North field hockey girls second in Shore Conference
Middletown North
battles to end against top-ranked Shore
Heart and desire are powerful tools for any athlete. But unfortunately for the Middletown North Lions, it wasn’t enough to overpower Shore Regional in the Shore Conference Field Hockey Tournament finals on Friday.
Shore, the defending champions, scored in both halves to win their third straight Shore Conference crown, 2-0.
"I’m delighted we got this far," said Middletown head coach Bill LaFalce. "No one expected us to get here. It took us a long time to find a mix that worked for us this season, and once I did, we stuck with it. I think we had a hell of a tournament."
The Lions started the tournament as the seventh seed, hosting Manasquan at the beginning of the tournament.
After knocking off the Warriors, 7-0, Middletown North went on to defeat two previously unbeaten teams, Ocean and Wall Township.
The orange-and-black made their biggest noise of the tournament as they sent last year’s finalist, Ocean, packing from a 2-0 loss.
North then qualified to face Shore in the finals, upending the Crimson Knights, 4-2.
"We may not have won today, but we played a great game, and throughout the tournament," LaFalce said. "The girls knocked off two state-ranked teams as well as unbeaten teams and had an opportunity to do it to a third team. That just shows how outstanding our run through the tournament was."
In the game against Shore, neither team could claim a definitive advantage on the field. Just as one team seemed to gain an offensive foothold, the other denied them any opportunities.
Shore scored the actual winning goal 4:03 into the game, thanks to Ali Shames-Dawson scoring on a second-opportunity goal.
The Blue Devils didn’t pad their lead until the 55:10 mark, when Meredith Corradino ripped a goal in during a penalty corner.
Lauren Hennessey and Stephanie Rubert were credited for the assist.
Even though Shore actually found the back of the cage, their defense was taxed to their limit to preserve the win.
Middletown assaulted Robyn Apicelli with 11 shots, forcing her to display her athletic abilities to deny the Lions on four solid scoring chances. Shore’s defense blocked the other seven shots.
Along with tenacious play by all her fellow Lions, Katie McGowan gave a valiant performance in the cage.
McGowan was called upon to block eight of Shore’s 15 shots, shutting down the Blue Devils’ top scores.
"We tried our best today, but so did Shore," LaFalce said. "I’m very proud of the way we played and of the girls for making it this far. There are 17 other teams that didn’t."
Middletown North stands with a 13-5-1 record, with the NJSIAA tournament looming in the future.
The Lions drew the No. 4 seed, Lenape, in the first round of the Central Jersey Group IV tourney.