Draper’s girls returned to state playoffs
By: Rudy Brandl
Hillsborough High’s final field hockey game may have resulted in a gut-wrenching loss, but it also showed how far the team progressed during the 2006 season.
The Raiders (10-9) left Hunterdon Central bitterly disappointed after suffering another season ending loss to their rivals. But this wasn’t just some ordinary setback. This one didn’t merely go beyond overtime, it progressed to the sudden death stage of the penalty stroke shootout.
Hillsborough played at Central earlier in the season and was out of the game long before halftime. Central cruised to a 3-0 victory in that September contest, but the North 2, Group 4 playoff game at the end of October could have gone either way. In fact, HHS scored the first goal of the game before Central answered and eventually prevailed on the first sudden death and sixth overall stroke.
"After losing to them 3-0 the first time and playing like this, I’m really proud of the girls," HHS head coach Peach Draper said. "It’s amazing how much growth they made this year."
The Raiders opened the season at 1-4 and were in danger of not qualifying for the state playoffs. Draper made some key changes to her lineup and the team responded with a four-game winning streak to get back in the postseason hunt.
Draper switched four key players into new positions. She moved junior Danielle Cszysz back to defense and senior Gwen Prowse to link and pushed senior Gillian Cardinale up to the wing with sophomore Dorian Gilmartin-Dzitko taking over at center link.
"The lineup was extremely different and the girls were so pumped for this game," Draper said. "The lineup changes made a big difference. They played an incredible passing game. It was really pretty."
Cszysz used her great stick skills and long hits to ignite the team’s counterattacks from the back and Cardinale started scoring more goals. Prowse and Gilmartin-Dzitko felt comfortable in their new roles.
Another big part of the team’s development can be attributed to overcoming growing pains. Draper threw a bunch of sophomores who went 15-1 as freshmen into the varsity fire. They had to learn about competing on the varsity level. After taking a few early lumps, the young players meshed with the veterans and the Raiders became a solid unit.
"They really stepped it up," Draper said. "They learned how to play with each other. They learned how to be varsity athletes and they got used to the pressure."
Even after the four-game win streak, the Raiders had to work to continue their tradition of making the state playoffs. They ran into a few tough teams and dipped back under the .500 mark with a week remaining before the cut-off.
Hillsborough needed to win its final two games before the NJSIAA qualifying deadline to make the playoffs. The team accomplished that in somewhat dramatic fashion, winning an overtime game at Mount St. Mary Academy in the Somerset County quarterfinals and beating Freehold Township on the deadline day in a game that was moved to the home stadium turf because of heavy rains.
The game at the Mount was particularly satisfying for Draper since her team was the lower seed playing on the road against a team that had defeated Hillsborough in overtime in the last county tournament game between the schools a few years ago. Bridgewater-Raritan had locked up the Delaware East Division title so the Raiders were focusing on the county and state tournaments. Cardinale netted the game-winner in overtime and the Raiders advanced to the SCT semifinals.
Senior leadership was a big part of this year’s team. The upperclassmen really guided the younger players and helped the entire squad develop into a more competitive unit.
Twin sisters Ellyn and Lauren Griggs played a pivotal role in this department. Ellyn had another fine year in the cage, her third as the varsity goalkeeper. She had an 88.5 save percentage and six shutouts to boost her career total to 23. Lauren was a fabulous two-way player and finished the season with six goals and two assists.
As usual, the Griggs girls left everything on the field at Central.
"They both had their best game," Draper said. "All the seniors played like it was their last game."
Cardinale (7 goals, 5 assist), Prowse, Katherine Glass-Hardenbergh, Emily Rothschild and Gabby Gilmore will also graduate. Everyone else in the program is eligible to return.
That list includes Gilmartin-Dzitko (5 goals, 3 assists), sophomore Carlin Dunne (6 goals, 2 assists) and Kelsey Palmer and juniors Cszysz (7 assists), Jen Laplaca, Victoria Wilson and Kaitlyn Derewecki.
Hillsborough wound up winning five of its last seven games, with the only losses coming to Pingry in the county semis and Central in the states. Draper wasn’t happy with the final result in the playoff loss at Central but she was thrilled to see all the youth on the field during the overtime. The team will lose its share of talented senior leaders, but the bulk of the squad will return next season.
"We really made a nice comeback in the second half of the season," Draper said. "We beat teams by more and lost to teams by less the second time around. Everyone we played twice, we played better the second time around. They accomplished a lot of great things."
NOTES Ellyn Griggs and Cardinale made first team All-Somerset County, while Gilmartin-Dzitko was named to the second team and Cszysz, Dunne and Lauren Griggs received honorable mention. All-Skyland Conference honors went to Ellyn Griggs, Lauren Griggs and Cardinale (first team), Gilmartin-Dzitko and Cszysz (second team) and Glass-Hardenbergh (honorable mention).

