1-0] last year in double overtime. They remembered that. This is for every Warren Hills woman athlete and field hockey player."

Crampton received the ball at the right post with a defender in front of her. Rather than fire a rocket at the cage, the East Stroudsburg-bound Crampton opted to lift the ball over the defense and it found it's way home.

Turns out, it was the exact corner play that the Streaks had practiced the day before in preparation for the Group 3 final.

"I thought about driving at first, but I beat the [defender] and the goalie [Charity Beckert] was down," Crampton said. "If I shot it, the defense would have drawn in toward me. I wanted to end it."

The game had all the makings of a classic heavyweight battle, back-and-forth most of the way. Warren Hills, unlike in past years, drew first blood when junior midfielder Katie Thompson connected off a feed from Profita on the Streaks' second corner with 22:16 left in the first half.

That goal sparked a string of three straight penalty strokes -- two converted successfully by talented Ocean City midfielder Lauren McNally, a Penn State recruit. In between, senior back Allie Brouhard cashed in on a goal to briefly give Warren Hills a 2-1 lead with 9:00 minutes before the half. But McNally evened things with 1:59 on the clock, when her shot bounced off the pads of Streaks goalie Jackie de Raismes.

Ocean City regained the lead with 22:32 left in the second half on a goal by Rialee Allen. After Profita's tying goal, she combined with sister Dani Profita, who scored her 22nd goal to give the Streaks a 4-3 lead with 11:57 remaining in regulation. In all, five different players scored goals for Warren Hills.

But McNally forced overtime with her third goal, as a costly Streaks' defensive mistake for not being five yards back on defense results in a penalty corner for OC. Another rocket blast toward the cage bounced off the pads and in for a 4-4 tie with 5:48 left on the clock.

Ocean City received another corner with 6:52 left in the 10-minute overtime, but Warren Hills' defense snuffed it out and didn't allow a shot, setting the stage for Crampton's heroics. In all, four of the six meetings in the Group 3 final between these teams have been decided in overtime.

"We had every scenario possible [in this game]," Kerr said. "We were winning, then we were losing. Penalty strokes, overtime. It was a complete field hockey game."

Led by six "super seniors," as Kerr calls them, this Warren Hills team wasn't going to be denied in ending one of the toughest losing streaks in tournament history.

"They're winners on and off the field," Kerr said.

Ocean City (22-2)                            2             2          0      --    4
Warren Hills (23-3)                          2             2          1      --    5

Scoring

First half -- WH, Katie Thompson, 8th, (Nikki Profita), 22:16; OC, Lauren McNally, 29th, (penalty stroke), 20:18; WH, Allie Brouhard, 10th, (penalty stroke), 9:00; OC, McNally, 30th, (penalty stroke), 1:59.

Second half -- OC, Rialee Allen, 21st, (Shannon O'Reilly), 22:32; WH, N. Profita, 19th, 16:43; WH, Dani Profita, 22nd, (N. Profita), 11:57; OC, McNally, 31st, 5:48.

Overtime -- WH, Amanda Crampton, 13th, (N. Profita), 4:38.

Shots -- Ocean City 10; Warren Hills 11.

Saves -- Charity Beckert 6 (OC); Amanda Oberly 1 (defensive), Jackie de Raismes 5 (WH).

Penalty corners -- Ocean City 5; Warren Hills 6.

Field hockey: Streaks set to face nemesis in G3 final

Wins certainly have been plentiful for this group of Warren Hills field hockey seniors.

The Blue Streaks have won a school record 22 in each of the last four seasons, including notching the program's 600th overall with Wednesday's 6-1 victory over Northern Highlands in the Group 3 semifinals.

But getting No. 601 would mean the most of all.

For the ninth time in school history, Warren Hills (22-3) will play for the Group 3 championship when it takes on nemesis Ocean City on Saturday at Bordentown High School. Game time is 2 p.m.

Warren Hills eyes another trophy for its collection. (Michelle Pulsinelli Profita)

The Blue Streaks are eager to end an 0-for-8 skid in the finals, including a heartbreaking 1-0 loss in double overtime to the Red Raiders a year ago.

"I'm very happy it's Ocean [in the final]," said senior forward Sydney Muntone, who became the Streaks' single-season goals leader at 29 with a pair against Northern Highlands. "I didn't want to play anyone else. My sophomore year, we lost, 2-0. Last year it was in double overtime. We're getting closer and closer."

Can this finally be the year?

"Might as well be," said veteran coach Laurie Kerr, who is 0-6 in state finals in 15 seasons at her alma mater. "It's got to [happen] some time."

Muntone, who needs two points for that single-season record and one assist for the career mark at Warren Hills, leads a potent offense that's averaging four goals per game in the postseason and has produced 140 overall (5.6 goals per game). Sophomore forward Dani Profita, a star in the making and a big-game performer who also had two goals in the Group 3 semifinal win, has 22 goals this season -- 37 career -- and is on pace to break several of Muntone's records in two years.

Muntone, who is heading to Drexel next fall, is one of five seniors to sign National Letters of intent on Thursday -- joining midfielder Nikki Profita (Rutgers), along with backs Amanda Crampton (East Stroudsburg) Allie Brouhard (Sacred Heart) and Amanda Oberly (Southern Connecticut).

Crampton anchors a rock-solid defense that's allowed just three goals during the team's 10-game winning streak. A year ago, the Streaks entered the title game on a school-record 19-game streak.

Warren Hills' ninth appearance in a state final is the most among Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex schools, two more than Belvidere's total of seven in Group 1. The County Seaters won titles in 1989 and '90, in addition to appearances in 1982, '88, '91, '92 and '96. No team from the tri-county area has won a championship since Hunterdon Central (six finals appearances) claimed the last of its three titles in 1996.

Standing in the way, as in five previous years, is Ocean City (22-1), which has won nine titles in its illustrious history, including a 1-0 double-overtime win over Warren Hills in last year's Group 3 final at Toms River East.

Like Warren Hills, this year's OC team features a prolific offense that's racked up 165 goals in 23 games (7.2 per game). Junior forward Jordan Allegretto (36 goals), senior midfielder Lauren McNally (28), senior forward Kelly Hanna (24) and sophomore Rialee Allen (20) are the Red Raiders' leading scorers. Hanna, who scored the game-winner in last year's title game, leads with 27 assists, while Allen has 26 and McNally 25.

Coach Cory Terry's club, which advanced to the final with a 1-0 win over Moorestown, suffered its only loss to Eastern -- 6-1 on Oct. 28. The state's No. 1 team also defeated Warren Hills this season, 10-1 on Sept. 27.

Ocean City also denied the Blue Streaks' title bids in 1999, 2001, '09 and '12. OC's other championships came against High Point (1997 and 2002), Mount Olive (1998) and Ridge (2005). Only Eastern (17), Moorestown (16), West Essex (16), Shore Regional (13) and Shawnee (11) have won more state titles.

Warren Hills also lost to West Deptford (2-1 in 1996), Cumberland (1-0 in 2000) and Moorestown (2-1 in OT in 2003) in title games at TCNJ's Lions Stadium.

The 1999, 2009 and '12 games vs. Ocean City went to overtime. All of the previous meetings were held at TCNJ, except the '09 and '13 contests. In 2009, Colleen Slaughter converted a penalty stroke for the 2-1 win at Toms River East. Outstanding Warren Hills forward Toni Popinko, now an assistant coach at Phillipsburg, was called for a high-stick infraction while attempting to make a goal-line save, resulting in the foul that led to the stroke. Last year,  Hanna ended the drama by scoring off a penalty corner with no time left on the clock.

The Streaks lost 2-1 to OC in 1999, the final game for former coach Luanne Ferenci.

Another Skyland Conference team is looking to end its long final drought and claim the program's first state title, albeit a bit more daunting task.

Bridgewater-Raritan (23-2) has lost the last nine Group 4 final meeting with national powerhouse Eastern (24-0). The South Jersey school has won 16 consecutive sectional and 15 straight Group 4 titles under coach Danyle Heilig (400-10-9 in 16 seasons)., while the program's 17 overall state championships is a state record, Senior forward and North Carolina recruit Austyn Cuneo holds national single-season (96 in 2013) and career (321 from 2011-14) goals marks. She leads the Vikings with 88 this season.

Prediction: Warren Hills 2, Ocean City 1.

Field hockey: Streaks roll in Group 3 semifinal win

BOONTON -- Warren Hills' field hockey team experienced the best of both worlds on Wednesday night.

The Blue Streaks rode their fine senior leadership and some offense from their future star, as super sophomore forward Dani Profita scored a pair of goals in a dominating 6-1 victory over Northern Highlands in a Group 3 semifinal at Boonton High School.

Warren Hills (22-3), which has won 10 in a row and earned the program's 600th victory, advances to the Group 3 final for the third straight season and for the fourth time in six years. Standing in the way of the program's first state title in any female sport is once again Ocean City, which defeated Warren Hills in the last two championship games -- including last year's 1-0 double-overtime win -- and five times overall since 1999. Saturday's title game is set for 2 p.m. at Bordentown High School.

"We wanted Ocean [a 1-0 winner over Moorestown in the other semifinal]. We didn't want to play anyone else," said senior forward Sydney Muntone, who scored a pair of goals to become Warren Hills' single-season leader with 29 to go with one assist. "We want to end [the rivalry] on our note."

"We kept working and playing our hardest because this was our ticket to the big one," said Profita, who produced her sixth multi-goal game and her first goals of this postseason.

Northern Highlands (20-3), which won its eighth sectional title on Friday to reach the Group 3 semifinals for the second straight year, was looking to give a better account after a 9-0 loss to Warren Hills here a year ago. Coach Rich Smith's Highlanders did just that, tightening this one at 2-1, when Caroline Quinn connected off a penalty corner with 3:25 left before halftime.

But Profita's 22nd goal -- a beautiful reverse stick shot off a one-on-one with goalie Victoria Marino -- started a run of four second-half goals that enabled the heavily-favored Streaks to pull away. Shortly before the goal, coach Laurie Kerr called a timeout with her team looking out of sorts.

"I told them if they didn't pick up their communication to pack their bags because their season would be over," said Kerr, now 37-14 in postseason games, including 6-1 in Group 3 semifinals. "We had the right ideas, but we weren't passing it hard enough or right to sticks. We were working so much harder than we had to."

Profita opened the scoring on the game's third penalty corner off a feed from Muntone, who earned her team-leading 20th assist and 57th overall, tying her with Niki Miller for the school's career mark.

Warren Hills' offense, which was on point with its passing game, was simply too much down the stretch. One plus for Northern Highlands was that it allowed just one goal off 10 penalty corners.

"Give a lot of credit to Warren Hills. They're an awesome, high octane team," said the classy Smith. "I hope they do well in the Group 3 final. We defended their corners well. They were 8-of-11 on corners against us last year. It was our first sectional title since 1993 last year and we came in a bit starry-eyed. Tonight, we came out energized. When it got to be 3-1 that might have been the tipping point. We never quit, but I think we felt the game was out of reach."

Senior forward Jessica Nissen got in on the act with her 19th goal, which started with a perfect cross pass from Profita to the left post, where Nissen was waiting to knock it in. Muntone made it 5-1 off a breakaway with 17:04 left, while junior Megan Thompson capped the scoring with her 12th goal at the 7:21 mark.

Corner, fast breaks, cross passes in the circle, Warren Hills got it done with a little of everything. Meanwhile, the stellar defense, anchored by senior back Amanda Crampton, yielded just three shots-on-goal, while the Streaks racked up 21.

"We had really good passing and communicating really well," Profita said.

Muntone, who admittedly doesn't pay attention to stats, was unaware that she needed one goal to set the school's single-season mark after matching Lindsey Schott (27 in 2011) on Oct. 28. The Drexel-bound Muntone also holds records for career goals (77) and points (211), and she is one shy of matching Miller for the single-season points mark of 79.

"It's a huge accomplishment. It feels good to leave Warren Hills with the most goals in a career and single-season," Muntone said. "We have a great defense, too. We have the whole package. When we pass the ball, everyone can score."

Freshman midfielder Tali Popinko made it a family affair by joining her sisters, Toni and Tori, who played in the 2009 state title game for the Blue Streaks. Tali was solid in her first semifinal subbing for junior Julie DeSanto, who is out with a concussion.

Now, Warren Hills is looking to end an 0-for-8 skid in the finals in its Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex-best ninth appearance.

"It's an honor [to play in the Group 3 final]. It's something I've always wanted to do," said Tali Popinko, who watched her sisters play in '09. "We've all worked hard to get there."

Northern Highlands (20-3)               1                  0              --    1
Warren Hills (22-3)                          2                  4               --    6

Scoring

First half -- WH, Dani Profita, 21st, (Sydney Muntone), 22:54; WH, Muntone, 28th, 8:08; NH, Caroline Quinn, 5th, (Jordan Paton), 3:25.

Second half -- WH, D. Profita, 22nd, (Jessica Nissen), 24:17; WH, Nissen, 19th, (D. Profita), 20:40; WH, Muntone, 29th, 17:04; WH, Megan Thompson, 12th, (Katie Thompson), 7:21.

Shots -- Northern Highlands 3; Warren Hills 21.

Saves -- Victoria Marino 14, Jennifer Sauerman 1 (NH); Jackie de Raismes 2 (WH).

Penalty corners -- Northern Highlands 3; Warren Hills 10.

Group 1 semifinals

Shore Regional 2, Newton 0 -- Annie Deusch and Katie Mannino scored goals as Shore advanced to the Group 1 title game on Wednesday. Goalie Jenna Zawislak made 17 saves for Newton (13-6-5), which claimed its first sectional title since 1986 on Saturday.

Shore, which has won 24 sectional championships, will play Collingswood in a rematch of last year's Group 1 final, won 3-1 by Shore, on Saturday. Newton was bidding for its second finals appearance and first since 1984.

Shore's 13 state championships trail only Eastern (17) and Moorestown and West Essex with 16 apiece.