Forsyth, Mount lead Colonials to 4-0 start

Nothing that Doug Daubert saw during the preseason led him to believe that his Freehold Borough field hockey team would be 4-0 at this stage of the season.

"There was no indication for this," he pointed out. "We didn’t score a goal in three games in preseason and lost our last game by 9-0.

"I think that loss got everyone’s attention," he said. "We were breaking in a lot of new players who needed time to adjust to varsity."

They adjusted quickly. Besides getting off to the best start in school history, the Colonials are scoring goals at a clip they’ve never seen before. They have 15 goals in the first four games and have permitted just four.

"We’re not used to this kind of scoring," noted Daubert. "We scored 21 goals all of last year."

Like a good baseball team, the Colonials are solid up the middle led by senior midfielders Jackie Forsyth. She is the link between stopper Jen Kelly, who is the anchor of the defense, and forward Erin Mount, a promising goal-scorer. Mount and Kelly are juniors.

"Right now Jackie is a Division I prospect and she’s only getting better all the time," said Daubert. "She’s always been a big hitter who can drive the ball. But now she has more control and she dribbles the ball well. She has a real game sense now. She’s a threat every time she’s in the circle."

Forsyth has notched five goals and has three assists. She had the three-goal hat trick last week in a 3-1 win over Monmouth Regional.

Mount, benefiting from Forsyth’s passing, has matched those totals with five goals and three assists of her own. They share the scoring lead in the Shore.

"Erin scored three goals last year when we brought her up late in the season," noted Daubert. "She is very fast and goes to the cage hard. She has great anticipation and is very tenacious."

Mount has added spark to a forward line that includes returning starter Sarah Miller. They give Freehold a formidable tandem up front. Newcomers include Casey Claps and Lisa Orandello.

"Our forwards anticipate each other’s moves and the spacing has been much better," said Daubert. "They do a lot of communicating with each other."

Liz Tennent, another returning starter, solidifies a midfield that includes Christina Pecce and Kelly Gibson. This allows Daubert to rotate his midfielders to keep fresh legs on the field at all times. Forsyth, though, remains on the field at all times.

On defense, the Colonials have a very strong unit that also gives Daubert flexibility. Parjat Sharma, a returning starter, Mary O’Rourke, Kim Favara, Mia Fabiano and Kelly have good chemistry and work well as a team.

Stopper Kelly is the leader.

"Jen settles everyone down," Daubert said. "She stops a team’s momentum with her defensive play. She clears the ball out and starts the transition to offense."

Fabiano is making history as the first freshman to start on the varsity. In the cage, Lisa Brisman, a senior, has shown great improvement and turned into a very steady goalie. Her back-up is Jessica Hirsch.

The Colonials are 2-0 in the Class A Central Division and tied for first with Manasquan.

The last couple of years Freehold Borough has needed late rushes to qualify for the state playoffs. So far they are ahead of pace.

Howell, which reached the .500 mark again last year with a strong finish, will be looking for the momentum from that late surge to carry over in 2000. It has so far with the Rebels getting off to a 2-0 start.

Julie Hoebee’s Rebels will be relying on senior midfielder Meg O’Connell, an outstanding playmaker who gets everyone involved.

Kathy Kulas, a senior defender, and Angela Pennsabene, a senior midfielder, are the only other returning starters. Pennsabene and O’Connell work well together at midfield helping to give the Rebels an edge.

Senior forward Amanda Shoffel has teamed up with O’Connell to score goals in each of Howell’s wins. She is a newcomer.

Another newcomer coming up big is goalie Kelly Gilligan, also a senior. She has been touched for just one goal in the team’s first two games.

Kulas heads the defense that has been playing well in front of her. Heather Agel and Kristen Bower have formed a solid nucleus with Kulas in the backfield.

Manalapan has made steady improvement over the years and is aiming to make the state playoffs for the first time in school history. Coach Stacy Horan has seven returning starters to fuel the state playoff drive led by senior Allison Bartley, who is the first four-year starter in school history.

Seniors Katie Pusz, Jaclyn Greenstein, Cheryl Dale, Heather Nabozny and juniors Amanda Musante and Meagan Weigert are the other returning starters, giving the Braves plenty of experience to call on.

For depth, Manalapan has Heather Hall, Lauren Sydney, Gina Finelli, Care DiLeonardo, Michelle Kahan and Lauren Lanza, who all saw action returning. Finelli is a junior and Lanza a sophomore. The other are seniors.

Newcomers include Vanessa Fields, Eric Elfenbein, Tracy Taggart, Tarin Peterson, Joeleen Mandel and Katie Leibel.

Expectations are high at Manalapan because of the team’s considerable experience.

Freehold Township, which is looking to move up in A North this fall, has a large returning cast of veterans to begin its climb. Junior goalie Meagan Hennessy provides a steady backstop.

Seniors Lauren Bruno, Dori Pollaci, Stacy Pollack and Trish Novello bring the team a lot of experience, while juniors Missy Elsbree and Elia Covino are very solid players.

Newcomers are Amanda Johnson, Desiree Capriotti and Kelly Schmidt.

Colts Neck, which made its varsity debut last year, begins play in the Shore conference this fall. The Cougars will play in the A Central with Freehold Borough.

With no seniors last year, the Cougars return everyone. Senior midfielder Sharon Robinson is a proven scorer and that will help the Cougars, who are looking to improve. Having Marion Protano in the cage will help as well. The senior impressed last year and will be even better this fall.

Also returning for Maria Merlucci-Cameron are: Lisa Day (defender); Nicole Demmert (defender); Meredith Free (defender); Brooke Sutler (forward); Sarah Wise (defender); Lisa Wang (forward); and Vikkie Yu (midfield).

Newcomers include Gina Kileen (forward) and Katharine Knipfing (defender).

— Tim Morris