Keyport girls’ successful season comes to an end
Field hockey team falls
in first round of state tournament
VERONICA YANKOWSKI New Egypt’s Jen Carpenter (l) tries to get past Keyport’s Stephanie Arroyo during the team’s Central Jersey Group I Tournament game in Plumsted on Friday. The Red Raiders played well, but saw their season come to an end following their 2-1 loss.
For the young Keyport High School field hockey team, just qualifying for the New Jersey Interscholastic State Athletic Association Central Jersey Group I Tournament made the season a success, according to Coach Sal Principe.
The Red Raiders gritted their way to a 7-7-4 record to earn the playoff berth and then hung tough before losing to New Egypt, 2-1, in a first-round game.
After a scoreless first half, the two teams picked up where they left off. Just past the midway point of the second half, New Egypt managed to get on the board. Keyport suffered a brief letdown that led to a quick second goal before Principe called timeout to talk to his team.
"I told them, in a forceful manner, to get back in the game and not to quit," he said. "We don’t have any quitters on this team, so they got the message."
Keyport responded and soon made it 2-1 on a goal by Terrilynne Gillette, assisted by Janice Mullins. The Red Raiders went on to dominate the remainder of the game, but despite several good chances could not tie the score.
"I’m happy about the way the girls came back, although the ending wasn’t happy," Principe said. "They worked hard to get here and they kept working hard until the last whistle."
Keyport made the state playoffs for the first time a year ago, but after losing 13 players from that team to graduation this looked like a rebuilding year for the Red Raiders.
The team’s four seniors stepped up and proved to be good leaders. Co-captains Mullins and Amanda Farkas were Keyport’s leading scorers. Mullins scored 13 times and assisted on nine goals, while Farkas tallied eight goals and had seven assists.
Fullbacks Chrissy English and Amy Bolte, two players who normally play up front, successfully transitioned to defense where they excelled.
The seniors’ success, in turn, enabled several younger players to step up including sophomore link Jamie Boyce, who contributed two goals and eight assists.
More important, Boyce showed she could control the middle of the field and her free hits regularly gave the Red Raiders good field position.
Three other sophomores also showed promise. Amanda Ries, Keyport’s other link, was quietly effective, while Kaitlyn McCann and Caitlyn Cunningham proved solid defensive players.
Gillette, a junior who scored seven goals, will be counted on to lead the forwards next year, and fellow junior Nelcy Lucena will return in goal where she shut out opponents five times this season.
"It was a rewarding season," Principe said. "Making the state tournament was our goal from the start. The girls knew it wouldn’t be easy, but they know that we’re trying to build a program that’s a success not just for one year. That means you have to aim high. Our girls did. It says a lot about them, and it’s great for our program."