S. Jersey field hockey notes

Kingsway senior Emily Poole is looking forward to traveling to Schalick Thursday afternoon for a regular-season ending field hockey game for both teams.

Each team has a winning record, and each is playoff bound. Schalick is the defending South Jersey Group 1 champion. Kingsway last season was the South Jersey Group 3 runnerup to Ocean City.

But before the playoffs start, they have to play each other.

Kingsway (11-3-1) captured a share of the Tri-County Royal Division crown when it beat Cumberland, 8-0, on Monday.

Schalick placed second to Gloucester in the Classic Division but boasts one of the top scorers in South Jersey: Joyce Perry. Still, Kingsway might have the answer in Melissa Sailey, an excellent marking back.

Poole, Kingsway's playmaker, said the defense has come up with nine shutouts because the team is playing well in general, and the defense is clicking.

"Our backs are on fire," Poole said, referring to her teammates. "Melissa Sailey and Diana Wade have come up big, and our goalie, Rebecca May, has been awesome.

"We thought this was a rebuilding year in the beginning, but we've been doing maybe better than last year, passing and talking and coming together as a team."

Pitman is in. The Panthers clinched a berth in the state tournament in dramatic fashion on Oct. 20, the cutoff date. They upset Florence, 1-0, to even their record at 8-8. A record of least .500 is required for automatic admission.

Florence had previously lost one game in 16. Pitman won when Michelle Stafford, assisted by Amanda Schaefer, scored the winning goal 14 minutes, 6 seconds into the second half.

Two determined players. Collingswood senior Jordan Calderone and Haddon Township sophomore Kim Flacco are two determined forwards who are likely to help their teams in the postseason.

When their squads played on Oct. 21, Calderone wasn't about to let her teammates go down without fighting back after Township scored two quick second-half goals for a 2-0 lead. So Calderone waited for an opportunity, which came when she eluded a defender seven yards in front of the cage and slapped a shot into the right side of the net.

Just like that, Calderone cut the Hawks' lead in half, 2-1. She was hoping that her score would inspire a comeback by her teammates. However, Flacco followed with an insurance goal for Township in a 3-1 Colonial interdivisional win.

"Jordan came into this game . . . not wanting to lose, and I think she was determined," Collingswood coach Val Dayton said. "She didn't want to go down without a fight. She's a senior, and every senior knows that this is their last shot, and they want to win."

Flacco was determined to keep the game out of reach, and she did so by scoring with 46 seconds left in the game.

"She's much more confident getting the ball into the circle," Township coach Genevieve Hunter said of Flacco. "It used to be an issue and now she is almost like a seasoned veteran out there. She will never, ever let down."

Division champions. Bishop Eustace grabbed a share of the Olympic Conference National Division title by beating Paul VI, 4-0, last week. Camden Catholic, which split wins with the Crusaders during the regular season, holds the other half of the crown.

The other Olympic Conference title winners are Eastern in the American Division and Shawnee in the Patriot.

In the Burlington County League, Moorestown is champion in the National Division. New Egypt and Florence won the Patriot and Freedom, respectively.