Vittese goals lift Irish

Tara Vittese settled in at the penalty-stroke line, looked down at the ball and then up at Haddonfield goalkeeper Sarah Meeteer, and fired.

The ball sailed high and to the right of Meeteer into the net, and host Camden Catholic's bench cheered as the scoreboard flashed 2-1 in favor of the home team Tuesday in a nonleague field hockey game.

Camden Catholic, ranked No. 8 in South Jersey by The Inquirer, held off a six-shot assault for the remaining 8 minutes, 19 seconds, and the Irish defeated No. 7 Haddonfield, 2-1, in a game that meant nothing in league standings but something in terms winning on Senior Day and preparing for the coming NJSIAA tournament.

Camden Catholic (13-4-1), seeded No. 1 in Central Jersey Group 2, is scheduled to host No. 8 Monmouth on Nov. 2. The same afternoon, Haddonfield (16-4), the second seed in South Jersey Group 2, is set to host seventh-seeded Buena.

"I normally go left because that is where I have more speed and strength and it's on my strong side and that's what I practice, mostly," said Vittese, who'd also tied the game, 1-1, about a minute earlier.

"It [the win] gives us more confidence going into the playoffs."

Vittese herself boosts the confidence of the team with her stick work, field vision, and knowledge of the game as a superior underclassman. The freshman leads the Irish in scoring with 17 goals and is a playmaker on offense and defense, working the middle of the field.

Shannon Riley gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead on a corner insert by Ali Kirk and a feed by Megan Johnston 5:54 into the second half. The Bulldogs were especially ecstatic because Camden Catholic had dominated the first half, in which the Irish outshot them, 8-2, and outcornered them, 8-0.

"It [the game] prepared us for playoffs to play on turf," said Riley, a senior forward who added that it was only the second time the team had played on an artificial surface, which is faster than natural grass.

"We knew that it would be great competition and prepare us for the next few games."

Haddonfield   0 1 – 1

Camden Catholic   0 2 – 2

Goals: H–Shannon Riley; CC–Tara Vittese 2.

Saves: H-Sarah Meeteer 11; CC–Shannon Cahill 8.