Field hockey
Bishop Eustace's Krissy Holak has become one of the top field hockey coaches in South Jersey.
The Crusaders proved it when they won the Group 2 state title, 2-1, over West Essex on Nov. 14. It was their third straight trip to the final. They were there in 2006, too.
Holak took over the program in 2005. Her record is 94-29-7.
Mentioned: Bishop Eustace
Rick O'Brien
According to team records, Central Bucks West senior tailback Rashaad Williams carried 28 times for a single-game school-record of 427 yards and five touchdowns as the No. 10-seeded Bucks ousted No. 7 Coatesville, 42-28, Friday in the opening round of the PIAA District 1 Class AAAA tournament.
-Rick O'Brien
Carly Celkos and Brittany Evangelisti scored second-half goals as Eastern won its 12th consecutive Group 4 state title in field hockey with a 2-0 victory over Bridgewater-Raritan Sunday at Toms River East.
Eastern (25-0) got a strong game from junior goalie Alana Barry and overcame Bridgewater-Raritan's defensive style to extend its national record for consecutive state titles.
The Vikings will be the No. 1 seed in the Tournament of Champions, which begins Wednesday.
Mentioned: Eastern
When I heard that Camden Catholic no longer was the site for the Shawnee-Eastern Group 4 state semifinal, I called Kim Cole, an NJSIAA assistant director who oversees field hockey.
Cole said the site was moved to Robbinsville because Camden Catholic had a function planned at the school Thursday and preferred a Group 1 or 2 game with a smaller crowd.
The NJSIAA accomodated the Irish by moving the game to Robbinsville, one of four predetermined sites with Holmdel, Neptune and Shawnee, according to Cole.
Brynn Gitt, Rancocas Valley's star field hockey player, was just as perplexed as co-coaches Julie Thornton and Jean Marie Seal at the end.
When RV bowed to Shawnee, 6-0, in the Central Jersey Group 4 final on Nov. 9, it was because the team as a whole didn't give 100 percent. Gitt, an all-South Jersey attacjk and four year starter, was baffled because she has given her all for so long. "We needed to come out strong right away and we didn't," said Gitt, who ended the season with 34 goals and is RV's single-season and career scoring leader with 79 goals. If it was any consolation, RV shared the Burlington County League Liberty Division crown with Moorestown, a first such title in school history. Another first was beating Moorestown during teh regular season.The previous RV single-season scoring record was 29, set by Natalie Beckerman in 1985. Beckerman also set the previous career goals' record of 52 in 1985.Gitt ended the season with 11 assists, which tied the single-season record set by Kerri Perinchief in 1988 and Abby Wood in 2009. However, Gitt broke Perinchief's career assists' record of 21 with 27.Gitt is set to attend Iowa next fall.After watching her field hockey team let two leads slip away to Eastern and lose the game, 4-3, Saturday afternoon, Washington Township coach Jeannine O’Connor summed it up this way: “I’ve never been part of a more devastating loss in all my years of coaching, to be this close to beating the best. But the kids stayed together and what we forced them [Eastern] to do was to be the champions they are….They are a dynasty.” So Eastern (22-0) won the South Jersey Group 4 semifinal, leaving the Minutemaids (15-5) behind as it has done in a sectional semifinal or final for each of the last eight years. Said Eastern coach Danyle Helig: “They [Township] went to every ball with 100 percent. They defended every lane with 100 percent. When they had the ball they were dynamic and had a purpose…Taking away the last 2 minutes of the game, they totally outplayed us.” Eastern had previously yielded only three goals all season, one to Township on Sept. 16 in a 2-1 win. The two teams played three times and Eastern, ranked third in the nation, squeaked by on each occasion. “We try to teach our kids to compete for 60 minutes…and I truly believe that’s one of the things we do better than a lot of people,” O’Connor said.
Amanda Hojonowski, Lauren Boegly and Jamie Robinson scored goals as West Deptford beat Collingswood, 3-0, Friday in the semifinals of the South Jersey Grop 2 field hockey tournament.
The top-seeded Eagles (18-2-1), the defending champions, advance to face Colonial Conference rival Haddonfield in Monday's sectional final.
Collingswood finished 11-8-1.
The Washington Township field hockey team has a daunting task ahead.
The Minutemaids will try to upset host Eastern on Nov. 6 in a South Jersey Group 4 semifinal.
Eastern is ranked third in the nation, behind Emmaus (Pa.) and Fredericksburg Stafford (Va.). The Vikings’ record is 21-0 with 18 shutouts. Opponents have scored only three goals against them all season. However, Township is one of those teams.
Bill Iezzi
When Florence lost to Pingry, 2-1, in double overtime in the North Jersey Group 2 quarterfinals on Nov. 1, Lexi Smith’s stick was silenced. The Flashes finished the season with a 15-4 record after going 15-1.
Smith, a sophomore, leads the area in goals scored with 43. However, on her heels is Megan DeMarco of St. Joseph’s of Hammonton, who has 42 goals. The Wildcats are scheduled to play for the South Jersey Group 1 crown on Nov. 8 and DeMarco can take over the lead.
Florence scored one goal in its last three games, two of which went into overtime. The goal was scored by Smith off a corner to give Florence a 1-0 lead over Pingry. However, the Big Blue tied the score, 1-1, in regulation and won in OT.
“We’re usually a strong 77 team [7 on 7 in overtime],” said Florence coach Gina Smith, Lexi’s mother. “We outshot them [Pingry] 13-6, and had more corners. We couldn’t finish, which is uncharacteristic of us.
“We can’t change what happened, but we can fix it for next year. We have a great nucleus coming back."
Meanwhile, Lexi, her mother and her aunt Diane Carey-Stranko, whose single season record of 46 goals is safe at Florence until next year, are preparing to fly to Phoenix , Ariz. Lexi will play for South Jersey Intensity in the U.S. Festival, Nov. 24-27.
Mentioned: Florence
Collingswood's center midfielder, Beth LaBar, a senior, took a stick to the head 17 minutes, 15 seconds into the action with visiting Holy Spirit Tuesday afternoon.
A Holy Spirit player accidentally struck LaBar about an inch-and-a-half above the right eye on a back swing. LaBar was taken to Cooper Hospital, where the latest word was that she was about to receive stitches and was waiting to see a plastic surgeon.
Collingswood coach Val Dayton said LaBar had shown no signs of a concussion. If doctors rule that there was no concussion, LaBar can play provided that she receives medical clearance, Dayton said.
